In search of a ‘flying cow’? Marketing storm chasing tours in the Great Plains
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7172274 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William R Price (0000-0003-1836-2715, Ball State University, corresponding author), Nathan M Hitchens (0000-0003-4659-111X, Ball State University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 115-128 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Tourism Recreation Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0250-8281 • E-ISSN: 2320-0308 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02508281.2025.2449628 |
| OpenAlex | W4406870577 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
Although storm chasing existed before the release of the 1996 movie Twister, this blockbuster introduced the concept to a wider audience and played a role in creating a new niche tourism sector with an epicentre in the Great Plains region of the United States. Even today, storm chasing tour operators market themselves, in part, on the aspects of storm chasing that relate to adventure tourism, using terms such as ‘extreme’ and ‘thrill’, but is this an effective approach? In this study, we performed a discourse analysis of ten Great Plains-based storm chasing tour operators’ websites in May and June 2023 to assess key themes that they use to market their tours. We compared these marketing themes to reviews posted by storm chasers on an independent word-of-mouth website about storm chasing tours, StormChasingUSA.com. We found that very few tourists referenced themes related to adventure or thrill-seeking in their reviews, but many chose to highlight the expertise of their tour guides and the informal education they received about severe weather. We argue that many storm chasers may be better marketed to as ‘nature tourists’ rather than ‘adventure tourists’
Advertising · Business · Geography · Meteorology · Storm · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Marketing
Undertaking Discourse Analysis for Social Research
Discourse and social change
When Severe Weather Becomes a Tourist Attraction
Social Media Marketing in Tourism and Hospitality
Official Tourism Websites
In TripAdvisor we trust
“Do We Believe in TripAdvisor?” Examining Credibility Perceptions and Online Travelers’ Attitude toward Using User-Generated Content
Progress in tourism management
Unity is strength?”
Storytelling about places
Evaluating the use of the Web for tourism marketing
Playing with risk? participant perceptions of risk and management implications in adventure tourism
Defining the virtual tourist community
Destination image representation on the web
From the Screen to the Field
Discourse Analysis in Tourism Research A Critical Perspective
Outdoor adventure tourism
Value, Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions in an Adventure Tourism Context
Metaverse marketing and consumer research
Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management
Beyond Twister
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |