Matkailuelämyksiä ilman matkaa? Fokusryhmätutkimus matkailutyyppisestä kulutuksesta osana kuluttajan arkea

Tourism experiences without the travel? Focusing on touristic behavior in the context of everyday consumption

The current study focuses on touristic behavior in the context of everyday consumption by examining the geographical and psychological transitions of tourism and leisure as well as the factors that enable touristic behavior in everyday environments. Tourism has traditionally based on geographical perspective, taking place somewhere away from one’s usual habitat. This view is, however, challenged by e.g. globalization, increasing mobility, and consumers’ ever increasing desire for experiences, not only abroad but also within everyday life. In the study, touristic behavior is defined as a temporary subjective perception, a state of mind, of a person escaping from one’s daily obligations and routines through geographical or psychological transitions. Based on discussions on the liminoid nature of tourism and leisure as well as on value creation regarding experiential consumption, the empirical data gathered from focus group interviews was analyzed. The study indicates that even though geographical transition has an important role in achieving a touristic state of mind, also everyday environment and consumption can offer certain escapes from daily routines, resulting in a feeling of being a tourist. Especially when friends and relatives come to visit, the home environment may appear as a tourism destination, enabling touristic experiences.