Experience economy and co-creation in a cultural heritage festival: consumers’ views

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of the experience economy and co-creation concepts on cultural heritage festivals (CHFs) and to examine the process of the on-site (co-)creation of experience of the festival participants. To fulfill this aim, empirical data is collected through 26 qualitative interviews within the context of a single case study. The Medieval Town of Rhodes (MTR) (Greece) -as a cultural heritage consumption setting- constitutes the case study. The Medieval Rose Festival (MRF), an annual cultural, re-enactment event taking place in the MTR serves as the case’s unit of analysis. The attendees’ views of their MRF-experience were investigated and it was examined whether they were consistent with any of the three generations of the experience economy emphasizing co-creation of experience. The analysis of the data shows that the characteristics of all three generations of the experience economy are found in the CHF services in the MTR. Based on the findings, the CIF model (C: ‘Context-, I: ‘Interactions,’ F: ‘Feelings) was formed. This model illustrates the intertwining, multi-faceted dimensions of the optimal CHF-experience that festival organizers should provide to their customers. Such a model has not yet been reported.