Has the experience economy arrived? The views of destination managers in three visitor‐dependent areas

This paper explores the concept of the experience economy as a basis for management and marketing strategies in tourism destination regions. It identifies the key elements of the concept as being a view of consumer behaviour which stress the emotional, aspirational and participative over the functional and rational; an approach to services management through theatrical metaphors of staging, casting and performance; and strategies which see the delivery, or co‐creation, of unique and memorable experiences as a source of competitive advantage. It investigates the extent to which these have been accepted and acted upon by destination managers, using case studies from three contrasting visitor‐dependent economies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.