Culture in the Experience Economy: Strength or Barrier?

In the Experience Economy, everything revolves around emotion, meaning and connection. But one factor is still too often overlooked: culture. As organisations, destinations and professionals increasingly aim to create memorable, impactful experiences, one thing becomes clear: culture plays a huge role in how those experiences are perceived.

The key question is:

Is culture a strength that enriches experiences, or a barrier that limits them?

The honest answer? It can be both. And it depends entirely on how consciously and respectfully you integrate it into your design process.

What do we mean by ‘culture’?

Culture includes the values, beliefs, behaviours and symbols that are shared within a group. That could mean:

• National culture (e.g. hierarchy in Japan vs. informality in the Netherlands)

• Generational culture (e.g. Gen Z who share everything vs. older generations who reflect more privately)

• Organisational culture (formal, informal, open, closed…)

All of these layers influence how people experience something, how they interpret it, and how meaningful it is to them. Culture determines whether an experience feels inspiring, or completely alienating.

Culture as a strength

When culture is intentionally embraced in experience design, it brings depth, emotional connection and a sense of relevance.

Examples of culture as a strength:

• A storytelling format using local expressions or myths

• A conference that honours traditional customs or symbolic gestures

• A service design that respects cultural norms around time, space or hierarchy

The result: experiences that feel authentic, resonant and respectful – and therefore more powerful.

Culture as a barrier

But when culture is ignored, misinterpreted or overruled by a ‘copy-paste’ approach, things can go wrong.

Examples of culture as a barrier:

• An icebreaker game that works brilliantly in the UK, but is seen as awkward or intrusive in a more reserved culture

• A colour scheme or symbol that offends in one region while symbolising success in another

• A hands-on workshop that assumes people will participate actively, but clashes with cultures where observation is preferred over action

If you don’t design with cultural sensitivity, your experience might fail to land—or worse, provoke discomfort or rejection.

What does this mean for experience professionals?

If you’re designing experiences for international or culturally diverse audiences, you need more than creativity or logistics: you need cultural intelligence.

That means:

• Recognising that people have different frames of reference

• Working with local partners who understand their context

• Creating experiences that are adaptable, not rigid

In my book From Experience to Purpose, I call this the difference between “exporting experiences” and “co-creating experiences”. The second option is always more effective and more sustainable.

Conclusion: Culture is not a barrier, unless you ignore it

Culture isn’t an obstacle to experience design. It’s an essential design layer. When you work with it, it becomes a strength. When you overlook it, it becomes a limitation.

If you want to design for meaning and connection across borders, then start with understanding the cultural landscape you’re operating in. Not to water things down, but to add depth, nuance and relevance.

In From Experience to Purpose, I explore how culture influences the design and impact of experiences in the Experience, Transformation and Purpose Economies. You’ll find real-life examples, practical tools and strategies to design with culture instead of around it.

www.eventarchitect.com/from-experience-to-purpose/

Have you ever experienced a cultural mismatch in an event or interaction? Or a moment where culture made the experience more powerful? Share it in the comments below.

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