Pearce, Philip L. (2008) Studying tourism entertainment through micro-cases. Tourism Recreation Research, 33 (2). pp. 151-163.

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Abstract

The aims of the study were to identify common and noteworthy characteristics of tourism entertainment from a range of succinctly presented cases (defined here as micro-cases). These common and noteworthy characteristics were then linked to the existing literature. The focus on tourism entertainment in this paper refers to structured and managed situations designed for a predominantly visitor audience. Examples being examined include cultural shows, dance performances, theme park presentations, humour oriented guided tours, and film and video presentations tailored exclusively for visitors. Basing the approach on parallel work which also uses multiple cases to explore diverse phenomenon, a selection of 14 cases was made. The cases chosen were structured according to a priori criteria specifically identified in previous tourist attraction research. The cases presented include examples from four continents and eight countries. Six common characteristics of tourism entertainment were identified; time and the intensification of experience, the communication problem, audience involvement, theming and story telling, the role of skilled performance and tourism entertainment evolution. For each of these defining characteristics, ideas and concepts from existing research were used to comment on these features. A further, two less common but notable characteristics, the contradictions between entertainment themes and the tourism operation and the impacts of the fame of the entertainment were also identified. Potential areas for further research were considered and it was concluded that there is value in seeing tourism entertainment as a research laboratory for tourism study generally.

Item ID:	8617
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	0250-8281
Keywords:	tourism entertainment; micro-cases; intensified experience; communication; involvement; theming; skilled performance; tourism evolution
Related URLs:	http://www.trrworld.org/index.html
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2010 02:16
FoR Codes:	15 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 1506 Tourism > 150606 Tourist Behaviour and Visitor Experience @ 100%
SEO Codes:	90 COMMERCIAL SERVICES AND TOURISM > 9003 Tourism > 900302 Socio-Cultural Issues in Tourism @ 100%
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