Tourism destination experience design is a developing area for academic study that will help destinations managers meet the expectations of an increasingly sophisticated tourist. This article provides an introduction to an ongoing research program on experience design by the author based on three studies by doctoral students. The first study examines how attributes of an experience are perceived and combined by the visitor into a small number of representative themes. The second discusses the use of cognitive appraisal theory to better understand how emotions are elicited by an experience and the third discusses use of mean-end theory to better understand tourist motivation. Areas for further research are discussed.