Mapping the Cultural Tourism Experience

Abstract

The chapter focuses on the role of senses, emotions, and memories model (SEMs) to mapping a cultural tourism experience. Specifically, the results of the survey aimed to identify and assess the role of senses, the emotional states, and the memorable elements within the cultural and heritage tourism experience construction; to identify and assess the role of senses, the emotional states, and the memorable elements within the gastronomic tourism experience creation; and to map and model the relation between the SEMs in cultural and heritage tourism experiences and gastronomic tourism experiences. Results show that SEMs positively impact cultural and heritage tourism experience construction, SEMs positively impact gastronomic tourism experience creation, there are two clear paths to cultural and heritage tourism experience construction (between sight + joy + vividness = MTE and between sight + positive surprise + recollection = MTE), and there is one pattern to gastronomic tourism experience creation (between smell + taste + touch + positive surprise + vividness = MTE).