ABSTRACT
Although Pine and Gilmore’s 1999 book on the experience economy is often credited with introducing the importance of experience to understanding consumer behavior, experience has always been a central concept in tourism production and research (Uriely, 2005). Despite this long history and central role, the concept of experience has recently been given much more attention in tourism as consumers more explicitly focus on the experiential nature of the services for which they pay (Gretzel, Fesenmaier, and O’Leary, 2006). These trends suggest that attention to the development of theoretical models to explain, rather than simply describe, the nature of tourist experiences would be timely. It is in this context that the present chapter seeks to describe a psychological theory of tourist experience based on mindfulness theory from applied social psychology. The overall aim of the chapter is to present the mindfulness construct and to use this theory to set out a series of principles for the better design and management of tourist settings and activities, which in turn will enhance the sustainability of tourism in general.
