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A nice vacation: Variations in experience aspirations and travel careers

Department of Environmental and Business Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Niels Bohrs Vej 9, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark Tel: +45 65504139; Fax: +45 65501091; bsb{at}sam.sdu.dk

This article focuses on tourists' vacation experiences - both in the form of their experience aspirations and in terms of actual ‘lived’ experiences. The qualitative study upon which the article draws suggests a series of ways in which everyday life contexts (and especially stages in the family life cycle) profoundly impact the experiences that people aspire for during their vacations. Even more importantly, informants' accounts for their travel careers suggest that informants are very conscious about the type of experiences they wish(ed) for at different times during their lives. Thus, informants seem to be very aware that the broad spectrum of vacations one can take qualifies as a ‘repertoire of experiencescapes’. The article introduces and discusses the ways in which stages in the family life cycle (and other aspects of everyday life) influence which types of vacations people prefer and which experiences they seek. Finally, implications hereof for vacation marketers are discussed.

Key Words: experience • family life cycle • travel career • travel motivations

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