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viewed as a give and get dichotomy of benefi ts and sacrifi ces (Zeithaml et al . 1988), neglecting
the role of the consumer in the co-creation of value (Sandström et al . 2008).Value however is not
inherently existent, but for value to emerge, the experience needs to be co-created by the
consumer. In ascribing the consumer the role of a collaborator, this perspective highlights two
main arguments suggesting that it a) involves the consumer's participation in the creation of
the core offering itself and b) 'value can only be created with and determined by the user in the
“consumption” process and through use' (Vargo and Lusch 2006: 284). Accordingly, this argu-
ment links back to the earlier raised criticism of the experience economy, i.e. that experiences
cannot be simply designed and delivered. What can be created instead are the necessary
prerequisites and a value proposition, as an intermediary connection of companies towards
consumers generating their own value (Vargo et al . 2008). For marketing, the opportunities
subsequently lie in recognising this fundamental shift and adapting the experience and value
creation to these new assumptions. The locus of experience co-creation is to acknowledge the
tourist as the central point embodying multiple roles as:
1
the consumer of the service and experience;
2
the co-creator of the experience and value;
3
the co-creator of the experience space; and
4
the extractor and judge of the value at the same time.
The key principle therefore is to recognize the individual tourist as the dynamic hub, around
which companies, stakeholders and other consumers orbit. In advancing the theoretical argu-
ment, recent literature suggests a myriad of possibilities of interactions, as consumers not only
co-create with companies but also among each other (Baron and Harris 2010; Baron and
Warnaby 2011; Huang and Hsu 2010). Organizations thus need to nurture an environment that
facilitates not only its interactions with consumers (B2C), but allows for interactions among con-
sumers and consumer communities (C2C). Accordingly, the tourism industry has unprecedented
opportunities to facilitate co-created experiences and value on multiple levels of engagement
and spaces. As consumers are in a constant search for experiences, co-creation represents a
unique source of added value, innovation and competitive advantage ( Shaw et al . 2011). While
it is still fairly novel, Neuhofer et al . (2012) however urge that the tourism industry needs to
strategically innovate and identify new sources to add value to co-creation experiences by
means of instrumentalising technologies. With a plethora of ICTs available, consumers are always
connected, which unfolds new possibilities for tourists to proactively co-create experiences
and value in every step of the consumption process. The co-creation environment must
therefore embrace the potential brought by emerging ICTs (van Limburg 2012). This chapter, in
having reviewed the developments until the point of co-creation, now turns to introducing
technologies as a strategic means for the creation of technology enhanced tourism experiences,
marking a novel era for tourism marketing.
Experience 3.0: technology enhanced tourism experiences - a new paradigm
for tourism marketing
In recent years it has become evident that consumer empowerment and co-creation have been
particularly fostered by one factor, namely technology. ICTs have caused a drastic impact by
changing not only society and industries but by transforming the nature of service and experience
provision. In light of this evolution, we need to understand how to exploit the full potential of
ICTs, as an integral part for the creation of contemporary tourism experiences and value. The
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