How to Engage Young Adults in Contemporary Arts? A Reflection on the Aesthetic Experience and Its Impact on Cultural Tourism

Contemporary art organizations play a key role in driving cultural tourism, offering visitors memorable experiences. Among the segments of visitors, young adults represent a key target because they are the most interested customers in contemporary arts and they represent 23% of the international travelers. Despite their relevance, little is known about their customer experiences in contemporary arts, and the resulting arts engagement. Although their contemporary arts experiences are expected to generate great benefits in terms of social, ethical, and economical values for the entire society, the relationship between young adults and contemporary arts is typically difficult to understand and, consequently, to facilitate. To address this issue, we run a complex qualitative research project. Distinguishing young adults between those who are familiar with contemporary arts and those who are not, we conduct four research projects by applying two qualitative techniques: the in-depth interview and the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (Z-Met). Further, we extend the in-depth interviews to the contemporary arts experts. In total, 70 consumers and 10 experts participate in the research project providing cognitive and emotional insights by exploring barriers and benefits of consumption in contemporary arts. Our findings show that arts engagement is the key concept, linked to three levels of consumer reactions – cognitive, emotional, and social responses – and that it is caused by three antecedents, namely – involvement, sharing, and comprehension. Implications for the actors in the world of contemporary arts and cultural tourism are discussed to obtain higher levels of arts engagement among young adults, and, consequently, their attractiveness.