Keywords

tourist well-being, emotional experiences, quality of life

Abstract

The past decade (2012–2022) has seen a blossoming of research on tourists’ quality of life. Frameworks such as subjective well-being (Diener & Seligman, 2002), the PERMA wellbeing theory (Seligman, 2012) and eudaimonia (Filep & Deery, 2010) have been used to document the numerous positive psychological effects of tourist experiences. One of the most robust findings from this literature is that engaging in tourism triggers emotions. Ranging from the excitement of hobby-focused competitions and tours (Mitas et al., 2012a) to the relaxation of a spa (Strauss-Blasche et al., 2004a), dozens of studies have now documented salubrious emotional profiles over the course of vacation experiences. Even strongly negative emotional episodes at certain vacation destinations such as concentration camp visits support positive experience evaluations (Nawijn et al., 2016, 2017; Nawijn & Fricke, 2015). Emotions in tourism experiences appear to contribute to quality of life (Neal et al., 2007; Sirgy et al., 2011), especially over a multi-year span (Kroesen & Handy, 2014; Mitas & Kroesen, 2019).

Original Publication Citation

Mitas, O., Shahvali, M., Ward, P., Duerden, M., Bastiaansen, M. (2023). Human Connection: A Crucial Ingredient in Vacation Experience. In: Uysal, M., Sirgy, M.J. (eds) Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research II. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31513-8_16

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2023

Publisher

International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Experience Design and Management

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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