RES E ARC H
Emotions play a key role in how visitors remember an experience. Wim Strijbosch shares the findings from his research
I
’ll never forget my first visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. Although it was more than a decade ago, I distinctly remember how I experienced it and how I felt when I was there.
Understanding how visitors remember their
experiences is key in the world of attractions. Visitors can’t recommend attractions to others or decide to visit again if they can’t remember them. The question, then, is how to ensure experiences are as memorable as possible. In my PhD research (Strijbosch, 2022), built on the work of many others, I explored the factors that determine how an experience is remembered. Using questionnaires and state-ofthe-art electrophysiological equipment, I studied how emotions wax and wane during leisure experiences, and how these emotions relate to the way people remember their experiences,
The world of experience
Experience is a complex concept. On the one hand, experience can be understood as a verb, referring to the continuous sensing and feeling in the hereand-now. When awake, we continuously attend to stimuli both from the world around us and from
PHOTO: DISNEY
within ourselves, resulting in a flux of experiencing.
80
attractionsmanagement.com Vol 28 / ISSUE 4
PHOTO: BREDA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Making Memories