Using multiple senses in tourism marketing: The Helsinki Expert, Eckerö Line and Linnanmäki Amusement Park cases

The article describes three case studies where marketing communication for tourists and event visitors was studied. Two of the cases looked at the impact of multiple senses and one case, the Linnanmäki amusement park case, looked at the role of viral marketing when promoting a new event. In the Eckerö and Linnanmäki cases the data was gathered by interviewing visitors. In the Helsinki Expert case, the increase in sales was used as the indicator of the impact of added sensory impact. The sale of tours was increased during the weeks, when a smell was added in the tourist bus. The Linnanmäki case showed the importance of personal recommendations in getting people informed about a new event and to get them really to come there. Even though the use of Facebook did come up in the interviews, it had no significant importance in increasing awareness or decision making, whereas direct personal contacts were important.