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What makes an experience feel deeply special and memorable

This is the time of year when agritourism operators are making plans for 2026. Too often, planning focuses exclusively on details. We thought it would be a good time to step back from planning the details and take a big-picture view of the experience you are offering guests, to make sure it is special and memorable for them.

New research from a series of studies by Michel Tuan Pham, Kravis Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, and Jennifer J. Sun, an assistant professor at Yonsei University in Korea, examined what makes an experience feel deeply special and memorable to a person.

Pham and Sun's findings reveal that specialness isn't necessarily about extravagance or luxury. Instead, it comes down to one or more of the three pillars of special experiences:

• Uniqueness - The research found that most special experiences were not objectively rare. Instead, they felt distinctive to the individual because they were novel, emotionally surprising, or impossible to recreate. Exceeding expectations feeds a sense of uniqueness. A first horseback ride or a dinner that later gained significance because it marked a final moment with a loved one could be just as unique as a bucket-list vacation.
• Meaningfulness - reflects how personally significant an experience feels beyond straightforward enjoyment. One of the most common forms was relational meaningfulness, where the social presence of family or close friends deepened the experience's impact. Others included symbolic meaningfulness, such as proposing at a special place; self-affirming meaningfulness, like attending one's first Pride parade; and transformational meaningfulness, in which a person walked away feeling fundamentally changed, such as learning a new skill or gaining a new perspective.
• Authenticity - Even when consumers don't say it directly, it shows up in how people describe their most memorable moments. An experience feels special when it seems genuine and “real”, not fake, forced, or purely commercial. Authentic experiences felt emotionally real and true to the person having them. This might involve visiting a culturally significant location, like a museum exhibit honoring a personal hero. It could also take the form of genuine human warmth.

Often, it is not just one of the three pillars, but a combination - something new, shared with someone meaningful, and emotionally genuine - that made an experience stand out as truly special and memorable.

Most agritourism venues already offer:

• Relational meaningfulness that occurs as families, couples, or groups of adults visit.
• Authenticity, provided that the venue has a real farm feel and ambiance.

Think about what experience you now offer guests and how you can increase the uniqueness, meaningfulness, and authenticity of their farm visit.

Personalization makes experiences stand out and unique when staff take time to ask why guests are there and respond with tailored recommendations, small surprises, or visible recognition of the occasion, making the visit not feel generic and start feeling crafted for that specific person or group.

One way to increase its meaningfulness is to provide transformational experiences (check out our article on agritourism transformational experiences HERE). Relational meaningfulness can be increased by activities that are inherently shared by the entire group, so guests leave saying, “we did this together”, not just “we were there at the same time”.

Staff interactions with guests can increase authenticity by allowing guests to meet the farmer, see actual makers at work, and hear unscripted stories about the farm from staff.

Finally, these strategies work best when woven throughout the entire customer journey.

Agritourism businesses do not need to invest in grand spectacles to achieve this. Subtle, thoughtful design decisions paired with empowered staff are often enough to transform a routine visit into a story guests are eager to retell and post on social media.

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