Leisure and Tourism Experiences

Professor: Marcel Bastiaansen PhD and full professor
Research topic: measurement and design of leisure and tourism experiences and their impacts

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In our professorship, we aim to understand and measure leisure and tourism experiences and their impact on people.

We develop theoretical models and novel research methodologies to determine when and how these experiences become memorable, meaningful, or even transformative. We measure (1) the impact that experiences have on thoughts and emotions as well as subsequent behaviour (e.g. revisits or recommendations), and (2) long-term experience impacts related to subjective well-being and quality of life.

The professorship centres around BUas’ Experience Lab which hosts state-of-the-art tools for measuring and designing leisure and tourism experiences. Experience measurement tools are based on neuroscientific, psychophysiological, and experimental-psychological research methods, and include EEG, skin conductance, eye tracking, experience reconstruction, alongside more traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods. We focus, among other things, on developing indices of attentional and emotional engagement during experiences. Using wearable technology, measurements take place not just in the lab but also in the field, for example, during a rollercoaster ride, a visit to a museum, or while attending a sports or e-sports event. Measurements are mapped out over time and space using outdoor and indoor positioning systems, allowing for an objective, spatiotemporally fine-grained measurement of experiences, and their impact on people. Experience design tools include Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) and storytelling.

This professorship is closely linked to the professorships of Storytelling and Digital Media Concepts, and is part of the BUas-wide research theme of Experience Research and Design.

The research team consists of, among others: