ABSTRACT
Research in tourism has a long established interest in the study of tourist behaviour. Marketers, sociologists, psychologists, human geographers and other disciplines have all contributed over 50 years towards better understandings of tourist experience and behaviour. However, consumer experience is a fairly recent fi eld of interest for marketing scholars and yet has produced a complex and fascinating array of conceptualizations. This interest stems from the recognition that the consumption of services such as art, leisure or tourism necessitates the development of new theoretical frameworks due to the specifi cities of these consumption contexts (irrational behaviour, symbolic and esthetical criteria, emotional benefi ts maximisation, importance of pleasure and memorability of the experience). This approach, the experiential marketing perspective, can be tremendously useful to enhancing understanding of tourist behaviour.
