استخراج معانی از تجارب رخداد توریستی: اکتشاف پدیدارشناختی کارناوال لیماسول

The common examination of the event and tourism experience can reveal the attached meanings that exemplify the valued characteristics of a destination in the perceptions of tourists. From this standpoint, this study employed a phenomenological approach conducting eight unstructured interviews to explore the experience and assigned meanings of tourists who attended the carnival in Limassol, Cyprus. Results indicate that the meanings of tourist experiences in the carnival were extracted as continuously evolving products shaped by the interaction of two interrelated dramaturgical states, namely the generalized sociality and perceived community metamorphosis, and the interfering dimension of obstruction referring to organizational aspects constraining the tourist experience. The findings of this exploratory phenomenological study bring into the fore the need for more effectively incorporating events into a destination's product mix by designing experiences that leverage event meanings in synergy with unique destination features, thereby enhancing their impact on tourists. On these grounds, it is argued that the phenomenological perspective applied on the study of event tourism can enable destination marketing and management to develop a joint framework for cross-leveraging events and destination assets, hence, synergistically optimizing both social and tourism ends for host destinations. To this end, the study highlights the need for future research to start exploring systematically the relationship between the meanings of tourist experiences and the characteristics of a destination's product mix.

Although the examination of the antecedents and characteristics of the tourist and leisure experience has received considerable research attention (Morgan et al., 2010, Quan and Wang, 2004, Ritchie and Hudson, 2009, Ryan, 2002, Ryan, 2010, Tung and Ritchie, 2011, Uriely, 2005, Walls et al., 2011b and Walls et al., 2011a), there is little work on exploring the experience of tourists who participate in, or attend events. Events have the capacity to instantiate meanings for people and communities, and hence, intensify the experience of tourists at a destination. According to Getz (2008), the meanings attached to events and event tourism experiences are both an integral part of the experience and are antecedents to future tourism behaviour. The convergence of events with tourism therefore makes it imperative to understand the experience of event tourists in order to design and leverage meaningful event tourist experiences. In doing so, as Getz (2008) noted, both the event and the travel experience have to be understood in concert. In this regard, phenomenology is a seminal conceptual and methodological line of thought that can be used for examining in depth the event tourism experience. The goal of phenomenology is to enlarge and deepen understanding of the range of immediate experiences (Spiegelberg, 1982). Phenomenological inquiry is a direct description of experience without taking account of its psychological origin (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). Phenomenology, therefore, is a critical reflection on conscious experience, rather than subconscious motivation, and is designed to uncover the essential invariant features of that experience (Jopling, 1996). The purpose of the study is to examine the tourist experiences and meanings attached to the carnival of Limassol in Cyprus. A phenomenological research approach was employed to examine the representation of the destination in the meanings and experience of event tourists and how this affects their future tourism behaviour. Specifically, the study investigates the ways that meanings extracted from the carnival characterize the tourist experience. On this basis, it identifies the elements that instantiate the characteristics and qualities of Limassol/Cyprus and can be leveraged to build its tourism product mix and destination image. This exploratory research inquiry highlights the need to start exploring systematically the relationship between the meanings of tourist experiences and the characteristics of a destination's product mix in terms of their interaction effects and enhancement of synergies within the context of community and tourism development driven by events.