Investigating literary gaze through the orchestra model of the tourist experience

Abstract

Purpose Considering the diversity of literary sites, various needs and motivations of literary visitors, and the limited research on literary tourists’ experiences, this study aims to explore the literary gaze at Hafez Tomb in Shiraz, Iran. As the visitor gaze encompasses various dimensions of experience, this study connected the two notions to identify the components of the literary gaze and determine the attributes that best describe it. Design/methodology/approach Data sources include semi-structured interviews with visitors and user-generated content on Tripadvisor. The deductive thematic analysis and multiple correspondence analysis were used. Findings The findings revealed the multidimensionality of the literary gaze. The dominant factors that best describe the literary gaze at Hafez’s tomb were the sensory component of the experience, including “seeing”, “smelling”, “hearing”; affective including “anticipation”, “joy”, “trust”; cognitive including “perceiving”, “thinking”, “learning”; behavioural including “literary related”, “general”; and relationship including “tourist-companion”, “tourist-tourist”. Practical implications Understanding the literary gaze can assist site managers and destination marketers in designing the literary experience and developing promotional strategies that reflect the multifaceted nature of the literary experience. Tourism authorities should identify and shape tourists’ perceptions of literary sites to build the city’s image and brand as a literary city. Originality/value This paper used the orchestra model of experience to analyse the literary tourist’s gaze. This modification could explain that the literary gaze has multiple dimensions and studying all the dimensions gives the literary experience greater significance.