Demand for Trails and Routes - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 113

Absorpon

Entertainment Educaonal

Acve
Parcipaon

Passive
Parcipaon

Esthec

Escapist

Immersion

Figure 4.4 Applying the realms of experience to trail participation
Source: Modifi ed from Pine and Gilmore (1998: 102).

participation. Absorption may be achieved if, as Hayes and MacLeod (2007:
51) suggest, trail developers 'telling a compelling story . . . to attract and
satisfy visitors by providing a memorable experience' is important enough.
In the case of food and wine trails, Mason and O'Mahony (2007) argue
the need for interactions between visitors and the people engaged in story
telling of the description, preparation or presentation of not only the prod-
uct, but also the process and place.
Compelling stories help to form lasting memories of the experiences
involved (e.g. taste, appearance, texture, color, cost, history, aroma) and rein-
force the place (region, rurality, seasonality, soils, terroir, the farm), the process
(methods of cooking, machines, tools, ingredients, markets, sustainability,
culture) and the people (producers, famers, locales, ownership, producer-con-
sumer relations). Work on the experience economy suggests that a 'memorable
experience' may mean participation in activities that help tourists under-
stand and appreciate the story, which requires more than simply listening.
With the case of the Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland, participating is more
important than listening (Martin & McBoyle, 2006), often expressed in tast-
ing sessions which have become common practice in most food and wine
attractions with the tour ending with opportunities to sample and purchase.
The experiential component and the nostalgia behind engaging with trails
have been somewhat overlooked in the literature. This is often a criticism of
the broader cultural heritage encounter, though some scholars emphasize the
importance of the personal heritage or legacy (Timothy, 1997) individuals
experience at sites they share an intimate affinity with (Poria et al. , 2006).
According to Timothy and Boyd (2003), nostalgia involves more than just
remembrance and reminiscing, but rather a filtering of memories. Davies
(1973) viewed nostalgia as juxtaposing particular positive constructions of the
past with particular negative constructions of the present. Nostalgia has in