sustainability Article Applications of Experience Economy in Craft Beer Tourism: A Case Study in Thailand’s Context Rangson Chirakranont * and Sirijit Sunanta   Citation: Chirakranont, R.; Sunanta, S. Applications of Experience Economy in Craft Beer Tourism: A Case Study in Thailand’s Context. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810448 Academic Editors: Susan Ryan and Jacob Bethem Received: 8 August 2021 Accepted: 14 September 2021 Published: 19 September 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand; sirijit.sun@mahidol.edu * Correspondence: rangson.chi@mahidol.ac.th Abstract: With Thailand as a context, this study explores the applications of Pine and Gilmore’s experience economy framework in two forms of craft beer tourism, namely brewpubs and festivals. A three-pronged qualitative research design is used wherein data was collected through observations, interviews (n = 26), and netnography (n = 203). The findings revealed that both forms of craft beer tourism implement four dimensions of the experience economy in different measures. Esthetic and escapist dimensions benefit from natural, scenic settings and a man-made environment. In addition, they advance the framework by proposing the dimension of entrepreneurship, which orchestrates the entertainment and education elements that enhance tourists’ experiences. The application of the experience economy framework is a useful strategic approach for craft beer tourism which can be applied in niche or special interest tourism, while also providing a significant influence on destination marketing and sustainable development. Keywords: craft beer tourism; experience economy; entrepreneur experience; Thailand 1. Introduction Craft beer is produced by craft breweries which are typically small and indepen- dent [1]. The particular characteristics of craft beer include having a distinct flavor as well as a unique brand name and label [2]. The craft beer movement started in the late 1970s and has been followed by the rise of microbrewers owing to the ease of supplies and knowledge of beer brewing. Brewers around the world offer a wide variety of craft beers, which reflect the transformation of beer consumption and the entire industry. The UK, for instance, devotes itself to traditional high-quality real ales which inspired the global craft beer industry [3]. Italy and Spain’s beverage consumption has shifted from wine to beer since the 1970s. The Italian craft beer industry, for example, grew 97.6 percent within four years with the number of microbreweries rising from 206 in 2008 to 407 in 2012 [4]. Europe, a region that has a long history of beer production, influences the style of craft beer in the U.S. In the United States alone, the craft beer market generated $27.6 billion in sales, which accounts for over 24 percent of the total U.S. beer market, and contributed to 7% of market growth in 2018 [5]. The growth of the craft beer movement has prompted the emergence of craft beer tourism, a recent development in food and beverage tourism [6]. Major forms of craft beer tourism include beer tasting and beer-related experiences tied to visiting breweries, beer trails, beer festivals, and events [6–8]. In the current craft beer tourism scene, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa are principal players who dominate the global market [9]. Hence, most of the studies on craft beer tourism have been conducted within these contexts. Extant studies tend to cover different perspectives of craft beer tourism, ranging from tourists’ motivations [10], collaboration and networking between tourism businesses [11], manipulating festivals for product distribution and sociocultural space in craft beer events [12,13], and place-making and destination management [14] to stakeholder management tied to craft beer tourism [15]. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810448 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability