FN ISI Export Format VR 1.0 PT J TI Staging a Special Event AF Hengartner, Tanja AU Hengartner, T AB The experience economy has arrived and only providing goods or services does no longer satisfy customer’s expectations. Creating and staging experiences is the modern way to differentiate and brings new values for a company. The tourism and leisure industry can improve their offers and services considering experience and staging principles. Understanding the needs and requirements of the experience-based economy and the experience tourists is thus essential when creating these experiences. This work analyses the various possibilities to stage a special event by reviewing theoretical input from the Experience Economy, Staging in Tourism, Marketing of Tourism Experiences and Event Management. Beside an extensive literature review, a survey was conducted among nine stakeholders of the company and six staging experts. The main goal of this thesis is to develop a practical guideline for staging tourism experiences by elaborating key success factors. The findings are presented in recommendations to stage the jubilee of the mountain railway company successfully. ER