The importance-performance analysis model of dark immersive theatre experiences

Abstract

The Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) model is extensively used in hospitality and tourism research to examine tourists' satisfaction. Despite Dark Immersive Theatre Experiences (DITE) being growing its popularity globally, little research has addressed tourists' satisfaction with such experiences. The aim of this article is to use the IPA model to examine the success of this dark tourism product in meeting participants’ expectations. The results obtained in this study highlight eight items for DITE managers to concentrate the future allocation of resources: “to engage on a hyper-realistic experience”, “to be scared”, “to experience adrenaline rushes”, “to intensely experience emotions”, “to test my own limits”, “to learn more about myself in contexts that I’m not to deal with daily”, “to play a cocreator role” and “to experience something unique”. Furthermore, “to be absorbed on an environment of suspense”, “for a high-quality plot” and “to have fun” were reported as being important while performing positively, “to overcome adverse situations” was found to have no need to reinforce existing resources and “for a high-quality cast” was suggested as performing positively despite not being as important. These findings can be used by DITE managers to allocate future resources to enhance participants’ satisfaction.