The reciprocal aspect of the experience value: tourists and residents celebrating weddings in the rural village of Petritoli (Italy)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to focus on the experience value of tourism in those cases where tourists and residents experience a closer interaction with each other. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the concept of experience value in terms of reciprocality and relations-building. Drawing upon central concepts from the co-creation literature, tourist–resident interactions are discussed in the paper and a case study of wedding tourism experience in an Italian village is conducted, employing an ethnographic methodology. The findings suggest that experience value can be qualified as reciprocal, depending on a common denominator that can be associated to humanistic values and other aspects that are complementary to each other, and occurs mainly through spontaneous interactions in common arenas.