How meaningful is your visitor experience?

In this new era of travel, people are actively seeking experiences that enrich, awaken and transform them, and, eventually, the world.
Tourism & Events Queensland

I have been exploring more about this buzz (and demand) around meaningful and transformational experiences, which has been inspired by the work I have the privilege of doing with Tourism & Events Queensland under their Transformational Experiences Mentoring Program.

I have also been reflecting on the many great experiences that I have had across Australia and beyond and, to be frank, I can only remember a couple that I would classify as meaningful or transformational.

Recently I had the opportunity to go to Bali with my teenage daughter and, whilst this is not a destination I would ever imagine visiting, I experienced transformation on one particular day. The Tirta Empul Temple is a significant cultural site in Bali dedicated to Vishnu, who is the Hindu god of water. The name of the temple means ‘holy water spring’ in Balinese. Whilst it was quite busy with visitors, the transformation for me came from our local guide who shared with us the culture and invited us to take part in their holy practice. This enriched me, it awakened me, it transformed me.

I am even more inspired to support more destinations and operators across regional Australia to elevate their experience/s!

How meaningful or transformational is your experience?

Have you considered how you can shift your current experience offering to be more meaningful?

Why should we invest our little time and energy into this when we are already busy?

If you are asking this question I encourage you to watch the video below where Jo Pine clearly explains the shift from the Experience Economy to the Transformation Economy.

Destinations must transform in order to be magnets for visitors and residents, and our ability to do so relies on doubling down on experiences. What worked yesterday, however, is likely not going to work today. Too many forces have shifted. So, what do destinations need to do?

If this does not inspire you to take action I am not sure what will.

Tip for those short on time: You don’t need to watch the video – put it on 1.25 speed and listen to the audio whilst you are driving or go out for a walk/run and listen. I listened whilst I was trail running – this is when my brain works most creatively 🙂

Here are a few key moments that resonated with me and got my creative juices flowing…

3 minutes: Progression of economic value – Jo explains the shift that is happening in the economy – value is moving from services to experiences. We are currently in an experience economy. Experiences are a distinct economic offering! 

9.08 minutes: Jo asks three questions that gets us thinking about the experience economy. 

The third question ‘Is the money customers pay you derived entirely from the sale of commodities, goods and services, or have you found ways to explicitly charge fees for various experiences?’ is a pertinent one and key discussion that I often find myself having with farmers who are looking to diversify into tourism. It is hard for them to get their head around charging for an experience because they are so used to selling commodities and exchanging a physical product. 

10.26 minutes: We are no longer just competing with businesses within our region, state or country, we now compete against the world as we shift further in an experience economy. You compete for peoples time, attention and money. You need to create experiences that become your marketing – as a destination or a business great experiences will be your marketing!! The experiences will make people want to come to you! 

15:30 minutes: rise of authenticity – authentic has become the new consumer sensibility. Jo talks about two things you should ask yourself to determine how authentic you are being…

1. Are you being true to yourself 
2. Being what you say you are

23:00 – Jo explains the shift we are now in, from a service economy to a transformation economy.

He talks about how change is hard so people are looking to companies for help – he explains what consumers are looking for in terms of transformation and why they are looking for it. We want to be better humans!

Transformational experiences are a different mindset and one that we need to shift into. 

From 26:11 minutes he shares some great examples of how companies progress through the economic value ladder to ultimately add a transformational experience/s. 

36:25 minutes: Jo explains that transformation is about achieving aspirations and talks about how we need to look at our customers, residents, visitors etc and think about what they are aspiring to become. Only then can we start to design experiences that will help them achieve that aspiration. It’s about the outcomes that people are looking for in themselves. 

40 minutes: Jo outlines the core elements in the transformation economy

Health and well being 

Wealth and prosperity

Wisdom and understanding 

Purpose and meaning 

42 minutes: Jo explains the important effect of time on economic value. The states that the worst thing you can do is waste peoples time (we already have enough time wasters…helllooo Telstra!). He explains that when you offer transformation experiences your customers are feeling that their time is well invested. He links this to how destinations are now charging a fee to visit e.g. Venice, and why this works. 

I hope that this has got you thinking.

If you have had a meaningful or transformational experience please share in the comments below and I’ll add it to my bucket list 😉