Case Study 1: Pre-trip Anticipation

You have read about the nature of travel anticipation and the elements involved in making this anticipation period useful and joyful. Now here is a chance to apply the ideas presented on this topic to a hypothetical travel case study. Doing this will allow you to more actively work with the concepts discussed in Part I of the book and to integrate them to solve real-life types of travel dilemmas. There are no right or wrong answers, so do not be held back by searching for the so-called correct solution. Just try to draw on your own experiences and on the frameworks that were provided to try to critically analyze the presented case.

The Story of Katy

Imagine that a person we will call Katy just won a one-week, all expenses paid trip to Paris. Katy is very excited because all of her life she wanted to travel to France. From the pictures she has seen of Paris, she has decided that it must be the most beautiful city in the world, and that the people who live and work there must be incredibly happy most of the time. Katy loves all things French, including French food and wine, French literature, and even the sound of the French language. She describes herself as a crazy kind person who enjoys being around other people and having fun. Now Katy is in a tizzy about how to best prepare for her trip. As part of her prize, all practical arrangements for her trip have been made and paid for (e.g., plane tickets were purchased, hotel reservations were made, etc.), but Katy wants to get ready in other ways, as well. In her own jargon, she wants to get really psyched up for this trip and prepare for it in a manner that should yield the most positive outcomes for her.

It is your job as the head of the contest that Katy won to work with Katy to help get her ready for her journey in such a way as to increase the likelihood that her travel experiences will be positive and satisfactory. You have three weeks to assist Katy in getting ready.

Brainstorm how you would work with Katy during her three-week trip preparation period. What kinds of advice would you give her? What types of resources and information might you make available to her? What type of data might you collect from her? What questions would you ask her? What would you tell her to definitely do or not do as she waits for her trip to Paris to commence? Try to be as creative as you can here and to consider all the ways that you might work collaboratively with Katy to help ensure that she is, indeed, ready and open for what could potentially be a wonderful dream trip.

Notes