In this lecture the author looks at the implications that the dream society phenomenon has for the tourist industry. Once the information society has been taken on board, western society will tend increasingly towards a society of this kind, a society in which the emotional—values, emotions and feelings—will assume far greater importance than the rational. The new tourist will be looking not for services but wanting instead experiences that will satisfy the emotional system. Nevertheless, little is known of the tourist's emotional self and, as a result, it is necessary to develop new research methods in order to examine this and to understand its motivations. Only the companies and tourists destinations that understand the results and the experiences the new tourist values, as well as the negative aspects they are willing to accept, will remain competitive in the future.
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