Edinburgh Napier University

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As a sector that is reliant on the creation and management of memorable experiences, visitor attractions (VAs) have increasingly turned to interactive technology as a platform for engaging and communicating with visitors. Research in this area has too often focussed on the applicability of various technology platforms in the attraction environment, however few authors have questioned the extent to which these foster memorable and interactive experiences. In the service management field, service-dominant (S-D) logic and the co-creation perspective offer a series of lenses to examine tourism experience. The S-D approach attempts to blur the boundaries between actors within the traditional service relationship. In particular, customers are seen as active co-creators of their own experience rather than passive recipients of a pre-determined product. The management role is also represented, through the provision of engagement platforms (such as technology) that support customers in generating an individualised experience. However, rarely has the process of experience co-creation been explored in the tourism context and even less so in the VA sector. As such, this PhD research aims to question the process by which visitors actively co-create an experience with interactive technology as a mediating platform. Through a multiple case study approach and qualitative methods, the study questions the ability of VAs to facilitate experience co-creation through interactive technology, whilst also debating the interconnected factors which mediate the process.

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