The role of sensory stimuli in urban tourism experience construction

Li, Huahua (2025) The role of sensory stimuli in urban tourism experience construction. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Urban tourism has emerged as a significant contributor to economic development and cultural exchange in cities worldwide. As competition intensifies in the global tourism market, cities are actively innovating to differentiate themselves by crafting distinctive visitor experiences. Within this context, given the inherently multisensory nature of tourism experiences, the multisensory urban environment has become a central focus. However, the strategic planning of specific sensory elements within urban tourism settings has been largely overlooked within tourism scholarship, hindering efforts to enhance tourism experiences through effective management and planning. This dissertation thus aims to address this gap by examining the multisensorial experiences of visitors in urban destinations, thereby providing insights into the ways urban tourism experience might be enhanced through city planning and management.

The overall purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how different sensory elements shape tourists' experience construction in urban destinations, using Chinese tourists' visits to European cities as the research context. To achieve this aim, three research questions are proposed as follows: 1) What are the themes, contents (elements) and features of urban tourism sensory experiences? 2) How do different sensory elements influence tourists’ evaluative experience of an urban space and how does this effect differ across different urban spaces? 3) How do different sensory elements further impact tourists’ understanding and interpretative experience towards an urban destination and which factors take effect during this process? To address these research questions, three sequential studies were conducted, utilizing a mixed-methods approach incorporating a range of methods from large-scale data analytics to in-depth qualitative interviews to capture both the depth and breadth of multisensory urban tourism experiences. Several key findings emerged:

First, in Study One, travel blogs from the 12 most popular European cities among Chinese tourists on travel platforms (Ctrip and Mafengwo) were analysed using text analysis methods. Six themes were identified, with each theme characterising underlying sensory elements that significantly contribute to shaping diverse aspects of tourism experience. Four key features of urban tourism sensory experiences were subsequently summarized. These findings offer a comprehensive picture of the sensory landscape within urban tourism, establishing a robust foundation for understanding how tourists perceive and engage with city environments through their multi-sensory experiences.

Subsequently, the second study analysed Chinese online reviews from Ctrip and Mafengwo for tourism attractions across twelve European cities (the same as in Study One). These attractions were further categorized into different urban spaces. Study Two aims to understand how the sensory elements identified in Study One influence visitors' evaluations within specific urban space and the spatial variability of such influence. Through analysis of review sentiment and statistical methods, findings of Study Two firstly disclosed the most influential sensory elements that impact tourists’ evaluations within each individual urban space. And secondly revealed how the impact of these sensory elements varies across different urban spaces, demonstrating that the same sensory stimulus can elicit disparate responses depending on the spatial context. The relationship between spatial character and tourism sensory experiences was accordingly disclosed. This nuanced understanding of space-dependent sensory perceptions and evaluation offers a valuable framework for designing targeted sensory interventions in various urban environments.

Finally, Study Three, employing interviews and observations of Chinese tourists in London, sought to move beyond the quantitative focus of Study One and Two, so as to describe the ways various urban sensory elements collectively shape tourists' understanding and interpretative experiences of the city. Six dimensions underpinning Chinese tourists' understanding of London were identified, each emerging from multisensory experiences tourists encountered during travel. Sensory stimuli were also found to evoke tourists' reflections on broader city characteristics (e.g., political system), while potential antecedent factors shaping these experiences were also uncovered. By revealing the interplay between sensory inputs and broader reflective thinking, these findings offer a nuanced understanding of how tourists actively construct their urban experiences through sensory engagement, providing insights into the subjective and dynamic nature of sensory perception in cities.

By synthesizing the findings of these three studies, this dissertation also provides additional insights into the impact of negative sensory elements on tourist experiences, demonstrating how such 'negative' encounters are integral to a holistic understanding of urban environments. Moreover, the concept of the ‘sensory gaze’ was proposed and identified across the three studies, prompting a reconsideration and expansion of the existing understanding of the tourist gaze and its role within the hermeneutic circle in tourism study.

Collectively, this dissertation makes theoretical contribution in four ways. First, it expands the scope of sensory experience composition in tourism by turning attention to the urban context, revealing how the unique sensory characteristics of city environments shape and influence tourists' experiences. Secondly, it advances a new conceptual framework for understanding the multifaceted impacts of urban sensory elements in shaping tourists’ experiences. By incorporating spatial variability and interpretive processes, this dissertation contributes to deeper understanding of tourist engagement within urban sensory environments. Thirdly, this dissertation advances the field by investigating the antecedents that influence tourists' sensory experiences, shedding light on the multi-dimensional nature of sensory perception formation in tourism contexts. Lastly, this dissertation advances the conceptualization of the hermeneutic circle in tourism by integrating a multisensory dimension, providing valuable insights of how tourists interact with and perceived cities.

Practically, this dissertation contributes to understanding of urban tourism sensory experiences that hold value for planners and managers in cities. For example, it recommends creating 'Sensory Urban Trails' that showcase the city's multisensory aspects, as well as the implementation of 'Sensory Zoning Plan' to ensure harmonious integration of sensory elements with urban spaces. These insights empower tourism planners to enhance visitor experiences in ways that value and celebrate a places culture and identity.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure; H Social Sciences > HF Commerce; H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
• Supervisor's Name: de Jong, Dr. Anna and Tiberghien, Dr. Guillaume
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-84925
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 26 Feb 2025 10:20
• Last Modified: 26 Feb 2025 10:20
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84925
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84925