Hospitality Administration and Management Commons^™

A Closer Look At Visitors' Immersion In China's Theme Parks, Xiaoxiao Fu, Carissa Baker

Rosen Research Review

Engaging life experiences can become deeply entrenched in the human memory, facilitating mind associations, stimulating the imagination, and inspiring rich storytelling. UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management's Associate Professor Xiaoxiao Fu and Assistant Professor Carissa Baker, along with their co-authors, recently collected the subjective accounts of 30 people who had visited renowned theme parks in China. By analyzing these first-person tales, the researchers were then able to pin-point patterns and processes that characterized the respondents' immersion in experiences at the Chinese theme parks.

Theme Park Knowledge Hub Of The Future, Carissa Baker

Rosen Research Review

The global attractions industry has grown in size and innovation in the last few decades. Encompassing theme parks and waterparks as well as cultural and natural attractions, this segment has diverse career opportunities and constant potential for growth in mature and emerging markets. Theme parks alone garnered a billion visitors in 2019. Post-pandemic, the industry bounced back quicker than expected, with most operators seeing increased attendance and revenue. The attractions industry continues to develop new concepts which provide amazing experiences for guests around the world. However, retirement during the pandemic, coupled with the industry's rapid expansion, created a greater need …

Just Looking: Tourist Gaze And The Theme Park Experience, Wei Wei, Yanyan Zheng, Nathaniel Line, Lu Zhang

Rosen Research Review

What makes a memorable theme park experience? New research led by UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management's Assistant Professor Wei Wei looks at how visitor experience is influenced by the 'tourist gaze'—the consumption of visual experiences, as well as other services, in a tourism destination. With important implications for theme park operators and managers, the study focuses on visitors' visual interactions with fellow visitors and finds they have a significant impact on visitors' emotions and the quality of their overall experience.

Theme Park Visitors Prefer Human-Like Robots In Customer Service Interactions, Ady Milman, Asli D.A. Tasci

Rosen Research Review

Service robots are becoming increasingly popular in many industries and social settings, including education, childcare, elderly therapy centers, and even theme parks. Tourism and hospitality industries are adopting robots enthusiastically and are being closely studied to observe guest engagement and reaction to robotic services. Service robots are becoming increasingly popular in many industries and social settings, including education, childcare, elderly therapy centers, and even theme parks. Tourism and hospitality industries are adopting robots enthusiastically and are being closely studied to observe guest engagement and reaction to robotic services. UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management researchers, Dr. Ady Milman and Dr. …

Florida's Natural Springs: Exhibit Sign, Emily Horne, Burak Ogreten

Rosen Library Exhibits

On display: January-May 2021

Featured items: materials on loan from Special Collections, including drawings, books, and photographs, along with books from the Rosen Library's permanent collections, and epoxy resin dioramas created by Emily Horne.

Primary Curators: Emily Horne and Barak Ogreten.

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Florida's Natural Springs: Exhibit Brochure, Emily Horne, Burak Ogreten

Rosen Library Exhibits

On display: January-May 2021

Featured items: materials on loan from Special Collections, including drawings, books, and photographs, along with books from the Rosen Library's permanent collections, and epoxy resin dioramas created by Emily Horne.

Primary Curators: Emily Horne and Barak Ogreten.

See more items from this exhibit

Virtual Reality Technology And Customer Delight In Theme Parks: The Role Of Experience Quality, Chenge Jia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid development of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, theme park companies are eager to apply VR technology to their attractions. Operating as highly hedonic consumption businesses, theme parks need to make sure that they offer unique and memorable experiences to customers in order to enhance their competitive advantages. However, empirical data is needed to understand whether and how VR technology will enhance visitors' experiences, including the quality of their experience, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Therefore, this study aims to examine how VR influences visitor's theme park experience quality, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Based on an in-depth literature …