The meaning of touch and movement senses in the experience of a fair attendee
Karvonen, Kati (2020)
Karvonen, Kati
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020120927144
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020120927144
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis was to discover what’s the meaning of touch and movement senses in the experience of a fair attendee. The thesis was commissioned by the Finnish Fair Foundation and it was part of a larger study about multi-sensory experience which included the senses of sight, hearing and taste.
The research methods were planned with the commissioning company and at their request the focus was on the customer’s point of view which limited the study to visitors at Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2020. The main research question of the thesis was: What’s the role of touch and movement senses in the formation of the travel fair visitors experience? The sub-questions were divided into two part: What kind of experience the travel fair was for the visitor and how were the touch and movement senses taken into consideration at the travel fair from a customer’s point of view?
The theoretical part first presents the background for experiences and how to create them. From there it continues on to introduce the senses of touch and movement, and how those are related to events.
The thesis was carried out using the methods of qualitative research which were observation and a semi-structured interview. The material was collected at the travel fair on the 17th and the 19th of January in 2020, by observing the touch and movement aspects of the travel fair, which included photographing and taking notes, and interviewing the travel fair visitors. The thesis was written between February and November 2020.
It can be concluded from the research results that both touch and movement senses play a role in the formation of a positive fair visitor experience. Based on the interviews, the stands with activities, where one was able to use their sense of touch, were memorable for the visitors. Furthermore, the interviewees who thought that moving around the venue was easy, found the overall experience to be good as well.
The sense of touch can produce detailed, lasting memories and being able to move easily in a venue is important to the success of a fair. However, more creative ways to appeal to these two senses are required and these senses alone are not enough to create a truly memorable travel fair experience, other senses, sight, hearing and taste are required as well.
The research methods were planned with the commissioning company and at their request the focus was on the customer’s point of view which limited the study to visitors at Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2020. The main research question of the thesis was: What’s the role of touch and movement senses in the formation of the travel fair visitors experience? The sub-questions were divided into two part: What kind of experience the travel fair was for the visitor and how were the touch and movement senses taken into consideration at the travel fair from a customer’s point of view?
The theoretical part first presents the background for experiences and how to create them. From there it continues on to introduce the senses of touch and movement, and how those are related to events.
The thesis was carried out using the methods of qualitative research which were observation and a semi-structured interview. The material was collected at the travel fair on the 17th and the 19th of January in 2020, by observing the touch and movement aspects of the travel fair, which included photographing and taking notes, and interviewing the travel fair visitors. The thesis was written between February and November 2020.
It can be concluded from the research results that both touch and movement senses play a role in the formation of a positive fair visitor experience. Based on the interviews, the stands with activities, where one was able to use their sense of touch, were memorable for the visitors. Furthermore, the interviewees who thought that moving around the venue was easy, found the overall experience to be good as well.
The sense of touch can produce detailed, lasting memories and being able to move easily in a venue is important to the success of a fair. However, more creative ways to appeal to these two senses are required and these senses alone are not enough to create a truly memorable travel fair experience, other senses, sight, hearing and taste are required as well.