The idea of meaning‐making as embedded in the experience economy 3.0 implies that greater consumption does not lead to greater contentment, and thus, products that have the capacity to meaningfully transform a consumer are to constitute the ultimate economic offering. Conceptualizing transformation as changes in tourist existential authenticity and anxiety, this study investigates the effect of tourism on these existential dimensions. Utilizing the survey data, we find positive effects and discover that perceived meaningfulness is the major influencing factor. Additionally, the type of tourism experiences, travel party size, tourist gender, age, and educational level significantly affect tourist existential authenticity and anxiety. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.