What makes a destination beautiful? Dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment

Ksenia Kirillova, Xiaoxiao Fu, Xinran Lehto and Liping Cai

Tourism Management, 2014, vol. 42, issue C, 282-293

Abstract: Drawing on the literature in environmental psychology, the current study attempted to reveal dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment in the context of both nature-based and urban tourist destinations. Two-stage analysis of semi-structured interview data from a theoretical sample of 57 individuals yielded 21 aesthetic dimensions that were categorized into nine themes: Scale, Time, Condition, Sound, Balance, Diversity, Novelty, Shape, and Uniqueness. The identified themes were further conceptualized into a two-dimensional plane along Concrete-Abstract and Subjective-Objective continuums. This research posits that tourism allows a unique “appreciator-object” dyad where individuals are fully immersed in a destination in pursuit of a non-routine and oftentimes novel experience. The beauty of tourism destination is uniquely judged, admired, and appreciated, and the assessment of the beauty goes beyond the visual aspects and engages all senses. The findings make a theoretical contribution to the existing aesthetics literature and bear practical implications for destination planning, branding, and management.

Keywords: Aesthetic judgment; Tourism experience; Destination management; Experience-based products; Destination planning; Tourism aesthetics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (53)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:touman:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:282-293

DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2013.12.006

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