The Role of Niche Tourism Products in Destination - Repository ...

Many authors highlight the experiential and emotional nature of the tourism industry (Arnould and Price, 1993; Schmidt, 1997;
Arnould, Price and Tierney, 1998). Academic tourism research however has paid little attention to emotionally driven consumption
and niche tourism needs to be viewed beyond psychographic or behavioural indicators to more participatory and experiential ones.
Niche tourism can, therefore, be seen within the context of the emergence of Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) ‘Experience Economy’.
They discuss how consumers crave experiences and want to make an emotional connection with their brand. Lew (2008) discusses
how postmodern society has created the postmodern tourist or post-tourist (Feifer, 1985). The post modern tourist lives in a world
of ‘hyper-consumerism’ where a plethora of products serve a crowded global marketplace with the role of market differentiation and
segmentation increasingly important. Lew (2008) also notes that ‘branding, image and prestige remain important to the post tourist’
(Lew, 2008, p.412) and as they are time poor and experience hungry they are willing to spend money in return for a quality, efficient
and specialised service (Opaschowski, 2001). The result of the above trends in the consumer market is the rapid growth in self
directed travel and SIT and the development of specialised niche tourism products.
Destinations are now under greater pressure to develop products and services that elevate the experiences of tourists satisfying
their desire for personal self enhancement and fulfilment (Formica and Kothari, 2008). This can be seen in the growth of the holistic
or wellness tourism 5 niche sector (Smith, 2003; Smith and Kelly, 2006). It is also reflected in the recent trend for Western tourists to
‘seek solace in Eastern philosophies and therapies....Such alternatives already pervade many Western societies, but tourists are
often just as keen to visit the origins of the practice’ (Smith and Puczko, 2009, p.9.) This had led to micro niches being developed in
the wellness tourism sector such as yoga and spa tourism. The destination is therefore critical as it offers an alternative space
5 ‘that which provides people with a range of activities and/or treatments aimed at developing, maintaining, and improving the body-mind-spirit’ (Smith and
Kelly, 2006 in Kelly and Smith, 2009, p.73).