ABSTRACT
Destinations are judged by their welcome. The design and management of destination experiences are nowadays increasingly about balancing the interests and needs of tourists, residents and businesses, rather than focussing exclusively on tourists. How to sustainably create value from a resident-driven perspective?
The City Hospitality Experience Model helps to define the critical touchpoints in the tourists’ journey. Experiences are created through the city offerings (hardware), atmosphere and through hospitable behavior; human encounters make a difference by creating memorable experiences which lead to guest delight, engagement and loyalty. These encounters are provided not only by obvious hosts such as hotel employees, shop personnel and taxi drivers, but also by residents. Therefore, policy makers are seeking to actively involve stakeholders in building collaborative communities, also guided by societal trends like residents’ participation, taking ownership for co-creating the experience in the public space. This leads to a more sustainable but also more complex process of balancing multiple stakeholders and interests. Addressing the three domains – private, social and commercial – leads to a more sustainable approach and a better hospitality experience in cities. This chapter provides examples of programs in which volunteer residents are engaged as city hosts. Visitor experience meets resident experience.
