Beyond beauty: Ugly and borderline tourism aesthetic experiences

Tourism and aesthetic experiences are intertwined. This study explores the essence of negative and borderline aesthetic experiences in the context of tourism. To achieve this, Husserl's descriptive phenomenology and detailed descriptions of aesthetic experiences from 28 first-time tourists in Hong Kong are employed. Findings identify and define two types of borderline aesthetic experiences, namely the “beaugly” and the “ugbeaful,” as well as the experience of ugliness itself. Borderline experiences involve intricate interplays of pleasure and displeasure, challenging the traditional notion of aesthetics. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that ugliness does not necessarily equate to a wholly negative experience. This study thus contributes to the expansion of knowledge regarding aesthetic experiences in tourism and offers valuable insights for destination experience design.