In Print: ‘Destination Experience Design: Practices and Management’

Publication title

Destination Experience Design: Practices and Management

Purdue author

Xinran Lehto

Authors

Fabiola Sfodera
Xinran Lehto

Publisher

McGraw Hill (Italy)

Publication date

July 2025

About the book (from the publisher)

This volume adopts a multidisciplinary approach to destination experience design, positioning the concept of the flourishing destination as the theoretical and operational foundation of a new paradigm in tourism studies. The flourishing destination is defined as a living system that promotes the integrated well-being of people, places and the planet. Through original frameworks — including the Destination Experience Design Framework, the Regenerative Spiral, the Nested Ecological Model and the Convivial Experience Framework — the book conceptualizes experience design as a systemic, adaptive and cocreative process. Central dimensions include health, conviviality, digital integration, participatory governance and the temporal dynamics of destinations in transformation. Rooted in the flourishing paradigm, the volume presents a design-driven method for regenerating spatial, social and emotional relationships through tourism. Tools such as temporal prototyping, participatory approaches and crisis-responsive strategies are explored to support destinations as evolving and iterative systems. Targeting scholars, DMOs, urban planners, tourism professionals and policymakers, the book provides actionable models to foster innovation in destination design and management. It invites readers to embrace the flourishing destination as a guiding vision for creating meaningful, resilient and value-generating tourism places.

About the Purdue author

Xinran Lehto is a professor in the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Her expertise lies in experience design, management and marketing in tourism and hospitality. Lehto serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Destination Marketing and Management.

About the In Print series

To celebrate our faculty’s excellence in scholarship, Purdue Today’s weekly book series highlights faculty expertise across diverse subjects and disciplines. Find out more about the Purdue University Books Initiative and how to suggest a book for the In Print series on the Office of the Provost website.