The role of virtual communities for the innovation of the tourism service experience: the case of MSC FRIENDS

The rapid diffusion of web 2.0 applications and virtual communities in the tourism industry has prompted an increasing attention by scholars and practitioners for the opportunities offered by these technologies for the innovation of the tourism service experience. This is defined as the total customer experience resulting from a journey that spans a longer period of time than the actual consumption and consists of multiple touchpoints between customers and the bundle of services provided by tourism firms. In order to contribute to this growing research area, the paper provides insights into the role of virtual communities for the innovation of tourism service experiences based on the exemplar case study of MSC Cruises, an Italian leading cruise company in the world. The company pioneered the use of virtual communities for the innovation of the cruise service experience by launching in 2009 MSC FRIENDS, the first 3D virtual community in the cruise sector. The case is analysed from the provider perspective with the purpose of understanding how virtual communities can be effectively used as an innovation tool for delivering memorable tourism service experiences.