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Conceptualising audience immersion in tourism performing arts: Definition and characteristics

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  • Feng, Minyan
  • Xu, Yueying Hazel

Abstract

Immersion has recently become a buzzword in tourism literature; however, its application is often casual and context-blind, without an adequate delineation of what immersion truly entails. This study, focusing on tourism performing arts, establishes a precise and comprehensive conceptualisation of audience immersion to reflect tourists' distinctive experiences accurately. A two-stage qualitative method is employed, incorporating data from online comments and focus group discussions. Analysis via an inductive–deductive approach reveals six key characteristics of immersion, leading to a new and context-specific definition. An experiential model depicting three levels of immersion is established according to the human information processing framework. This study introduces a dual-component method to conceptualise immersion and provides practical insights for better understanding immersive experiences in a specific context.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Minyan & Xu, Yueying Hazel, 2025. "Conceptualising audience immersion in tourism performing arts: Definition and characteristics," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:112:y:2025:i:c:s0160738325000623
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2025.103956
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    References listed on IDEAS

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