Existential-phenomenology: understanding tourists’ experiences

This chapter provides guidance for tourism researchers on how to conduct phenomenological research. Phenomenology is a suitable method to address and understand tourists’ experience. The chapter contests the phenomenological distinction between Husserlian and Heideggerian that has primarily been made in tourism research, and instead suggests a merger between these two, known as existential-phenomenology. It starts by providing an overview of the origins of the phenomenological method as well as the different phenomenological approaches used in tourism research. Emphasis is also put on how existential-phenomenological interviews are conducted and how the data can be interpreted. The chapter ends by using an illustrative case to show how the existential-phenomenological approach adds value to prior knowledge by focusing on variations in individual meanings of the phenomenon under study.