Today’s tourists are seeking more than just something to look at. They want to be involved. They seek immersive experiences.

That message was conveyed at the recent Utah Tourism Conference by Joe Veneto, chief experience officer at management consulting and training company Veneto Collaboratory. He challenged the gathering of tourism industry representatives to think about creating unforgettable experiences for visitors, which he said will result in higher visitor spending.

“You see, unforgettable experiences are the currency of today’s consumers,” Veneto said at the event, presented at the Davis Conference Center in Layton by the Utah Tourism Industry Association.“Savvy travelers are experience junkies. … As a result, what do people want when they travel? Well, I think they want local, authentic and unique experiences that connect to the heart, the soul and the people of your destinations.”

Results from a recent McKinsey Travel Survey appear to confirm Veneto’s thinking. The global market for experiences is $1 trillion, and travel destination decisions are being driven by experiences. Since 2019, spending on travel experiences is up 65 percent and social media is the key channel to drive awareness.

“People are looking at experiences and then saying, ‘I want to go there’ or ‘I want to go here,’ but they’re not picking the destination first. They’re picking the experiences first,” he said. “I think what they want to know is, what experiences can we have in your destination … and what memories can we collect? Because those memories, we can play over and over and over again.”

Veneto broke down the concept to three levels of visitation. The first is show-and-tell, which can be as simple as a tour or a visit to a zoo. The second is engaging visitors, and they’re willing to pay more for that. The top level is immersion, in which visitors obtain a deeper, richer and more memorable experience by kayaking, taking part in a culinary lesson, drinking wine or playing a character. “And people will pay even more for that type of experience because the impact is that much greater on [their] emotional bank account,” he said.

Another way to think of the three levels is advancing from a photo to a story to a lifelong memory, he said.

“What’s your XQ? What’s your experience quotient?” he asked the audience. “What are those experiences at your destination that a visitor can have that would be memorable, fun and impact their emotional bank account? … And how is it tied not just to the attractions but to the attributes and the essence of your destination?”

Veneto cited several examples of boosted experience quotients. The National Mustard Museum in Wisconsin went from selling mustard jars to creating a tasting event for visitors. A Columbia Valley outdoor walk now features teaching visitors outdoor skills. A Native American art market sells arts and crafts but also entertains visitors with stories and dances, then offers the opportunity to create bead bracelets and dreamcatchers. In Philadelphia, visitors can see murals on the sides of buildings but also can boost their experience by meeting the artists and seeing the murals with them, with the immersive element allowing visitors to actually paint a mural themselves.

If done well, Veneto said, visitors can evolve into lifelong brand ambassadors.

“What I want you to think about this afternoon is, how do you convert your visitors, your customers, to passionate ambassadors to your brand — not only to your brand,” he said, “but your destination and for the state of Utah?”