ABSTRACT
Introduction Research in cognitive sciences shows that emotions are often more powerful determinants of human behaviour than rational thinking is (Sylwester, 1994). In the social and management sciences, many have argued that it is important to understand consumers’ emotional responses because emotions strongly infl uence motivation, satisfaction and behavioural intentions (Dubé & Menon, 2000; Gnoth, 1997; Prayag, Hosany & Odeh, 2013). Further, in the travel and tourism context, satisfactory experiences are deemed to positively contribute to tourists’ overall quality of life (Sirgy, 2002). There is also a clear link between positive emotions experienced at a destination and memorable tourism experiences (Tung & Ritchie, 2011). A memorable or rewarding experience is not strictly characterised by positive emotions felt at the destination, but it also involves a number of personal benefi ts such as social, intellectual, self and physical development (ibid). Positive personal outcomes such as knowledge acquisition and self-discovery on holiday are therefore closely bound to emotional tourism experiences. Since we experience the world through our whole body, tourists’ experiences (hence emotions) are intricately linked to sensory impulses registered at the destination. By giving the example of the act of strolling ‘the alleys of an Arab city with its unique sights, sounds, smells; and to look the inhabitants in the eye, see their frowns and their smiles’, Csikszentmihalyi (2012) himself recognises the crucial importance of the senses in tourism experiences. Tourists’ sensory experiences, therefore, partly explain the positive emotions and the learning outcomes associated with travel and tourism. Despite the central role of the sentient body in tourism, few researchers have paid attention to tourists’ sensory experiences in their multi-dimensions (Crouch & Desforges, 2003; Matteucci, 2014).
