This must be the season for great new books.  I arrived home (briefly) this week to find in my mail an autographed copy of James Gilmore and Joseph Pine's latest book, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want.  (Thanks Jim and Joe!).


Gilmore & Pine are best known for their previous blockbusters, The Experience Economy and Mass Customization, and their mind-opening conference series, ThinkAbout.

For anyone involved in tourism marketing, particularly those involved in creating and managing visitor experiences, the book is chock-a-block full of great insights and ideas.  Along with case studies and examples, the authors provide a clear and relatively simple conceptual framework for delivering authentic products and experiences.

Jim and Joe have also created a new website to accompany the book -- it's in its early days but looks to have the potential to become a great hub for discussing all thing authentic and experiential.

I first met Jim a couple of years ago when we worked together on a workshop in Banff and it's great to see his incredibly fertile mind at work again.