A MODEL OF ‘CREATIVE EXPERIENCE’ IN CREATIVE TOURISM

This study explores the essence of ‘creativity’ in ‘creative tourism’ from a tourist perspective. Creative tourism is receiving an increasing amount of attention, although the concept remains rather vague, and more research is needed. Data was collected using in-depth interviews with tourists and observations at four ‘Creative Life Industry’ sites in Taiwan. Grounded theory approach was employed, and the findings show that ‘outer interactions’ and ‘inner reflections’ construct the model of tourists’ creative experience. The former refer to tourists’ interactions with ‘environment’, ‘people’, and ‘product/service/experience’, while the latter refer to ‘consciousness/awareness’, ‘needs’ and ‘creativity’, and these dimensions ‘interact’ in tourists’ inner-self throughout the experience. Moreover, ‘consciousness/awareness’ is a prerequisite for ‘creative experience’, differentiating it from other types of experiences.