Experiences are an important part of our lives and increasingly represent a crucial topic to address for businesses and professionals. This book focuses on designing, staging and managing experiences within the context of the events, tourism and hospitality industries. It also illustrates current and future developments in these industries and wider society, with an emphasis on sustainable development.

The book offers an innovative approach for successfully creating experiences for (potential) customers that is based on combining insights and methods from the world of design and the social sciences. Moreover, it shows how the experience economy and sustainable development both reinforce one another and create challenges that businesses and professionals can address through this approach.

Critical thinking questions, practical examples and international case studies are integrated throughout the text. Combining a design science and a social sciences perspective in one inclusive hands-on approach to designing, staging and managing experiences, this is essential reading for all students of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management, but also related fields.

‘With mankind entering the "experience economy" we must make sure that positive contributions to the environment, society, and economy become a natural part of our daily experiences. The courageous authors of this book choose a promising avenue by merging social sciences and design to develop the basics of "sustainable customer experience design". This book considers important yet often ignored concepts such as values and sustainable business models, which are crucial to offer sustainable experiences. It is a valuable resource for practitioners and students alike.’ Florian Lüdeke-Freund, ESCP Europe Business School, Germany

‘Events offer the perfect platform to craft situations and interactions for our attendees to truly experience and make fundamental pivots in the way they view the world. Almost every touch point between attendee and event can be used to champion more sustainable behaviours. Brands can use the green shine of an event for good. The tools in this book brilliantly take the reader through how to design experiences that will drive our collective commitment to sustainable development, one person at a time.’ Meegan Jones, Chairperson of the Sustainable Event Alliance

Bert Smit is a Senior Lecturer Experience Design at the Academy of Hotel and Facility Management, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.

Frans Melissen is a Professor of Sustainable Business Models at the Academy of Hotel and Facility Management, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.