Ritchie, J. R. BrentTung, Vincent Wing Sun2017-12-182017-12-182009http://hdl.handle.net/1880/103558Bibliography: p. 127-138Today, the concept of a travel experience has become a focal point in tourism research and management. While academic studies have traditionally examined tourism products as a function of the optimal, satisfactory, quality and extraordinary experiences, our knowledge of a memorable experience (ME) remains poorly understood. This thesis sought to explore the essence of a memorable experience, in the context of travel, by utilizing research in psychology to understand the conceptual background of memory formation and retention, and to identify those types of travel experiences and key elements within a destination that were most frequently recollected as salient factors which contributed to visitors' MEs. This was accomplished via in-depth interviews with 208 respondents and their responses were subsequently content analyzed. The study ends with a discussion of the implications of these results for tourism practitioners and proposes several future research areas.x, 147 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.master thesis10.11575/PRISM/2557