Packaging places: Designing heritage trails using an experience economy perspective to maximize visitor engagement

Abstract

Heritage trails are a unifying mechanism within the urban cultural tourism landscape and this article explores these tourism products against the principles of experience design suggested by Pine and Gilmore. 1 Content analysis of trail brochures and leaflets incorporated both qualitative and quantitative dimensions in order to ascertain whether these are positioned as products or experiences. The results indicate that whilst trails utilize some of the approaches recommended by Pine and Gilmore, 2 there is still considerable scope for improvement in terms of their positioning and presentational format, if they are to maximize their potential.