Visitor Experience and Marketing (TOUR1002)

Visitor experiences can provide great value; however, they can sometimes be outdated or irrelevant and can also fail to make the most of attracting potential targeted visitors. New competitors or substitute products may also become available. Therefore, plans need to be continually refreshed to ensure that the visitor experience is competitive and relevant to target markets.

Select an experience provider (real) and conduct an appraisal of an existing experience. You will incorporate demographics, geographics, psychographics and decision making from a visitor perspective to appraise the experience. This must be a recent experience that you have had, and you will need photos taken by you (preferably with you in it) at the site/venue.

Visitor Experiences sites can include:

• A theme park, zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens or cultural attraction
• An interpretation centre, museum, art gallery, heritage/historic site
• A winery, brewery, working farm
• A festival or event
• Other (check with your Tutor)

In your experience appraisal, you are to identify an experience and explain the reason for the need for its redesign. This could be for reasons such as a changing market (eg, consider the SCEPTICAL factors), need for refurbishment, change in venue, growth/decline. Whatever you feel is appropriate based on your research.

You then need to focus on a market segment/s that you will target with your redesign experience in your appraisal. It is suggested that you consider one important target market. Explain how they would be relevant to the redesign. This is crucial. If the segments do not match the redesign, the appraisal is meaningless. You also need to think of your segments’ motivations. Tip: Use one of the motivation theories or models from class, but don't mix and match!

Further information will be provided on Blackboard and in Tutorials.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

This presentation provides an opportunity for you to showcase your findings from Assessment 1 (Visitor Experience Appraisal) and receive feedback from your tutor and peers. The goal is to present your analysis of the visitor experience using the Customer Journey Map (CJM) and Experience Economy Framework (Pine & Gilmore, 1999), justifying the need for the redesign and focusing on key touchpoints before and after the proposed changes.

Task Structure:

Your presentation should include the following:

Part 1: Background

• Describe the site: Provide an overview of the attraction you are redesigning.
• Where is it?
• What is its purpose?
• Who is the current target market?

Part 2: Current Customer Journey Map (CJM)

• Outline the current visitor experience journey: Identify and highlight the issues and areas of improvement.
• Customer/Visitor Journey Map (CJM): Present a visual representation of the current customer journey and touchpoints. This should reflect the visitor’s views at each stage of their journey, helping to understand the ecosystem and identify “moments of truth” where improvements are needed.
• Provide a diagram of your CJM. 

Part 3: Experience Economy Framework

Refer to the Experience Economy Framework (Pine & Gilmour, 1999), which includes the ‘experience realms’ of 1) Entertainment, 2) Education, 3) Escape, and 4) Aesthetics to help you explain and justify why you believe this visitor experience needs to be redesigned. You do not need to refer to all four realms, only those that have relevance to your experience redesign justification. Also, briefly note who the target market/s might be for the new redesigned experience.

• Explain and justify how the current visitor experience fits within the experience realms.
• Use the model to show how a redesign can address weaknesses or enhance the experience in certain realms (e.g., entertainment, education, escape, or aesthetics).
• Briefly identify the target market(s) for the redesigned experience and link them to the relevant realms from the Experience Economy model.

Part 4: Q&A Based on the Presentation

Visual Aid:

PowerPoint (PPT):

• The presentation should consist of no more than 5 slides that visually support your argument using photos and a CJM diagram only. 
• You are not required to include text on the slides—photos should speak for themselves.
• The photos must be taken by you, and you can or cannot be in the photos. The key is that the photos should be original and taken during your visit to the site.

Further information will be provided on Blackboard and in Tutorials.

Please Note: The presentation will be recorded for marking purposes.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

As the Experience Design Manager of your site, you will now create a redesign proposal based on the feedback and insights gathered in the previous assessments.

The proposal should focus on improving the existing experience based on the core concepts from the course, such as the Orchestra Model, Experiencescape, Visitor Management, and Interpretation. You will present a clear and professional plan to enhance visitor engagement, operational efficiency, and overall visitor satisfaction.

The proposal should be presented as a formal business document, with a focus on practical, actionable strategies. Your proposal will include an implementation plan, expected outcomes, and a timeline, allowing you to demonstrate both your analytical skills and your ability to think strategically in a business context.

The entire report (proposal) should be presented creatively, integrating infographics within the report itself. The visuals should be part of the document to enhance the reader’s understanding and engagement, not as a separate document. You are encouraged to make the proposal visually appealing while maintaining its professional and business-focused structure. (Examples will be provided during the tutorials.) 

Proposal Structure:

Executive Summary

Provide a brief summary of the proposal, outlining the current challenges, the proposed changes, and the expected outcomes of the redesign.

Introduction to the Site

In this section, provide an overview of the site you are redesigning. Include details such as the name, description, location, and current visitor experience. Highlight the target market of the site.

Current Visitor Experience and Challenges

Analyse the current visitor experience, identifying key challenges (e.g., overcrowding, lack of engagement). Include the Orchestra Model (Current) to explain how the five elements (sensory, affective, cognitive, behavioural, relationships) apply to the current experience.

Consider including this as a table. 

Proposed Redesign Strategy

Present the proposed redesign strategy, addressing improvements in:

• Orchestra Model (Redesign): Focus on one element (sensory, affective, cognitive, behavioural, relationships) to enhance. 
• Experiencescape: Propose physical or environmental changes to improve visitor flow and engagement. (See Bitner, 1992) servicescape- (ambient conditions, spatial layout).
• Visitor Management: Offer strategies to optimise queues, crowding, and staff interactions.
• Interpretation: Suggest improvements in how information is shared with visitors (e.g., digital displays, storytelling).

Implementation Plan

In this section, provide a clear timeline of key milestones for the proposed redesign. Since this is a smaller-scale redesign, the milestones should focus on immediate actions that are achievable within a short to medium timeframe.

Post-Experience Outcomes 

You should also describe how you will evaluate, monitor and improve experience quality and visitor satisfaction. What will you do to encourage repeat business or to develop an ongoing relationship with visitors? How will you help visitors create, share and recall positive memories of their experiences?

References 

A Reference List should be included in APA7 style. As a bare minimum, a pass assignment should contain at least ten (10) references from a variety of sources, including websites, books, reports, journal articles and other sources.

Further information will be provided on Blackboard and in Tutorials.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.