Multisensory prosumption: how cooking classes shape perceptions of destinations

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the multisensory experiences of participating in a cooking class and how they shape perceptions of destinations in the pre-trip stage. Performance theory and prosumption provide a theoretical lens to investigate how a cooking class influences the pre-trip destination sensescape. Design/methodology/approach This study used participatory action research consisting of an immersive Tatarstan cooking class experience with the supporting materials of music and videos, focus group discussions and participant observations. Findings Cooking class participants prosume local culture and (re)construct the perceptions of Tatarstan by partaking in cooking classes through a multisensory experience. The pre-trip destination sensescape formation in the cooking class is dynamic, stimulating and memorable. With active engagement in co-creating in the process, such experience significantly strengthens and reshapes the perceptions of a destination. Practical implications Cooking classes can be leveraged in pre-trip marketing as a tool to enhance the competitiveness of tourism destinations and contribute to accessible tourism, such as engaging visually impaired tourists’ other heightened senses in experience design and marketing. Originality/value This study revealed that participation in cooking classes involves active, embodied and multisensory engagement, which acts as a vehicle of the destination perception change.