The Leisure Experience RLS 300 Lecture 2

The Leisure Experience What is a leisure experience? The Experience Economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) Agricultural/Agrarian economy Goods-based economy Service economy Experience economy Transformation economy

The Leisure Experience We are at the heart of commercial leisure experiences. Where can one go here to have a leisure experience? Pine and Gilmore (1999) suggest that service providers can be considered actors staging an experience for participants. Service providers give structure to the program, which will impact the client’s experience.

Phases of the Leisure Experience Anticipation Marketing Individuals get an image of what to expect Participation The actual event Reflection Telling other’s what you’ve experienced Personal thoughts and ideas regarding the event

The Leisure Experience BIG QUESTIONS OF THE DAY: How do we make these experiences happen? How do we evaluate whether one has had a leisure experience?

Symbolic Interactionism “Leisure experiences are believed to be dynamic and to emerge throughout the interaction process” (Lee and Shafer, 2002). We are engaged in a social process Interaction Constructing meaning Creating a meaning Situational interpretation of objects

Symbolic Interactionism We are involved in a social production of meaning Symbols, words, meanings, language Understanding the social process is critical to planning a leisure experience. We must be able to effectively produce an occasion that is meaningful for the participants.