Course Takeaways

Coming into this Customer Experience Analysis course, having taken only one introductory class in tourism, I knew the next few weeks would be filled with many new concepts and learning for me. Yet, I was surprised with the amount and depth of information that I learned in such a short amount of time. The opportunity for hands on learning in an environment outside of the classroom like the Bahamas contributed to that.

One of my main learnings from this course was the difficulty of measuring the type of experience that we were researching. Our class encountered this when completing the various forms of participant observation. When creating them, it was difficult to make them comprehensive and measure exactly what we wanted. Measuring something as subjective and emotional as an experience is difficult to quantify and ensure the results are unbiased. We spent many classes working through the forms and making them the best they could be. Yet, at the end of the day we had to realize that the forms were not perfect and there could be continuously improved as needed. Having the flexibility and power to shape the tools we were using to measure with taught me how important methodology is when presenting authentic results.

Another take away I had was in terms of how important and beneficial participant observation is when doing this type of research. Being able to experience each attraction, restaurant, tour, and the destination as a whole, gave the findings more power. When we spoke to our clients from the Ministry of Tourism about our findings they knew our experience was credible because we were feeling just like any other tourist. We represented the clientele that they try to cater to, so our highs and lows were authentic. This also showed how essential hands on, real world experiences, and research are when studying an industry related to tourism, events, and hospitality.

My final take away was how important it is to have recommendations that are grounded in strong research. Giving our overall impressions or feelings towards a part of the journey isn’t enough. It must be backed by a variety of methods that don’t steam from one source. We learned how important it is to use online reviews are they encompass a range of demographics and opinions. Peak interviews as well as secondary research can help us in terms of balancing our own impressions. I never realized how essential research was to the field of events and hospitality until this project.