Vol. 8 No. 3 (2023): Turkish Journal of Marketing
Articles

The role of customer-service personnel interaction in the memorable tourism experience

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  • Erdem Özkan
Erdem Özkan
ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY/FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION/DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS/DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30685/tujom.v8i3.187

Published 09/25/2023

Keywords

  • Customer Experience, Memorable Tourism Experience, Service Experience Co-Creation, Netnography, Analytic Hierarchy Process
  • Müşteri Deneyimi, Hatırlanabilir Turizm Deneyimi, Birlikte Hizmet Deneyimi Oluşturma, Netnografi, Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci

How to Cite

Özkan, E. (2023). The role of customer-service personnel interaction in the memorable tourism experience. Turkish Journal of Marketing, 8(3), 75–105. https://doi.org/10.30685/tujom.v8i3.187

Copyright (c) 2023 Erdem Özkan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The study aims to determine the role of customer-service personnel interaction in memorable tourism experiences. The study also aims to identify the factors that shape the memorable tourism experience due to service personnel-customer interaction, examine these factors based on positive and negative experiences, and reveal their importance. The research design utilizes a mixed methodology. Accordingly, netnography and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methods are combined in the design. Online user reviews representing the memorable tourism experiences of customers who stayed in boutique hotels located in the destinations within the research scope were obtained and analyzed according to the netnography method. The themes and categories identified with this method and the relative importance levels of those categories were analyzed using the AHP method. As a result of the study, three main themes were identified in forming memorable tourism experiences based on customer-service personnel interaction. These themes are experiences from interactions at the service process stages, experiences from general attitudes and behaviours of service personnel, and experiences from service personnel qualifications and communication style. Study results reveal that interactions between customers and service personnel are essential in forming memorable tourism experiences.

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