Creative Experience in Creative Tourism: A Tourist’s Perspective

Abstract

This dissertation aims to construct a model of creative experience in creative tourism and to characterize creative tourists and their perceptions of creative experiences at tourism sites Creative tourism is receiving an increasing amount of attention although the concept remains rather vague and more research is needed This study first explores the essence of ‘creativity’ in ‘creative tourism’ from a tourist perspective Data was collected using observations and in-depth interviews with tourists at four ‘Creative Life Industry’ sites in Taiwan Grounded theory approach was employed and the findings show that ‘outer interactions’ and ‘inner reflections’ construct the model of tourists’ creative experience The former refer to tourists’ interactions with environment people and product/service/experience while the latter refer to consciousness/awareness needs and creativity and these dimensions ‘interact’ in tourists’ inner-self throughout the experience Moreover ‘consciousness/awareness’ is a prerequisite for creative experience differentiating it from other types of experiences However how a particular mix of factors interact and define an individual’s perceptions of a creative experience may vary among different types of creative tourists Hence this study continually investigates how tourists perceive creativity and construct their creative experiences at creative tourism sites Q methodology was used to reveal the tourists’ inherent subjectivity of creative experiences with regard to the constructions of personal meaning Five distinct groups of creative tourists were identified: novelty-seekers knowledge and skills learners those who are aware of their travel partners’ growth those who are aware of green issues and the relax and leisure type Each consists of a different composition of factors which can provide new insights into how different tourists construct their personal creative experiences

Date of Award	2014 Feb 11
Original language	English
Supervisor	Shiann-Far Kung (Supervisor)