The Superior Destination Experience

Abstract

Offering a desirable tourist experience is significant for destinations’ success. Although tourist experiences have been analysed in different settings, there is still scant research on which experiential characteristics make a superior destination. This study compares superior and inferior destinations based on 20 experiential attributes. 500 respondents were requested to rate these attributes based on their best and worst destination experiences. Paired sample t-test results revealed that all attributes were rated significantly higher for superior destinations. Yet, the range of means suggests that some destination attributes might be considered more powerful than others in describing the experience continuum. Various suggestions for DMOs and stakeholders were discussed.

Keywords

• Tourist Experience
• Destination Management
• Destination Benchmarking
• Destination Competitiveness