Sensory Marketing and Tourist Experiences

Marketing has been increasing its focus on the role of the five human senses in consumer behaviour, since research under the experiential paradigm has pointed to multisensory stimuli as intensifiers of consumers’ experiences, such as tourist experiences. Whereas previous studies in tourism touted vision, current research claims a holistic approach to sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch in order to develop effective communication and branding strategies, as well to boost the performance of destinations and tourist organizations by designing and creating conditions to enhance tourist experiences. This study aims to present the main contributions of the literature on a sensory marketing approach to the tourist experience, and to discuss some preliminary results of an empirical study on the role of human senses in tourist experiences in rural areas. Data analysis from a questionnaire presented to tourists supports the multisensory nature of tourist experiences and the importance of the five senses to the intensity of the experience.