The dimensions of experience economy and its reflections on the participants' emotions of the Comic Con Experience (CCXP)

The ‘pop culture’ phenomenon had its beginnings in Asia and gained significant popularity in the Western world. ‘Pop culture’ tourism can already be observed as fans of this phenomenon use to travel to destinations with ‘pop culture’ induced image and to attend to 'pop culture' themed events. Among these events, the Comic Con Experience (CCXP), which takes place annually in the city of São Paulo, is highlighted. This study analyzes the tourist experience at the CCXP, considering the theoretical model of the experience economy and its respective dimensions. It aims to identify the relative importance of these dimensions for the CCXP tourist experience and the impact of this experience in tourists’ emotions. An empirical quantitative research was conducted by using a survey online distributed to tourists who attended the CCXP editions. As a result, it is suggested that the dimensions 'aesthetics' and 'entertainment' feature the greatest relative importance among the dimensions analyzed and the CCXP experience has a positive and significant influence on the participants' emotions, with these emotions being majorly influenced by the dimensions 'educational' and 'escape'.