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The purpose of this study was to develop and test a scale that can measure the co-creation experience, resulting value, and behavioral intentions in MEI. The study addresses six objectives: (1) To propose a framework of co-creation, (2) To evaluate what constructs of co-creation are needed, (3) To analyze how and what value is created, (4) To evaluate how co-creation impacts behavioral intentions, (5) To evaluate how value impacts behavioral intentions, and (6) To create a model that tests the co-creation experience and resulting value and behavioral intentions in MEI. This dissertation employed a mixed-method approach. A qualitative study was conducted to develop and define the constructs, wherein a survey was developed. The survey led into the quantitative portion of the study, which measured co-creation, so a scale was created and tested. Statistical analyses consisted of exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and partial least squares structural equation modeling. Study results indicate that the developed co-creation scale is reliable and identified what dimensions of co-creation exist with MEI. The research findings suggest that co-creation can be used to facilitate more interactive experiences within the museum, exhibition, and installation environment. Co-creation not only encourages greater interaction but leads to enhanced value and positive behavioral intentions. This study provided a better understanding of the co-creation experience including how attendees co-create, and how to enhance the value added which can impact behavioral intentions. By identifying the constructs to measure co-creation, value, and behavioral intentions, event designs may be planned to stimulate true co-creation, welcoming the interaction and input from all actors. This study provided a "Collage of Co-Creation" which can direct future research to develop a comprehensive scale of co-creation.

The objectives of this dissertation was to 1) develop a comprehensive scale to measure visitors' imagination, 2) investigate the structural relationship between imagination and tourism destination image (TDI) components of cognitive, affective, and conative, 3) compare and contrast the various qualities of vividness, richness, saliency, control, and spatial between imagination and prospection, and 4) study the impact of different information sources on the evolving process of prospection to imagination. By conducting four different studies and seven data collection phases, the imagination scale was developed, validated, and utilized to test the proposed structural and differential hypotheses. In study 1, the phenomenology approach was employed and through a series of interviews, the internal experience of the imagination process was extracted. In study 2, which is composed of two focus groups, the potential manifest variables to measure imagination/prospection were developed and the structure of the questionnaire was designed. In study 3, through 3 data collection phases, two versions of long and short imagination scale questionnaire were validated and the structural relationships between imagination and destination image was investigated. In the final study, utilizing experimental design, hypotheses related to five qualities of imagination were compared to those of prospection. Finally, by adopting an exploratory approach, the impact of different information sources on imagination was investigated. The results of this dissertation indicated that the imagination scale is a reliable and valid scale to be used in various hospitality and tourism consumption contexts. It shows a high discriminant validity with TDI and structurally moderates the inter-relationships of the TDI components. In addition, findings of this dissertation support the theoretical discussions on the differences between imagination and prospection. Finally, the results revealed significant distinctions among image, video, and textual information sources regarding their impact on the quality of the mental image.

This Master Thesis examines the experiences and motivations of solo travelers prior to, during as well as after the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 250 solo travelers completed a designed survey, and in addition eight solo travelers were in-depth interviewed regarding their solo travel experiences in connection to COVID-19. Having used a mixed method approach, content analysis has been chosen to be the most suitable analysis for this thesis, identifying patterns throughout the survey as well as the interviews answering the research question: Which overall impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on solo travel?  Prior to the pandemic, the main motivations for solo travel were identified as independence, flexibility, personal growth, self-actualization, and the desire for freedom. The primary constraints were financial limitations, safety concerns about certain destinations, fear of being alone, and anxiety about not having assistance in challenging situations. Despite these constraints, participants reported positive experiences and deemed solo travel as worthwhile, as it allowed them to overcome internal fears and limitations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel destinations were limited due to restrictions, and destination choices were influenced by the accessibility and perceived handling of the pandemic by governments. Solo travelers sought destinations with fewer COVID-19 restrictions than their place of residence. Additional stress was associated with solo travel, including the need for proper documentation, COVID-19 tests, and vaccines. However, participants found it easier to travel solo during the pandemic compared to traveling with companions due to logistical challenges and restrictions on group activities. Respondents acknowledged the need for a higher budget and mental preparedness for unexpected changes in travel plans and potential COVID-19 exposure. The motivation to travel during the pandemic stemmed from the desire to escape the lockdown situation in the respondents' home countries and regain a sense of normality. The German concept of "Fernweh," the longing to be somewhere else, was mentioned as a driving force. The pandemic heightened awareness of the unpredictability and uncertainty of future travel, leading to a greater appreciation for the freedom and independence of solo travel. Post-pandemic, respondents expressed a heightened interest in solo travel, with a focus on regaining independence and making travel decisions based on personal preferences rather than travel restrictions. The constraints of traveling solo, such as not having a companion or fear of being alone, became less significant after the pandemic. Participants anticipated increased interactions and a desire to meet fellow solo travelers, indicating a shift towards more social engagement in the post-COVID-19 era.

Due to information overload and the homogenization of tourism experiences, destinations need to stand out from competitors by engaging tourists early on from the pre-trip stage. Pre-consumption experiences created by marketing messages are especially important for the tourism industry due to the intangibility and high perceived risk of experiential products. The persuasive power of storytelling has increasingly been recognized by tourism practitioners as storytelling can be used to communicate with tourists the values and attractiveness of the destination while creating a sense of exploration and emotional connections. However, few efforts have been made to understand the persuasion process and outcomes of storytelling in tourism research. Tourism practitioners generally have difficulty understanding and measuring the impact of storytelling. Moreover, studies are inconsistent concerning the comparative effectiveness of storytelling and fact-based messages. This study, therefore, aims to examine the comparative effectiveness of storytelling and fact-based messages in marketing different types of tourism experiences, the effect of message format on tourists' transportation, emotions, attitudes toward the destination, and behavioral intentions as well as the mediating effect of transportation on the persuasion process. To address the study purpose, a conceptual framework was proposed to demonstrate the relationships among message format, transportation, and related outcomes (i.e., emotions, attitudes toward the destination, and behavioral intentions). A web-based between-subjects experimental design was conducted, and data were collected through MTurk online panel. Anderson & Gerbing's two-step approach was used to assess the proposed model and hypotheses. The study results suggest that message format significantly influences the level of transportation experienced by the message recipients, with storytelling messages generating significantly higher levels of transportation than fact-based messages. Transportation significantly influences emotions, attitudes toward the destination, and behavioral intentions (i.e., the intention to collect information about the destination, the intention to recommend the destination, and the visit intention). More importantly, the study showed that transportation is a key mediator of the relationships between message format and persuasion outcomes. This study contributes to the current body of narrative persuasion research by extending the research context to destination marketing and the experience industry in general. The study findings forward the knowledge on the impacts of message format on tourists' narrative transportation, emotions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions as well as the effect of transportation on the persuasion process. While providing important theoretical implications, this study responds to the recent rise of stories in tourism practice and offers valuable practical implications for tourism practitioners in designing effective marketing communication messages.

This thesis seeks to establish core design elements for use by theme park designers to complement the guidelines established by Ledbetter and his colleagues for theme parks. Building upon Rose Biggin's "strands of enquiry" for examining immersive theatre, the suggested core design elements for immersive theme park queues serve as guidance to craft queues where audiences can actively engage with the queue's storyworld and narrative. Implementation of the core design elements alongside the already established queue design guidelines should assist designers in crafting queues that minimize discomfort and maximize narrative immersion. Theme parks offer location-based narrative landscapes, often contributing to transmedia storytelling across a wide variety of media, especially those based in film and television. In this capacity, "immersive lands" and their attractions serve as "diegetic worlds" where guests enter into a physical manifestation of fiction. These lands and attractions increasingly embrace forms of interactivity including digital and video game interfaces. The queue experience of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance serves as a case study to examine contemporary queue design choices and further develop the design elements. Established as a canon theme park experience in a wider transmedia narrative, it also serves as a lens through which to see the core design elements in action along with forecasting future queue design considerations across a spectrum of scalability.

Loyalty programs are ubiquitous in the hotel industry, and many consumers are members of multiple loyalty programs. However, in the hospitality and tourism field, the research that examines multi-brand loyalty is scant. Therefore, this dissertation examines the multi-brand loyalty of hotel loyalty program members by examining how consumers divide their spending across multiple programs. This study used a multi-phase approach. First, a content analysis was conducted to evaluate current practices of loyalty programs. Second, a quantitative research method was adopted. Empirical data was collected from 330 respondents. The conceptual relationships among perceived value, experience satisfaction, loyalty, and share of wallet were analyzed through structural equation modeling. A loyalty matrix using attitudinal and behavioral measures was created, and each dimension was evaluated. This study found a significant impact of perceived value and satisfaction on attitudinal loyalty and share of wallet. Additionally, when mapped on a loyalty-continuum matrix, the majority of respondents exhibit high attitudinal loyalty but were split equally between low and high behavioral loyalty. The present study provides important implications. Theoretically, the content analysis found that most loyalty programs provide little differentiation from each other. Similarly, the results from the survey showed that consumers perceive the value of their loyalty programs to be similar. This current study found support for the applicability of the loyalty matrix on hotel loyalty program members with multiple memberships. It also extends the typology by introducing share of wallet to represent actual behavioral loyalty. Practically, this study offers suggestions on how loyalty programs can provide differentiation in the market. The study suggests opportunities on how managers can improve marketing strategies by segmenting customers in a more multi-dimensional way to increase loyalty and share of wallet.

This thesis project explores the application of Universal Design principles to the development of purpose-built rest and play spaces within United States theme parks that provide places of refuge for children with autism and their families. The goal is to offer ideas on how to create spaces where families and individuals can take a break from the over-stimulation of the traditional theme park environment in an area that has been specifically designed with their sensory needs in mind. Though the target demographic for these spaces is children with autism and their families, the ideas offered to create space will not be limited: these spaces will be available to all theme park visitors, providing a space for young children to play, parents to relax, nurse or feed infants, and adults to recharge throughout the day. The overall design of the space will be informed by Universal Design concepts that promote widespread use by individuals of varying needs, utilizing materials, colors, construction methods and flexibility of use to ensure that the space is as accessible as possible for a diverse user group.

Previous literature echoes the notion that destination marketing organizations (DMOs) play a critical role in ensuring a desired tourism development scenario. To date, the performance measurement of destination marketing organizations is paralleled to financial indicators or operations, ignoring the presence and quality of relationships among DMOs and tourism stakeholders. Based on the premise of social capital theory, it is argued that social capital and the inter-organizational relationships between DMOs and tourism stakeholders can influence the success of tourism efforts in a destination, which in return is a contributing factor to the DMOs success as an organization. Furthermore, broader literature indicates that inter-organizational relationships moderate the influence of social capital in the success of the organizations. Yet, there is no empirical evidence on how these factors influence the success of U. S. DMOs. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the role of social capital and inter-organizational relationships and their impact on the DMO and its success. A quantitative approach was employed for this study. The targeted population was DMO stakeholders in the United States. A web-based survey was designed and administered, adapting established scales from prior literature. Social capital was measured by its cognitive, relational, and structural dimensions, while inter-organizational relationships were measured by their trust, power symmetry, and commitment dimensions. A previously validated measurement instrument of success was also utilized as stakeholder satisfaction for measuring DMOs' success. Data were cleaned with SPSS v 24.0 and analyzed with Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the study indicate that both cognitive social capital and relational social capital have a positive impact on the success of the DMO. Additionally, the study indicates that the structural aspect of social capital was found not to influence the success of the DMO. The study results also showed that inter-organizational relationships did not moderate the relationship between social capital and DMO success. However, two of the components of IOR indicated a positive impact on DMO success. The results of the study offer practitioners and academicians valuable insights into the indicators that influence the mechanism of DMOs success. Furthermore, the study contributes to the advancement of tourism literature by broadening the understanding of the success of destination marketing organizations. Lastly, the study shed light on the prominence of stakeholder-oriented marketing approaches for DMOs, highlighting the synergy created by these relationships.

This study focuses on the consumers' brand equity of the tourism development Giga project in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Qiddiya project's perspective. Tourism in Saudi Arabia one of the pillars of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, to contribute to diversifying the base of the national economy, attract investments, increase sources of income, and provide job opportunities for citizens, as the sector is witnessing rapid growth thanks to plans to promote the tourism sector. The Vision 2030 is a social and economic strategic long-term program by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to diversify the nation's economy and stimulate numerous changes in its social and economic sectors. This study measures the Qiddiya project's brand equity (Authenticity, Association, Awareness, Image, and loyalty) between males and females in Saudi Arabia to understand Qiddiya brand equity and ways to develop the tourism sector. This study has been chosen because Saudi citizens are experiencing the Qiddiya project in Riyadh and tourism development in the country. The sampling target for this study included only Saudi citizens who have traveled abroad in the past three years for leisure and 18 years or older. The findings of this study focus on providing a view of Qiddiya's brand equity and determining if there are significant differences between males and females. These results showed significant differences between males and females regarding brand awareness, perceived quality, perceived value, and brand loyalty (Intention to Visit and Recommend). However, no significant differences were found regarding brand authenticity, brand association, and brand image. This significant contribution of this study is the advancement of the theoretical and practical viewpoints of brand equity for a Giga Tourism Project in Saudi Arabia. Especially since previous tourism in Saudi Arabia mainly examines either the impacts of tourism development or religious tourism. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge by considering the residents' perception of a new experiential product for domestic visitors that engage with Qiddiya. The study also provides recommendations to tourism stakeholders to manage brand equity between males and females given their differences in perceptions. In addition, this study provides useful information for destination managers to better understand citizens' perceptions of new domestic tourism experiences in Saudi Arabia and their intention to consume.