Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore wrote a book called The Experience Economy (2005) that examined how the economic value of services was changing. The authors hypothesized that our economy (and consumers) were becoming more interested in experiences rather than services. They outlined a “Progression of Economic Value” (p. 1) that begins with commodities (raw materials), goods (physical objects), services (intangible activity), and experiences (memorable events).
This specifically relates to leisure opportunities as we are often in the business of providing services (coordinating / planning expeditions and other activities). Leisure practitioners also aim to provide experiences that our participants participate in often, we hope, to change a perspective or behavior or provide positive “free time” activity. A final level in Gilmore and Pine’s “Progression of Economic Value” is transformation, otherwise known as demonstrated change. This is a big piece of some leisure practitioner’s duty as challenge course facilitators, expedition guides, and wilderness therapists (to name ONLY a few), often are charged with building relationships and changing behaviors in their participants.
Wilderness therapists may focus on refocusing negative behaviors, like teen drug-use, and re-positioning the teen to have a humbling, eye-opening experience that shows a life without substance abuse. Challenge course facilitators often focus on frontloading or debriefing experiences that force (challenge by choice, of course) participants to work together and face their fears and obstacles. Then the facilitator attempts to relate the experience to “real-world” obstacles in hopes that the experience transfers and the participant goes home with changed.
With this focus, it falls on the practitioner to offer safe, but perceived risky experiences and then to have a plan to create demonstrable change whereby the participant goes home having vivid, memorable experiences while also successfully attempting to show change. A practitioner may not have to change much of what they already do, but to be aware and focus on the experience and transformation aspects of their experiences can only help provide better services.
That's an interesting take on the shift of the economic climate in the leisure profession. I have to agree that most are looking for an experience. The night life scene is booming from this shift. It seems to me that in the past people went out just to socialize, but in the example of my dad's cousin he found a niche in this market by creating an Irish Pub. The people in Fargo, ND wanted an experience rather than just a place to play pool or hang out with friends. It seems that the experience aspect is the next wave of recreation.
ReplyDelete