I’m Dreaming of Travel Experiences
By Tamara Kenworthy, MBA, IPC, PCM | Editor-in-Chief, QRCA VIEWS Magazine | President, ON POINT STRATEGIES | Des Moines, Iowa, tamara@on-pointstrategies.com
As I’ve gotten older, I’m less interested in accumulating “stuff” and more about accumulating experiences—experiences that create wonderful memories. As I talk with other Boomers, this seems to be typical—we don’t need more things to buy and clutter our homes. We want to explore new places, events, and activities that enhance the relationships we have with others and our own ongoing learning.
I love what Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University who has been studying the question of money and happiness for over two decades, has to say: “Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless, they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.”
This issue is chock full of content around the theme of personal experiences—and experiential research and learning. To kick it off, our cover story features our Industry column on the trends in travel and tourism research and how this industry has been impacted post-COVID. Speaking of travel, have you ever wanted to visit Sweden? In our Schools of Thought column, we focus on place branding, where a small Swedish town conducted a highly successful place attraction research study to support communications for its workforce and tourism efforts.
In our Travelwise column, we’re featuring Philadelphia, the site of the QRCA 2025 Annual Conference in February. This city is full of historic landmarks—make your plans now to experience history while gaining new research ideas.
We have three Toolbox articles—how-to articles on specific research approaches. The first is a highly experiential and unique approach using video for ethnography studies. Our second Toolbox focuses on research efficiencies by leveraging agile and lean research protocols for Accelerated Product Development in support of greater internal client engagement.
Our third Toolbox article is a thorough qualitative guide for how and when to incorporate qualitative research into quantitative segmentation studies.
Speaking of quant studies, I’m excited to share that QRCA VIEWS has a brand new column launching in this issue—Quant Lens. See the call-out box on this page for details.
In Luminaries, we feature Shoku Masuda, a former corporate research executive turned leadership coach, on how we can use our research skills to foster positive experiences with communications and leadership. In Podcasts, Isaac Rogers shares his research journey to his position now as Sago’s president.
Our Global column explores Chinese Gen Zers and their consumption trends; interestingly, they’re also focused on brands that provide interactive and immersive experiences. I guess it’s not just Boomers who want to focus on accumulating experiences and not just “stuff.”
Don’t pass up the Book Reviews section—take time for yourself and relax as you experience two great books for inspiration!
Please share this Fall issue (qrcaviews.org) with your network, post the digital flipbook link on social media, and email your clients an interesting article relevant to them.
Happy reading!
Tamara Kenworthy
