Solidifying tourists’ post-travel memories through Souvenir

Abstract

This paper explores how souvenir can be designed as a means of promoting tourism destinations and experiences. To achieve the research aim, the study first conducted a survey to determine the attributes that influence tourists‟ souvenir purchase preferences. A Likert scale questionnaire was used, comprising of questions that cut across the design performance and cultural evaluation indices. The results, which were analysed using descriptive statistics, indicate that the top three attributes that tourists look for in souvenir are features that evoke travel experience, usability and branding with destination features. Based on these findings, experimental research was further conducted to develop a series of souvenir with the attributes embedded. The outcome suggests that the approach could help promote the cultural aspects and also convey the essence of tourism destination to potential visitors.