Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
only be created with and determined by the user in the consumption process and through use
or what is referred to as value-in-use' (Lusch and Vargo 2006: 284).
By partaking in value creation, the tourists' capabilities are converted into value for both
parties (guest and host). Woodruff (1997) claims that consumers' perceptions of value are based
on an evaluation of the trade-off between 'what they get' (perceived benefi ts, quality and
performance) and 'what they give'. Value is not what the fi rm produces, but the perceived
benefi ts over the costs, i.e. perceived benefi ts over sacrifi ces (Eggert and Ulaga 2002). However,
a recent study by Prebensen
et al
. (2013b) contends that sacrifi ces and costs, such as time and
effort, within one empirical setting (visiting a dentist or a lawyer) may be viewed as a benefi t in
other settings, e.g. a tourist trip. Their study outlines and tests various experience-relevant
resources, such as service quality, price, effort, time spent and customer involvement, on overall
experience evaluation. The study shows that the time spent and effort made, normally viewed as
costs or sacrifi ces in the consumer behaviour literature, have a positive effect on overall experience
value. Therefore, resources such as time and effort should not only be treated as costs for the
customer, but as providing value through partaking in value creation.
How people interact
In order to understand consumption practices, Holt (1995: 1) asks 'what do people do when they
consume?' Founded on participant observation at baseball games, Holt explores and classifi es
consumption practices based on the structure (how) and the purpose (why) of actions. Holt's
(1995) model has been discussed in other empirical settings, e.g. investments (Allen and McGoun
2000; Prebensen 2007) and in networks (Prebensen 2012). Viewed from the perspective of these
works and in relation to the theoretical discussion above regarding customer participation in
creating value, Holt's (1995) model provides a framework for analysing tourist interaction activities
and processes. The focus is on the action of the actors in creating experience value. The Holt (1995:
3) model includes a typology of consumption practices, labelled as 'experiencing, integration, play
and classifi cation', which are based on the purpose and the structure of the action. The purpose of
the action deals with 'autotelic' and 'instrumental' actions, while the structure of the action includes
actions towards objects (object actions) or people (interdependent actions).
The model can be described within a tourism framework. When tourists make sense of and
respond to an object at the destination or the destination in itself (autotelic/object action), Holt
describes them using a 'consuming-as-experience' metaphor. The tourists use various interpretive
frameworks to experience a certain object at the destination, through accounting, i.e. summing
up incidences, evaluating and appreciating the object or event. In contrast with consuming-as-
experience, 'consuming-as-integration' (instrumental/object action) is about the spectators' use
of the object as an instrument to enhance their identity. Integrating practices, i.e. assimilation,
production and personalization, are used to break down distances between the consumer and
the object. When an object at the destination is used as a resource to interact with fellow
tourists, the metaphor 'consuming-as-play' (interpersonal/autotelic) is utilized. Among tourists,
two types of play are prevalent, that is communing and socializing. The fourth metaphor,
'consuming-as-classifi cation' (interpersonal/instrumental), refers to situations in which the
tourists use the object to classify themselves. Classifying practices provide the means to build
affi liation and to enhance distinction, and the tourists do so through objects or through actions.
Tourists often use symbols, e.g. clothing and stories, in order to classify themselves.
Tourists represent their own (and maybe their family's) goals and purposes (e.g. learning
about and experiencing novel places, socializing, enjoying life, gaining friends and acquaintances,
relaxing). Discovering why and how tourists act in the way they do would generate new
