Tourism experiences
without the travel? Focusing on touristic behavior in the context of everyday
consumption

The current study
focuses on touristic behavior in the context of everyday consumption by
examining the geographical and psychological transitions of tourism and leisure
as well as the factors that enable touristic behavior in everyday environments.
Tourism has traditionally based on geographical perspective, taking place
somewhere away from one’s usual habitat. This view is, however, challenged by
e.g. globalization, increasing mobility, and consumers’ ever increasing desire
for experiences, not only abroad but also within everyday life. In the study,
touristic behavior is defined as a temporary subjective perception, a state of
mind, of a person escaping from one’s daily obligations and routines through
geographical or psychological transitions. Based on discussions on the liminoid
nature of tourism and leisure as well as on value creation regarding
experiential consumption, the empirical data gathered from focus group interviews
was analyzed. The study indicates that even though geographical transition has
an important role in achieving a touristic state of mind, also everyday
environment and consumption can offer certain escapes from daily routines,
resulting in a feeling of being a tourist. Especially when friends and
relatives come to visit, the home environment may appear as a tourism
destination, enabling touristic experiences.