Boring and expensive: The challenge of developing experience-based tourism in the Inland region, Norway

• An increase focus on experiences and experience-based tourism by tourism operators
• High-cost destinations are dependent on staging unique experiences.
• Destinations should follow economic progression to establish competitive position.
• Memorable experiences cannot be staged if underlying levels are not considered.
• Storytelling as a method should be embraced in experience-based tourism.

In 1999 Pine and Gilmore argued that in the contemporary world economic success in service industries requires memorable experiences. Although not considered to be an entirely new phenomenon in tourism, their work has given a new impetus to the study of travellers who are no longer satisfied with “just a visit” but who wish to consume experiences rather than products. This article explores the potentials of experience-based tourism in the region of the Inland, located on the east side of Norway. Adopting a qualitative approach, an analysis was undertaken based on an “experience economic framework”. The result indicates that the progression of economic value is not only useful to illustrate general economic development, but also relevant in the destination competitiveness context. Thus, destinations that seek to focus on experience-based tourism must also consider the other underlying levels or “economies” of commodities, goods and services because memorable experiences cannot be staged if other prerequisites are ignored.