Traces of sensory destination experience in online user-generated content: analysis of Tripadvisor reviews

Purpose Although the conceptual foundations of the senses have been widely discussed in the literature, empirical evidence regarding the role of sensory components in destination experience remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine tourists' sensory destination experiences in a nature-based destination, to determine the relative contribution of sensory components to destination experience and to identify their effects on experience satisfaction and recommendation. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a qualitative research design and is structured as a single case study. Boztepe (Ordu, Türkiye) was selected as the case destination, and Tripadvisor user reviews (n = 588) constituted the text-based dataset. The data were analysed using a deductive content analysis approach with MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020. Findings The findings indicate that five sensory components contribute to the destination experience at different levels. Visual experiences (65.5%) and gustatory experiences (24.1%) make the strongest contributions, whereas auditory (2.4%), olfactory (3.0%) and tactile experiences (4.9%) play a more limited role. The results further show that sensory components have differentiated effects on tourists' experience satisfaction and recommendation behaviour. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to a single nature-based destination and relies on user-generated online reviews, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Originality/value By empirically revealing the relative contribution and effects of sensory components in destination experience, this study contributes to the literature on sensory marketing and destination experience design and offers practical implications for the development of multi-sensory tourism strategies.