Freshly baked bread. Newly cut grass. A salty sea breeze. Most people have a favorite smell that evokes fond memories or feelings of comfort.
This sensory appeal has long been harnessed by businesses to sell scented candles, expensive perfumes, and even homes. Now it is increasingly being used in the travel industry—where airlines, hotels, and entertainment venues are deliberately incorporating scents into the “tourism experience.”
These businesses are seeking to benefit from consumer research that has established that there is much more to pleasant scents than smelling nice. Smells have a particular ability to act as a source of information. Because they’re intangible—we can’t see or touch them—our brains automatically associate them with experiences.
The travel industry is all about experiences. One of the main reasons people are willing to spend large amounts of money on visiting new places is to stimulate their senses with new sights, sounds, tastes, and smells, such…
