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that engage individuals in a personal way”; whereas Oh et al., (2007) define experiences as,
“enjoyable, engaging, memorable encounters for those consuming these events”. While discussing
experience economy, Pine and Gilmore (1998) identified four realms of customer experiences
including entertainment, education, esthetic and escapism. These four dimensions can be adept by the
four kinds of categories of activity offers in The Malaysian Homestay Program.

The first dimension is entertainment which is developed when passive absorption is observed by the
customer such as watching a theatre performance (Oh et al., 2007). In the Malaysian Homestay,
program entertainment can be represented as culture and lifestyle whereby the participant passively
watch what is happening such as watching traditional dance or songs. The second dimension is
esthetic where the customer has passive participation and immersion in the experience. Examples for
esthetic dimensions include a beautiful arrangement of historical relics in a museum, an attractive
servicescape or ambience in a resort hotel or experiencing the breath-taking scenery of Niagara Falls
(Mehmetoglu & Engen, 2011). The esthetic dimension also involves passive participation, but with a
greater depth and immersion concerning what is seen or experienced (Pine & Gilmore, 1999).
Recreation activities can be represented in this dimension for the Malaysian Homestay program with
examples of activities that can be sightseeing or visit to the nearby tourism product. The third
dimension is education which refers to an experience where the participant actively participates but is
in absorption such as snorkelling, scuba diving or ski-schools. In Malaysia, Homestay Program
education can represent environmental preservation whereby participants are encouraged to plant trees
at their homestays to preserve the environment and further beautifying the landscape of the
homestays. The fourth and last dimension is escapism which happens when the participant is affecting
the actual performances in the real or virtual environment for example, by rafting or playing in a
casino (Hosany & Witham, 2010). In the Malaysian Homestay Program, the fourth dimension,
escapism, represents economic activities experiences in which the participant both becomes engaged
in what is happening and actively participates, for example, participation in agricultural activities such
as demonstrations on how to plant cocoa, paddy, or oil palm.

It can be stated that entertainment experience is about feeling, the educational experience learning, the
esthetic experience presence, and the escapist experience doing influence customers’ emotions and
satisfaction levels (Hosany & Witham, 2010; Mehmetoglu & Engen, 2011) It has been advised by
Pine and Gilmore (2011) that customers’ consumption experiences revolving around 4Es result in
strong memories and positive behaviours. A limited number of scholars have studied this phenomenon
and they support the positive impact of 4Es on consumer memories (Gilmore & Pine, 2002; Quadri-
Felitti & Fiore, 2013). To conclude, all of these dimensions may be given in a proposed framework for
debate and further study, and this framework can be used to guide future research.

Methods
Through a review of previous literature and studies on the subject, this study applied the
argumentative study method. The term "argumentative study" refers to the process of debating the
arguments presented by other researchers in their previous studies and providing a counter-argument
to each of their arguments. Using secondary data, researchers were able to conduct high-quality and
impactful research by delving deeper into major data resources that were readily available from a
variety of sources and that would be impossible for individuals to collect on their own. The relevant
information has been gathered by the researchers from secondary sources such as journal articles,
internet resources, and textbooks, among other sources of information. Secondary data is appropriate
for use in this research paper because it is less cost-prohibitive, can be collected more easily, requires
less time to collect the relevant information, and provides a comprehensive understanding of the
research topic than primary data. In this paper, researchers aim to propose a tourist experience
framework for the activities in Malaysia homestay program guidelines issued by the government,
specifically from the local tourist perspective.

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