No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The spiritual benefits of travel for senior tourists
Abstract
This research explores the spiritual benefits of travel for older adults and illustrates how travel meets seniors' self-actualization and spiritual growth needs. The theoretical point of departure for this research is seniors' quest for meaning and self-actualization, which act as push factors inducing older adults to travel. Semistructured depth interviews were conducted with 16 retired senior informants who had extensive travel experience. Using an interpretive method, this research reveals four key themes that illustrate the spiritual benefits of travel, thereby extending the growing literature on the motivations of senior travelers. These themes are described as “traveling generates meaning for older adults,” “traveling reveals the self to older adults,” “traveling encourages older adults to better understand others,” and “traveling enables older adults to better understand their relationship to nature”. In sum, the themes describe how older adults may meet their unique spiritual needs through travel and thereby enhance their spiritual development. This research represents one of a few studies examining senior tourism to employ an interpretive method and provides rich insights as a result. This research also extends the emerging research on spirituality in marketing by illustrating how the tourism industry may benefit from a perspective that considers the spiritual benefits of consumption. The research findings suggest that the intangible spiritual benefits of travel, in addition to the tangible benefits, should be highlighted in travel offers and tourism communications targeted to older adults. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... However, this generation of mobile seniors is not without ageing issues and unique travel needs (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). For example, these consumers think more frequently about life and death, seeking meaning (Moal-Ulvoas, 2017). ...
... Intriguingly, socialization, such as improving or maintaining relationships with friends or family, is a significant factor influencing seniors' travel decisions (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). For example, when considering the type of trip to take, elderly tourists seem to prefer the planned tourism product or all-inclusive tour package mainly because of the convenience and safety issues, and desire to travel accompanied (Batra, 2009;Huang & Tsai, 2003;Javalgi et al., 1992). ...
... Seeking for self-improvement, self-esteem, and spiritual benefits is another significant set of travel motivations for seniors (Jang & Wu, 2006;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). Moal-Ulvoas (2017) point out that by leaving home temporarily, traveling frees the elders from their daily anxieties refreshing their minds and encouraging spiritual growth and "gerotranscendence." ...
This study explores the values of pilgrimage exhibited by senior travelers in Taiwan. We identify and explore both spiritual and social values by applying means-end chain theory and the laddering technique. This study investigates the hierarchical relationship among pilgrimage attributes, the consequences that senior pilgrims obtained, and the satisfaction of personal values as an ultimate goal. The clear links are found among attributes, consequences, and values with social interactions that are acquired by keeping in touch with friends, followed by spiritual succor and support that connects with supporting temples, praying, and vow redemption. These findings provide novel insights into pilgrimage literature.
... Dann, 2001;McCabe & Johnson, 2013;Minnaert & Schapmans, 2009). However, despite an increasing number of studies conducted in recent years (Ahn & Janke, 2011;Ferrer et al., 2016;Gu et al., 2016;Hunter-Jones & Blackburn, 2007;Jia et al., 2016;Kim et al., 2015;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Morgan, Pritchard, & Sedgley, 2015;Nimrod, 2008;Nimrod & Rotem, 2010Staats & Pierfelice, 2003;Toepoel, 2013;Wei & Milman, 2002), the relationships between holidays and seniors' wellbeing is still unclear (Balderas-Cejudo et al., 2017;Chen & Petrick, 2013;Gu et al., 2016). Specifically, the existing literature is characterized by a large, heterogeneous spectrum of operationalizations of wellbeing such as psychological wellbeing (Wei & Milman, 2002), life satisfaction (Ferrer et al., 2016), quality of life (Kim et al., 2015), happiness (Staats & Pierfelice, 2003), mood state (Jia et al., 2016), affects (Staats & Pierfelice, 2003) or self-rated health (Gu et al., 2016). ...
... Overall, on holidays, seniors tend to be more relaxed and more available to reflect on their life and to appreciate advanced age (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). Holidays generate a set of positive emotions (Mitas et al., 2012) that allow seniors to reassess their lives in a brighter light and to develop strategies to better cope with the stressors (such as bereavement, illness, and body changes) that occur more often, on average, at their age (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). ...
... A possible interpretation is that each holiday is associated with developing a specific personal project, which generates positive affect before departure (e.g. Chen & Petrick, 2013;Hagger & Murray, 2014;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Lawton, Moss, Winter, & Hoffman, 2002;Nawijn, Marchand, Veenhoven, & Vingerhoets, 2010). In this context, the more often seniors go on holidays, the more they develop personal projects and associated positive emotions in their everyday life. ...
There has been an increase in research on the relationship between holidays and wellbeing in the last decade. However, only a few studies have investigated this association in seniors and the impact of holiday-related predictors of wellbeing is understudied. The aims of this study were to: 1) compare the profile of senior tourists and senior non-tourists on socio-demographic indicators, health, physical activity, and social relations, 2) compare the profile of senior tourists and senior non-tourists on wellbeing, after adjusting for control variables, and 3) examine the impact of holiday-related predictors (frequency, mean duration, frequency of physical, social, cognitive and relaxing activities, degree of perceived health benefits) on wellbeing of senior tourists, over and above the role of various relevant covariates. A sample of 4130 seniors (Mage = 68.2 years, SD = 5.8, range 60–85) filled out a questionnaire related to the last holiday, daily activities, health, and wellbeing. Results showed that senior tourists were younger, more educated, wealthier, and healthier than senior non-tourists. In addition, the levels of wellbeing were higher in senior tourists compared to senior non-tourists, after adjusting for control variables. Hierarchical regressions analyses revealed that frequent holidays, a greater frequency of social and cognitive activities, as well as the degree of perceived health benefits were associated with higher wellbeing.
... Personal growth can be stimulated by developmental, environmental or intentional processes (Prochaska and DiClemente, 1986;Robitschek, 1998;Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor, 2014). However, when personal growth is because of intentional processes, the individual is fully aware that change is occurring and is actively engaged in the process. ...
... Open-ended and unstructured interviews were conducted face-to-face by using the long interview method (McCracken, 1988). Interviews lasted approximately one hour and focused on narrative and context when discussing issues related to ODP. ...
... From the text, several themes consistently emerged across informants' interviews. Further analysis yielded consensus on the identification of meta-themes from the narratives of the 12 informants (McCracken, 1988;Thompson, 1997;Wong and King, 2008;Kemp et al., 2013;Henderson et al., 2013). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the stages involved in occupational dream pursuit (ODP). In this study, dreams are studied in the context of life-changing, occupational endeavors. The judgment and decision-making that fuels the process and the consumption motives that appear throughout the various stages of the journey are examined through the narratives of individuals living out their career-related dreams.
Design/methodology/approach
Open-ended interviews were conducted with individuals who were embarking on a life-changing career attainment experience. The narratives of these informants uncovered psychological, social and behavioral aspects of the dream pursuit process.
Findings
Through the informants’ narratives, common themes emerged with respect to the ODP journey, and these themes offered a fluid interpretation of the stages involved in the dream pursuit process: revelation, inciting action, development, maintenance and evolution. At each stage, specific consumption motives and behaviors predominate. These themes, including the consumption, psychological and developmental processes that take place at each stage, are discussed through the narratives of the informants.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights the role of positive emotions, personal growth, consumption motives and behaviors in ODP.
Originality/value
Dreams give individuals a sense of purpose and being. Although conventional wisdom acknowledges the importance of dream actualization, limited behavioral research has explored the nuances of ODP with regard to decision-making and consumption.
... Dann, 2001;McCabe & Johnson, 2013;Minnaert & Schapmans, 2009). However, despite an increasing number of studies conducted in recent years (Ahn & Janke, 2011;Ferrer et al., 2016;Gu et al., 2016;Hunter-Jones & Blackburn, 2007;Jia et al., 2016;Kim et al., 2015;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Morgan, Pritchard, & Sedgley, 2015;Nimrod, 2008;Nimrod & Rotem, 2010Staats & Pierfelice, 2003;Toepoel, 2013;Wei & Milman, 2002), the relationships between holidays and seniors' wellbeing is still unclear (Balderas-Cejudo et al., 2017;Chen & Petrick, 2013;Gu et al., 2016). Specifically, the existing literature is characterized by a large, heterogeneous spectrum of operationalizations of wellbeing such as psychological wellbeing (Wei & Milman, 2002), life satisfaction (Ferrer et al., 2016), quality of life (Kim et al., 2015), happiness (Staats & Pierfelice, 2003), mood state (Jia et al., 2016), affects (Staats & Pierfelice, 2003) or self-rated health (Gu et al., 2016). ...
... Overall, on holidays, seniors tend to be more relaxed and more available to reflect on their life and to appreciate advanced age (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). Holidays generate a set of positive emotions (Mitas et al., 2012) that allow seniors to reassess their lives in a brighter light and to develop strategies to better cope with the stressors (such as bereavement, illness, and body changes) that occur more often, on average, at their age (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). ...
... A possible interpretation is that each holiday is associated with developing a specific personal project, which generates positive affect before departure (e.g. Chen & Petrick, 2013;Hagger & Murray, 2014;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Lawton, Moss, Winter, & Hoffman, 2002;Nawijn, Marchand, Veenhoven, & Vingerhoets, 2010). In this context, the more often seniors go on holidays, the more they develop personal projects and associated positive emotions in their everyday life. ...
... Most research about senior tourism is market-oriented because of the economic benefits that this group of tourists can bring to the industry (Alén et al., 2017a). This group of studies focuses on three directions, including marketing based on the spatial features of senior tourists Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014), marketing based on profiles of these tourists (Alén et al., 2014;S. Chen & Shoemaker, 2014;Hsu & Lee, 2002), and marketing based on destinations' attractiveness (Lemmetyinen et al., 2016;Pezeshki et al., 2019). ...
... Furthermore, communication among senior tourists mediates between motivation and satisfaction . For educated senior tourists, an escape from daily routine and being together with families and friends (pull factor) are the major motivations (B. Lee et al., 2008) that are accompanied by the acquisition of spiritual benefits (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). In addition to traditional motives, gastronomy is becoming a new trend among senior tourists in recent years (Balderas et al., 2019). ...
Senior tourism is a rapidly growing market in China, and global players have begun to attract senior tourists from China using diversified ways to help boost the industry in different destinations worldwide. However, scant research has been conducted to examine senior tours accompanied by offspring, let alone the Chinese senior context itself. This study utilizes autoethnography to examine a senior international tour accompanied by a young son. The study confirms the existence of six sources of conflict, but verifies that harmony is the more important feature in such a tour. Related practical implications on how to better arrange such tours are presented.
... Several studies have researched some of the well-being benefits of travel for seniors (e.g. Kim, Woo, & Uysal, 2015;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Shaw et al., 2016). Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor (2014) suggest that senior tourists tend to appreciate the spiritual benefits of travelling more than other groups. ...
... Kim, Woo, & Uysal, 2015;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Shaw et al., 2016). Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor (2014) suggest that senior tourists tend to appreciate the spiritual benefits of travelling more than other groups. ...
The aim of this paper is to analyse why the largest percentage of spa, wellness and health tourism customers tend to be middle aged (around 45 on average) and predominantly female. Both academic and popular psychological research indicate that life satisfaction reaches a nadir during the middle years of life during which many adults experience a so-called mid-life crisis. However, it is often the case that people become happier again as they age – the “U-bend” of life theory. The first part of this paper explores a number of studies which support these theories, followed by an analysis of primary research which consisted of 60 e-interviews with professional people aged 40 and over. The final part of the paper considers the implications for the spa, wellness and health tourism industries and makes recommendations for how these sectors can provide the ideal services for their core market of middle-aged and female guests.
... Tourism is important for individuals who face losses not only because it offers the opportunity to get away from their everyday environment, but also it helps them to become more confident, to understand their loss better which provides a secure base to go on living, by having confidence that problems arising in the future will be manageable (Blichfeldt & Nicolaisen, 2011;Eichhorn et al., 2013;Hunter-Jones, 2003;Morgan et al., 2015). Fredrickson and Anderson (1999) and Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor (2014) revealed that travel can facilitate the experience of solitude for some women, which is found to be helpful for them to accept and understand their life without their partners. Further, tourism offers a physical challenge, and it reawakens people's capabilities of their body to overcome their psychological uncertainties about their physical abilities and provides them the sense of accomplishment (Fredrickson & Anderson, 1999;Stringer & McAvoy, 1992). ...
... For many people, spiritual perspectives such as believing that their life has a real purpose help to deal with their losses (Balk, 1999;Kaye & Raghavan, 2002). Significantly, some tourism studies have found out that travel can facilitate spiritual experiences (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Willson, 2010;Willson et al., 2013). For these reasons, tourism scholars should further explore how people search for personal meaning and identity through travel to understand and recover from various losses. ...
Loss is a universal human experience that every person encounters. In our life journey, loss may come in many forms including suffering the death of a loved one, living with chronic illness, disabilities, separation, being abused, unemployment, and there are many other losses. These changes signal the reality of significant losses, which are often viewed negatively, affecting an individual’s experiences and inclination to travel. Many scholars neglect that, for some, loss can prompt positive reflection of their own mortality, existence and purpose, which may reshape their travel experiences. This paper aims to critically review these issues within the tourism literature to ascertain how loss is conceptualized and understood in relation to its influence on travel.
... A similar problem is observed in studies focused on the market for old aged people. Many researchers in tourism literature argue that the traditional marketing approach that considers the senior tourists with a stereotype and therefore it is inadequate to meet the needs and requests of this market and that the experiential marketing studies towards senior tourists should increase (Hudson, 2010;Major & Mcleay, 2013;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Patterson & Pegg, 2009;Tung & Ritchie, 2011). However, there is no present study relating the senior tourist market with strategic experiential marketing. ...
... In a similar way, the common result of these studies indicate that this market wants to enrich their lives by learning and information, spiritual and mental illumination, authenticity, nostalgia, pleasure, entertainment, active participation in activities and adventure as the unforgettable experience of vacation. Another common result of these studies is that the tourism industry should develop various marketing strategies to meet the expectations of senior tourist market (Hudson, 2010;Major & Mcleay, 2013;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Patterson & Pegg, 2009;Tung & Ritchie, 2011). Within this context, it can be said that experiential marketing approach that defines the consumers as emotional individuals and aims to provide them delighting experiences and the aspects of strategic experiential marketing are important to meet the requirements of senior tourists and their expectations from tourism. ...
... The influence of spirituality on the consumer behavior of older adults has been little investigated yet and deserves further attention (Moschis, 2012). The results of pioneering research reveal that spirituality influences their motivations for consumption (Moal-Ulvoas, 2016) and that, in return, consumption generates spiritual benefits for the older adult (Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor, 2014). In parallel, significant economic opportunities are associated with demographic ageing. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the reaction to the use of senior models in ads by older consumers while taking into account their spiritual dimension in the context of ageing.
Design/methodology/approach
This research relies on a qualitative approach and the narrative analysis of 40 transcribed interviews with older adults of age 50-83.
Findings
Interviews with senior respondents confirm that ageing is a challenging individual process in the context of which spiritual needs emerge. Taking these needs into account helps understand the reaction of older consumers to the use of senior models in ads. It also reveals the potential of this marketing practice to respond to spiritual needs in the context of ageing.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes to the understanding of older consumers’ reaction to the senior models they see in ads. It reveals the necessity to take spiritual needs into account to fully understand consumer behavior at old age. This paper contributes to the understanding of older consumers’ reaction to the senior models they see in ads. It reveals the necessity to take spiritual needs into account to fully understand consumer behavior at old age.
Practical implications
This paper provides practical guidance to advertising professionals on the use of senior models in ads.
Social implications
This research reveals that the adequate representation of older models in advertisements can help fight the negative stereotypes associated with ageing and contributes to highlighting the major role played by older adults in society.
Originality/value
This research is the first to investigate the relationship of older consumers to the senior models used in advertisements while taking into account their spiritual dimension. It extends the existing research on older consumers and advertising, especially their perception of senior models.
... In consumer research, spirituality is viewed as the way consumers create meaning and look to products and services that enable transcendence (Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor 2014) and "as an individual's endeavors to explore-and deeply and meaningfully-connect one's inner self to the known world and beyond" (Kale 2006, p. 109). To date, most research on consumer contemporary spirituality has focused on spiritual value (Dodds, Bulmer, and Murphy 2018) and how spirituality motivates consumption (Husemann and Eckhardt 2019a;Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor 2014). Further, research has explored marketing and consumption of spirituality (Rinallo, Scott, and Maclaran 2013;Rinallo and Oliver 2019), including aspects of consumer spirituality such as faith, ecstasy, sacredness, fantasy, and magic (Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry 1989;Dion and Arnould 2011;Fernandez and Lastovicka 2011;St. ...
Despite increasing usage of spirituality and fantasy in advertising, especially during the novel coronovirus pandemic, the implications of this trend on consumer well-being and behavior remain unknown. To address this gap, this research conceptualizes a spiritual-fantasy advertising framework and its subsequent effects on consumer well-being and responses to advertising by synthesizing and integrating extant literature on spirituality and fantasy. In contrast to a common view that advertising decreases consumer well-being, we demonstrate how and why advertising evoking spirituality and fantasy can enhance consumers’ eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. Our research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of contemporary spirituality that includes fantasy, as well as advertising. We develop a rich research agenda for this important but underexplored area. The proposed comprehensive framework can guide advertising practice and research going forward, especially for those considering such topics as spirituality, fantasy, or consumer well-being.
... They promote health and wellbeing (e.g. Teychenne, Ball, & Salmon, 2008;Wang, Xu, & Pei, 2012) and provide a real opportunity to better deal with the challenges of ageing (Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). However, people's leisure activities and holiday arrangements evolve over time and change for various reasons, such as their own or a partner's state of health, or mobility problems. ...
With an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of age-related constraints, social tourism providers and policy-makers face significant challenges in providing holidays for seniors. Based on a large database from a research project in Wallonia (Belgium) implemented from 2015 till 2018, the study identifies the different types of holiday arrangements and activities associated with the benefits of holidays, largely in terms of wellbeing. It then examines whether they are age-related or not, and if so how, and how they can inform social tourism policies that target seniors. Data from the sample of 4144 respondents show a variety of age-related significant associations , with thresholds at retirement and after the age of 70. The study examines these associations in the context of various social theories of ageing and sets out the implications for social tourism policy-makers and providers.
... The other characteristics of senior travelers (such as increased availability of time for traveling after retirement) suggest the suitable minimum age of 60 or higher, depending on the retirement age in the studied country. This concept is widely accepted (Horneman, Carter, Wei & Ruys, 2002;Jang & Wu, 2006;Lee & Tideswell, 2005;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Nikitina & Vorontsova, 2015;Zimmer, Brayley & Searle, 1995UDK 338.484(474.5) iors regarding the choice and consumption of products and services both individually and in groups (Barnhart & Peñaloza, 2013). ...
Purpose – The paper analyzes push and pull motivations of senior travelers who have experienced externally imposed travel restrictions earlier in life. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study is designed to measure push and pull factors of senior travelers, together with positive and negative eff ects among the respondents who have experienced travel restrictions in their past. The exploration of lingering eff ects from previous travel restrictions is based on the comparison of fi ndings with prior studies, conducted in environments that did not include the contextual factor of previous travel restrictions. In order to enable the comparison, a selected study is followed by using similar methodological and analytical approaches (e.g. survey sample and methods of analysis). This kind of analysis allowed discovering diff erences in fi ndings that can be attributed to the lingering eff ects of past restrictions on travel and that still infl uence motivations of current senior travelers. The survey was conducted in Lithuania, a country with a memory of historical restrictions on trav-eling, rather typical of many countries of Eastern Europe and several others in other parts of the world. Findings and implications – The study found that the lingering eff ects of past restrictions on travel infl uences Sažetak Svrha – Rad analizira motivacije guranja i privlačenja starijih putnika koji su prije doživjeli izvana nametnuta putna ograničenja. Metodološki pristup – Istraživanje je osmišljeno tako da mjeri čimbenike guranja i privlačenja starijih putni-ka zajedno s pozitivnim i negativnim utjecajima među ispitanicima koji su nekad prije iskusili nametnuta putna ograničenja. Istraživanje zadržanih učinaka prethodnih putnih ograničenja temelji se na usporedbi rezultata s ranijim istraživanjima koja su provođena u okruženjima koja nisu uključivala kontekstualni čimbenik prethodnih putnih ograničenja. Kako bi se omogućila usporedba, provedeno istraživanje slijedi odabrano istraživanje sličnog metodološkog i analitičkog pristupa (npr. uzorak ankete i metode analize). Ovaj je način analize omogućio otkrivanje razlika u rezultatima koje mogu biti pripisane zadržanim učincima prošlih putnih ograničenja koji još uvijek utječu na motivacije sadašnjih starijih putnika. Istraživanje je provedeno u Litvi, zemlji koja predstavlja stanje s povijesnim ograničenjima pri putovanju, koja su dosta tipična za mnoge zemlje Istočne Europe i nekoliko slučajeva u drugim dijelovima svijeta. Rezultati i implikacije – Istraživanje je otkrilo da za-držani učinci putnih ograničenja iz prošlosti utječu na current motivations of senior travelers; thus, their motivations diff er from those of senior travelers coming from the countries in which there were no travel restrictions in the past. Specifi cally, the diff erences include increased importance of travel cost and of personal ego enhancement, and lower sensitivity to comfort. Limitations – Although the study is based on a sample drawn from one country (Lithuania), the fi ndings may be extended to other countries of Central and Eastern Europe sharing similar historical conditions, especially in terms of travel restrictions in the past. Originality – The study investigates the unique con-textual factor of travel restrictions in travel motivations analysis, and shows the specifi city of motivational effects in the countries which experienced past travel restrictions. Keywords – senior travelers, push and pull motivations, travel restrictions, positive and negative eff ects, Lithu-ania trenutnu motivaciju starijih putnika. Stoga se njihove motivacije razlikuju u odnosu na one starijih putnika koji dolaze iz zemalja gdje u prošlosti nije bilo putnih ograničenja. Konkretnije, razlike uključuju povećanu važnost putnih troškova i poboljšanje osobnog ega te smanjenu osjetljivost na udobnost. Ograničenja – Iako se istraživanje temelji na uzroku iz jedne zemlje (Litve), rezultati se mogu proširiti na ostale zemlje Istočne i Centralne Europe koje su imale slične povijesne uvjete, posebice u pogledu putnih ograničenja u prošlosti. Doprinos – Istražen je jedinstveni kontekstualni čim-benik prošlih ograničenja u motivacijama za putovan-jem, a pokazana je i specifi čnost motivacijskih učinaka u zemljama u kojima su u prošlosti bila na snazi putna ograničenja. Ključne riječi – stariji putnici, motivacije guranja i privlačenja, putna ograničenja, pozitivni i negativni ut-jecaji, Litva Push and pull factors of senior travelers: the lingering infl uence of past restrictions 95
... Because of the important role that spirituality plays in seniors' pursuit of life satisfaction, it is an unending issue to explicate seniors' positive psychological and emotional states (Depp et al., 2010). However, very few studies have examined the importance of spirituality in senior groups (Cowlishaw et al., 2013;Moal-Ulvoas, 2017;Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014). There is also a lack of understanding of the extent to which seniors and non-seniors differ in their experiences associated with spirituality and life satisfaction (Kaufman & Weaver, 2006;Sund & Boksberger, 2007). ...
This study applies the cognitive‐affective‐conative (CAC) model to develop an analytical framework of visitor experience with a sacred site. Furthermore, the framework that contains key variables of visitor experience, particularly spirituality, is tested in both senior and non‐senior groups. Since seniors and non‐seniors would behave differently with regard to spirituality, this analysis allows us to further identify the role of spirituality in visitor behavior especially with regard to a sacred destination. The results show that spirituality is crucial in associating individuals' emotional status with their behavior, eventually leading to a change in individuals' life satisfaction and loyalty in pilgrimage experience.
... For example, some recent research focuses specifically on the wellbeing of older travellers (e.g. Moal-Ulvoas & Taylor, 2014;Morgan, Pritchard, & Sedgley, 2015;Shaw et al., 2016) or younger ones (e.g. Eusebio & Carneiro, 2014). ...
Wellbeing has been a philosophical and sociological concern since the beginning of time, and research has extended over time to disciplines such as psychology, health sciences and economics to name just a few. Tourism studies has also become more focused on wellbeing in the last few decades, both from a theoretical and methodological perspective. After examining the philosophical background of wellbeing from different perspectives, the paper takes a closer look at how these frameworks can inform tourism research and practices. It explores the relationship between diverse terminologies and perspectives as well as the ways in which hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing can be derived through tourism experiences. A spectrum and a model are proposed which outline the relationship between various types of wellbeing, tourism and activities.
... The feelings of being overpowered by a powerful and enjoyable experience. According to Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor (2014), spirituality has a meaning with life, and define it as "individual construction of the meaning of one's life, the dimensions of which are the inner self, alterity (other humans and nature) and the sacred". Spirituality actually includes the acceptance of a feeling, sense or belief and idea which is something greater than ourselves. ...
Social media marketing in tourism is a powerful marketing approach for reaching a large number of travellers and greatly influencing their decision making. It is particularly important for the Millennial generation as they were born into and have been exposed to the world of technology in their everyday lives. India is a country with one of the largest population of Millennials. Cultural tourism is also the primary focus of India's efforts to attract travellers. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the representation of Indian World Heritage Sites (WHSs) on two popular social media platforms, Facebook and TripAdvisor. The findings of this study provide the opportunity to gauge WHSs ability to successfully engage with tourists and particularly Millennials over social media. The implications of this paper discuss approaches for the effective use of social media marketing to promote cultural attractions and successfully attract younger travellers.
... These resources, which involve not only travel-related skills but also attitudes and cultural knowledge (Kashima and Loh 2006;Ward and Searle 1991) Fig. 1 Conceptual framework Safdar et al. 2012). In tourism research, these socio-demographic factors are used to differentiate tourists in terms of destination choice, motivation to travel, travel memories, form of travel, risk perceptions and coping strategies, preferences for comfort level and a range of other characteristics relevant to the concepts of challenge and culture involvement (Benckendorff et al. 2009;Kazeminia et al. 2015;Lloyd and Little 2010;Moal-Ulvoas and Taylor 2014;Pearce and Lee 2005). Other important individual-level characteristics include personality (Pomfret 2006;Tomljenovic 2010; van der Zee and van Oudenhoven 2013); expectations (Rogers and Ward 1993); and motivation to travel, particularly to engage with the host culture (Falk et al. 2012;Safdar et al. 2012;Tomljenovic 2010), to persevere, and to challenge oneself (Lazarus 1990;Pomfret 2006;Stebbins 1996;Rheinberg 2008). ...
The purpose of this chapter is to understand the different roles of different dining experience attributes in creating value for restaurant customers. This research is one of the first study to examine the role of other customers as a part of dining experience along with other restaurant satisfaction attributes to better understand value creation in restaurant industry. A conceptual model is proposed and tested to investigate the different effects of restaurant attributes on creating value as well as behavioral intentions by adopting multidimensional conceptualization of consumer perceived value. A quantitative research design performing structural equation modeling is used to test series of linear relations between study constructs. Data were collected from customers of a restaurant group, which operates different restaurant brands in İstanbul. The findings supported the sequential link of restaurant attributes—customer value and behavioral intentions. The results also identify other customers as being part of dining experience in creating value. Moreover, this chapter also confirms that different restaurant attributes satisfy different needs of restaurant guests in creating overall perceived value and affecting future behavioral intentions.
This paper explores the potential of travel to generate self-transcendent positive emotions and contribute to the spirituality of travelers. Senior travelers are chosen as the target group for this research as spirituality and focus on emotions are salient characteristics of older adults. Sixteen depth interviews are conducted with experienced travelers aged 60–85. Content analysis reveals that travelling generates three categories of self-transcendent positive emotions including awe of natural beauty and Man’s harmonious relationship with nature, awe of manmade heritage and artistic beauty, admiration of other people and appreciation of kindness. Respondents also describe how travelling positively influences their spirituality by giving a positive meaning to their lives and nurturing their reflection on the meaning of life.
The travel planning process comprises all the steps that occur from the perception of a travel need to the post-consumption phase. During this process, older tourists take several decisions which are interrelated and evolve over time. Core travel decisions are usually planned in advance and concern elements such as destination choice, length of the trip, type of travel organization, and travel companions. This chapter explores older tourists’ travel planning behavior by investigating some crucial determinants of core travel decisions. Specifically, internal determinants include travel needs and motivations, and travel constraints, while external determinants include information sources and pull attributes of the destination.
When cultural differences are significant and contact is relatively brief, it can be difficult to find personal relevance in the cultures of others, let alone develop an enduring interest in the host cultures, which would continue after travel. This chapter addresses these cultural tourism issues by examining the relationship between the concepts of challenge and post-travel culture involvement, and their association with self-development. The conceptual framework proposed here draws on interconnected theories from acculturation, cognitive appraisal and positive psychology, as well as relevant literature on immersive, memorable, adventure and transformative tourist experiences. It concludes that the acculturation process models and the stress, appraisal and coping theory are the most helpful for explaining this underlying relationship and for providing a more nuanced understanding of challenge in the context of cultural tourism.
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale on factors affecting senior citizens’ behavioural intentions to travel in terms of approach and avoidance. The study is longitudinal in nature and has used a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative) to collect and confirm a series of indicators concerning the different constructs. Under study 1, a pool of items was generated by conducting industry expert survey and reviewing the existing literature. Afterwards, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed for extracting the distinct factors. Under study 2, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to validate the proposed scale. The results of EFA and CFA revealed six dimensions of push factors, three dimensions of pull factors, two dimensions of perceived travel risks, three dimensions of perceived travel constraints and two dimensions of behavioural intentions of senior citizen tourists. Under pull factors, two additional dimensions were found, namely, familiarity and friendliness quotient of a destination as well as health safety and security quotient of a destination and under perceived travel constraints, outbreak of COVID-19 has been identified as a novel structural constraint. Since there is very limited research on senior citizens’ behavioural intentions to travel, the current study adds to the body of knowledge by identifying the additional factors that affect the same. Further, the study develops and validates the items through qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The main contribution of this chapter is to critically discuss the benefits of applying geographic information systems (GIS) as a tool for management and promotion of spiritual tourism circuits (STC) and ST destinations. This research-based chapter also examines the extent to which GIS can be used in spiritual tourism management and promotion, proposes a model for the use and benefits of GIS in spiritual tourism management and promotion in India and Pakistan, and proposes GIS connected STC. This chapter identifies the socio-economic and business benefits of applying GIS to spiritual tourism circuits (STC). In this research, the spiritual tourism product is exclusively based on spiritual place, sites, or destinations, which is also called spatial or geographical data.
Purpose
Religious tourism is a form of tourism where people of a particular faith travel to visit places of religious significance in their faith. Previous research into the various aspects of religious and spiritual tourism (RST) has been noticeably extended. The purpose of this study is to perform systematic mapping to provide trends and classification regarding the recent publications in the area of RST.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected 181 papers from five scientific databases, from which 122 were selected to be classified according to six properties: research type, research focus, research method, investigated religion, publication type and time.
Findings
The analysis of these data resulted in a map of the research field, which was presented under three perspectives: the distribution and trends over time of each classification property and the relationship between them. Besides the visual map, the full list of classified papers is available. The results showed that the number of publications is increasing every year, which shows a growing interest in this field. Moreover, the primary research focuses were destination, demand and marketing. Top three journals were found to be International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Recreation Research and Journal of Heritage Tourism. Furthermore, evaluation research, solution proposals and opinion papers were the main research types in the area. In addition, the majority of studies focused on Christianity and Islam. Finally, survey, discussion paper, interview and case study were the predominantly used research methods.
Originality/value
The mapping study delivers the first systematic summary of RST research.
This paper explores the value creation process in an edutainment context. It attempts to capture the dual, differential value creation processes through two pathways, namely, affective and cognitive. Results revealed that affective and cognitive values not only increase customer satisfaction but also enhance consumer well‐being. Moreover, contrary to conventional belief asserting that value creation is a universal process, this study finds that those who had higher personal relevance with the edutainment context experienced more intense emotional and intellectual values, which in turn enhanced both their satisfaction, well‐being, and revisit intention. Results suggest that marketers need to rethink their engagement strategy in order to create both emotional and intellectual value for customers.
International retirement migration (IRM) is a growing phenomenon linked to increased longevity, early retirement, and improved financial status. Encompassing both travel and leisure experiences, IRM is a topic relevant to both tourism and leisure studies. By analysing the fictional movie series The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) and The Second Best Marigold Hotel (2015) from psychological, gerontological, and sociological theoretical perspectives, this paper examines motivation, goal setting, continuity and change, and identity development in IRM experiences within tourism and leisure contexts. This paper (a) identified motivations for IRM as finance, romantic relationships, social relations, self-esteem, self-fulfilment, and social norms; (b) in turn, time perception and attitude influence IRM emigrants’ priority and emotional fulfilment; (c) innovation extricates IRM emigrants from role loss and facilitates role change; and (d) IRM emigrants experience various identity development processes. A conceptual framework for IRM is proposed that purports to explain the IRM experience process and indicates that such an understanding of IRM should incorporate psychological, gerontological, and sociological perspectives.
The transition from a busy work life to a retired state entails a lot of adjustment, planning, and wise decision-making. While there have been numerous studies that elucidate retirement issues across the globe, the need to know about retirement preferences of middle-aged and older teachers remains a blank spot in the literature, hence this discrete choice estimation investigation. The overall purpose of this study is to explicate the utility and importance of retirement preferences of a select group of 40–70 year-old teachers (n = 152) from the northern part of the Philippines. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21, a set of 12 choice bundles with 4 holdouts were extracted from a pool 96 orthogonal array. Respondents were asked to sort and rank each card based on its importance and utility value using the Balanced Incomplete Block Design (BIBD). Results indicate that the most important attribute considered by Filipino teachers relative to their retirement preferences was investment. This was followed by pursuit of an old interest, travel, and part-time job as the least preferred. This utility study yielded empirical data that can be benchmarked by retirement planning policy makers in the academic setting to better address the uncertainty faced by aging teachers when it comes to their retirement decisions.
Purpose
This study seeks to examine the impact of mobile service experience on trust of elderly consumers in their financial institution and assess whether age (55–64 years vs 65+ years) exerts a moderating influence.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire was completed online by 390 panelists (aged 55 years or more) who use their mobile devices to conduct banking activities. A multigroup analysis was conducted to assess the moderating role of age.
Findings
Results confirm the presence of links between four out of five dimensions of the mobile banking service experience (cognitive, positive affective/sensory, negative affective and social) and trust. Findings further point to age-specific variation in the impact of mobile service experience dimensions on trust, thus supporting the notion that the elderly represents a clientele with different experiential needs. More specifically, whereas the social dimension has a greater influence on trust in individuals 65 years of age and over (seniors), the positive affective/sensory dimension exerts a deeper marked impact on trust in individuals 55–64 years of age (pre-retirees).
Research limitations/implications
Although generations and chronological age are powerful segmentation variables, it might be interesting to consider perceived age. Redoing the study in a post-COVID context would also be an interesting avenue of research.
Practical implications
The ageing market is important for banks. This study highlights, in an m-banking context, which dimension of experience to focus on in order to improve trust in banks for pre-retirees (emotional/sensory dimension) and seniors (social dimension).
Originality/value
This study is the first to consider mobile service experience of elderly individuals as well as the impact of each of the experience dimensions on an important relational variable, namely trust. By considering the age of individuals as a moderating variable, this study also provides an in-depth examination of age-related links and presents a number of relevant recommendations for financial institutions.
Transformative tourism experiences (TE) have powerful personal and societal implications due to life-changing capacities when consumers subsume their experiences. Past reviews and conceptualisations of TE have been limited in scope, often emphasising a particular theory or context, and prioritising the consumer perspective. Given an increasing need to understand TE due to its implications concerning tourism sustainability, this study systematically reviews TE in travel and tourism. The study adopts a hybrid systematic narrative approach to build a holistic conceptual framework of TE from a co-created perspective, offering insights for future research. From the 125 studies, the review's findings revealed a massive dominance on qualitative approaches across seven broad experience categories concerning TE. These broad categories are general travel and tourism, educational, voluntourism, cultural, nature-based, wellness, and niche tourism experiences. From these seven broad categories of studies, three identified dimensions of TE were: experience, experience-facilitator, and experience-consumer. The inter-relations between these three dimensions produces four different outcomes to both the experience-consumer and experience-facilitator. While the findings indicate several areas for future research, three areas require greater attention: potential barriers, the role of culture in TE, and the potential for negative transformations.
In the tourism industry, it is becoming increasingly significant to answer the question “why do we travel”. There are various methods and perspectives to answer this question, but few studies focus on the development of travel motivation research. As a result, by investigating 1675 publications from 1990 to 2019, we provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the status quo and emerging trends of tourist travel motivation research. The findings are as follows: (1) The active countries in this area are The USA, The UK, China and Australia. (2) “Tourist personal values” and “preferences” are the emerging trends in recent years. (4) Most of travel motivation studies belong to the disciplines of social science, hospitality, business & economics, environmental science & ecology, management, transportation, engineering and psychology. By analyzing the development of travel motivation area from historical, conceptual and geographical perspectives, the hot spots in certain periods and the current status of this area are analyzed in detail. In this paper, we contribute to providing the visualized knowledge domain of travel motivation research, which helps researchers who are interested in this area to learn the development of travel motivation research in the recent 3 decades more directly. Besides, understanding the research fronts in different periods also enables decision makers, especially managers in the tourism industry to know more about their consumers so that they can set effective marketing strategies accordingly.
As globalization has become a defining issue for business and society, an increasing amount of research has examined how multicultural experiences affect a variety of psychological and organizational outcomes. We define "multicultural experiences" as exposure to or interactions with elements or members of a different culture(s). We then provide a comprehensive review of the literature and detail how multicultural experiences impact intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational outcomes, including creativity , psychological adjustment, intergroup bias, trust, morality, leadership effectiveness, and individual or firm performance, exploring key mechanisms and boundary conditions that have also emerged. We then present a new theoretical framework the "Structure-Appraisal Model of Multicultural Experiences"-that organizes the overall pattern of findings and provides a roadmap for future research. The structure part of our model proposes that deeper multicultural experiences produce integrative processes that transform intrapersonal cognition, whereas broader multicultural experiences activate comparative processes that influence interpersonal attitudes and behaviors. The appraisal part of our model suggests that these intrapersonal and interpersonal effects are only likely to occur when appraisals of one's multicultural experiences are positive rather than negative. We conclude by discussing practical implications for individuals and organizations, as well as future directions for researchers to consider exploring.
Why do hearing-impaired people desire to undertake outbound travel as backpackers despite their hearing and speaking limitations? To investigate the reasons, this study applied the push and pull model of travel motivation as the framework. A total of 30 hearing-impaired backpackers participated in face-to-face interviews and responded to questions concerning their motivation to travel overseas. The results of this study reveal many unique motivation themes in the push and pull groups; specifically, five push themes (constraints of group tours, self-challenge, independence, different experience, and invitation by hearing-impaired friends) and two pull themes (enjoy local culture and lifestyle and the “I have been there” feeling) were identified. Furthermore, the participants’ desire to travel as backpackers is based on their previous negative experiences in group tours. Moreover, they prefer backpacking with hearing-impaired partners than with normal-hearing partners. Furthermore, for them, their independence enables them to their parents that they can travel alone. In addition, the study findings suggest that “communication negotiation” should be considered for inclusion in the motivation typology as a new dimension for hearing-impaired backpackers. Finally, the current study provides valuable insights into the behaviors of hearing-impaired backpackers and recommendations for tourism operators.
This study reports on the development of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale, a measure designed to capture aspects of the individual that are independent of the qualities contained in the Five-Factor Model of Personality (FFM). Using 2 separate samples of undergraduate students including both self-report (
Ns = 379 and 356) and observer data (
N = 279), it was shown that Spiritual Transcendence: (a) was independent of measures of the FFM; (b) evidenced good cross-observer convergence; and (c) predicted a wide range of psychologically salient outcomes, even after controlling for the predictive effects of personality. Given the long theoretical pedigree of Transcendence in the psychological literature, it was argued that Spiritual Transcendence represents a broad-based motivational domain of comparable breadth to those constructs contained in the FFM and ought to be considered a potential sixth major dimension of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The author describes and illustrates a hermeneutically grounded interpretive framework for deriving marketing-relevant insights from the "texts" of consumer stories and gives an overview of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of this approach. Next, the author describes a hermeneutic framework for interpreting the stories consumers tell about their experiences of products, services, brand images, and shopping. An illustrative analysis demonstrates how this framework can be applied to generate three levels of interpretation: (1) discerning the key patterns of meanings expressed by a given consumer in the texts of his or her consumption stories, (2) identifying key patterns of meaning that emerge across the consumption stories expressed by different consumers, and (3) deriving broader conceptual and managerial implications from the analysis of consumer narratives. This hermeneutic approach is compared and contrasted to the means-end chains laddering framework, the "voice of the customer" approach to identifying consumer needs, and market-oriented ethnography. The author concludes with a discussion that highlights the types of marketing insights that can result from a hermeneutic interpretation of consumers' consumption stories and then addresses the roles creativity and expertise play in this research orientation.
Religion has long been recognized as an important social force in influencing human behaviour. To date
however, the marketing value of religion as a cultural-based predictor of consumer behaviour has not been
adequately examined even though they have been calls for such research in the literature. This paper contributes to this area by exploring the effect of religiosity on consumers’ shopping orientations in Malaysia. Analysis of variance procedures were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that three shopping orientation factors, namely quality conscious, impulsive shopping and price conscious were consistently related to religiosity, suggesting that religiosity should be considered as a possible determinant of shopping orientations in consumer behavior model.
Older consumers remain under-researched, especially in Japan, the country most severely affected by demographic change with a rapidly aging and shrinking population. This paper aims at a better understanding of Japanese older consumers through cognitive age, health condition, financial status, and personal values. This study is the first one using these variables together on a sample of 316 older Japanese consumers. The age perception of the respondents was found on average 8 years younger than their actual chronological age, in line with the assumption of cognitive age being universal. Four groups were identified revealing a decrease in the difference between chronological and cognitive age with lower levels of health and wealth. The difference was found higher for people feeling healthy and poor than for people feeling in poor health and wealthy, thus indicating that feeling in good health was having somewhat more impact on the difference between actual and cognitive age than feeling wealthy. Respondents gave top ranking to “warm relationships with others”, second importance to “security”, and third importance to “fun and enjoyment in life”. The rankings of “excitement”, “fun and enjoyment in life”, and “sense of accomplishment” were showing a significant decrease of importance with higher cognitive age groups. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Given the profound role that religion continues to play in contemporary societies, it is surprising that management researchers have not explored the intersection between religion and organization in a more meaningful and determined way. This may be because religion is considered too far removed from the commercial organizations that form the empirical focus of much work in the discipline, or simply because it is deemed too sensitive. Whatever the reason, the upshot is that we know relatively little about the dynamics of religious organizational forms or the influence of these forms (and the values and practices that underpin them) on broader social processes and other kinds of organization. This paper is designed to highlight the potential of religion as a domain of study in management and to provide concrete suggestions for taking forward research in this area. The paper consists of three parts. I begin by reviewing some of the key literature in the sociology of religion and religious organizations. I then evaluate the existing literature on religion and organization, noting the salient contributions to date and highlighting some of the issues raised by this body of work. In the third and final main section, I suggest promising directions for future research.
This research explores consumer reactions to the use of a Christian religious symbol in advertising. Findings from a preliminary study suggested that consumers have varied reactions to Christian messages in the secular marketplace and that responses depend on their religiosity levels. Study 1 was a follow-up field experiment conducted with adult consumers, while Study 2 was a lab experiment conducted with young adults. Results of Study 1 indicated a significant Christian symbol by evangelical religiosity interaction on perceived quality and purchase intentions such that the Christian symbol enhanced consumer evaluations, and the effects were stronger as evangelical religiosity increased. Consumers' source perceptions of the marketer in terms of attitude similarity, trustworthiness, expertise, and skepticism mediated these interaction effects. Results of Study 2 revealed an unusual backlash effect of the Christian symbol on purchase intentions for some consumers and contrasting mediation results. The results of the two studies are discussed and future research is proposed.
The senior tourism market has received increased attention as the importance of this market segment becomes more evident. However, limited efforts have been devoted to understanding psychological aspects of senior tourists. The primary objectives of this research are to investigate seniors' affect and travel motivation as well as interrelationships between these two constructs and to discover the effects of affect and motivation on travel intentions of seniors aged 65 or greater. Using Taiwanese seniors as the study sample, the authors identify “novelty seeking” as the most important travel motivation factor from five extracted factors. It is also found that both positive and negative affective states have significant impacts on travel motivations and that only positive affect is significantly related to future travel intention. Among motivation factors, novelty-seeking not only can be stimulated by affect but also arouses travel intention. The findings of this exploratory study provide empirical support to understand psychological aspects of senior travelers.
The role of values has received limited empirical attention relative to its potential significance, especially within a causal modeling approach. A series of multivariate and structural equation analyses supported the hypotheses that values have internal and external dimensions that influence attitudes. In turn, attitudes were found to influence behaviors, as the final phase in the value-attitude-behavior hierarchy. These analyses were performed on data derived from a survey about natural food shopping. As hypothesized, we found that people who have more internally oriented and less externally oriented value structures like natural foods more than other people, and these attitudes then lead to behaviors appropriate to the structure. Theoretical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The author describes and illustrates a hermeneutically grounded interpretive framework for deriving marketing-relevant insights from the “texts” of consumer stories and gives an overview of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of this approach. Next, the author describes a hermeneutic framework for interpreting the stories consumers tell about their experiences of products, services, brand images, and shopping. An illustrative analysis demonstrates how this framework can be applied to generate three levels of interpretation: (1) discerning the key patterns of meanings expressed by a given consumer in the texts of his or her consumption stories, (2) identifying key patterns of meaning that emerge across the consumption stories expressed by different consumers, and (3) deriving broader conceptual and managerial implications from the analysis of consumer narratives. This hermeneutic approach is compared and contrasted to the means—end chains laddering framework, the “voice of the customer” approach to identifying consumer needs, and market-oriented ethnography. The author concludes with a discussion that highlights the types of marketing insights that can result from a hermeneutic interpretation of consumers’ consumption stories and then addresses the roles creativity and expertise play in this research orientation.
The business of tourism is constantly evolving….
In continuous publication since 1985, The Tourism System has constantly evolved to meet the changing needs of the reader. This new seventh edition is no exception.
The Tourism System goes beyond a mere description of tourism and its basic principles. It incorporates concepts, principles, and theories from disciplines such as psychology, economics and marketing that greatly influence tourism.
Separated into four parts, The Tourism System takes the reader through destination, marketing, demand, and finishes with travel. The authors make it easy to see how the elements of the entire tourism system interact with each other.
The Tourism System:
incorporates changes in the tourism system relating to destinations, channels of distribution, tourist markets, and modes of transportation.
includes new “Quick Trips” features that are written to practically illustrate each learning outcome and stimulate discussion.
highlights and emphasizes new topics such as competitiveness in the tourism market, tourism satellite accounts, the impact of climate change on tourism, the use of quality assurance programs, societal marketing campaigns and more.
What is consumption? Do we consume because we are socialized to consume? Or is it because we are consuming to produce—our livelihoods, our identities, or our personalities? Is consumption need or want based? How has consumption occurred in societies over time? Where does the dance of consumption fit within our capitalist and spiritual/religious world? Are we doomed to consume to the beat of the material world? Or is there more at stake? How deeply does consumption touch our spiritual natures? Is there a link between the consumption function and dance?
Is it appropriate to integrate spirituality info the management of an organization? Does spirituality make a company more profitable?.
The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 6e provides a comprehensive summary and evaluation of recent research on the psychological aspects of aging. The 22 chapters are organized into four divisions: Concepts, Theories, and Methods in the Psychology of Aging; Biological and Social Influences on Aging; Behavioral Processes and Aging; and Complex Behavioral Concepts and Processes in Aging. The 6th edition of the Handbook is considerably changed from the previous edition. Half of the chapters are on new topics and the remaining half are on returning subjects that are entirely new presentations by different authors of new material. Some of the exciting new topics include Contributions of Cognitive Neuroscience to Understanding Behavior and Aging, Everyday Problem Solving and Decision Making, Autobiographical Memory, and Religion and Health Late in Life. The Handbook will be of use to researchers and professional practitioners working with the aged. It is also suitable for use as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on the psychology of aging. The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, Sixth Edition is part of the Handbooks on Aging series, including Handbook of the Biology of Aging and Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, also in their 6th editions.
The role of death anxiety as a factor in consumption behavior has received considerable attention recently. While death anxiety and materialism have been examined together, as have materialism and quality of life, the relationship between the three concepts simultaneously has not been tested. The purpose of this paper was to examine the three constructs in a single structural equation model to determine their direct and indirect relationships. It was shown that death anxiety did affect materialistic values which then influenced quality of life perceptions. There was no direct effect for death anxiety and quality of life.
Explores the question of the possible presence of developmental stages within the different philosophical, religious, mystical, and psychological traditions that posit a nested structure of the levels of existence—levels of being and knowing—ranging from matter, to body, to mind, to soul, and to spirit. Does spirituality unfold in stages or in hierarchically-defined progressions?
The push and pull framework was used to understand the motives of senior travelers and their future behavioral intentions to the city of Nice, France. The results, based on a convenience sample of 200 senior travelers, indicated that rest and relaxation, spend time with family, and being together as a family were the three most important motives for visiting the city. Pull attributes such as weather and climate, beaches and watersports, and beautiful scenery and attractions were the three most important pull factors. Significant correlations were found between some of the push and pull factors. Revisit intentions were predicted by the motive of escape and relaxation while recommendation intentions were predicted by the pull factor of cultural attractions and accommodation. Managerial implications for product development and marketing to the senior market are suggested.
The present study attempts to measure how individuals define the terms religiousness and spirituality, to measure how individuals define their own religiousness and spirituality, and to examine whether these definitions are associated with different demographic, religio/spiritual, and psychosocial variables. The complete sample of 346 individuals was composed of 11 groups of participants drawn from a wide range of religious backgrounds. Analyses were conducted to compare participants' self-rated religiousness and spirituality, to correlate self-rated religiousness and spirituality with the predictor variables, and to use the predictor variables to distinguish between participants who described themselves as "spiritual and religious" from those who identified themselves as "spiritual but not religious." A content analysis of participants' definitions of religiousness and spirituality was also performed. The results suggest several points of convergence and divergence between the constructs religiousness and spirituality. The theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of these results for the scientific study of religion are discussed.
Figures and Tables Foreword by Harry R. Moody Introduction: A Human Science Perspective on Aging and the Religious Dimension by L. Eugene Thomas and Susan A. Eisenhandler Theoretical Perspectives Values, Psychosocial Development, and the Religious Dimension by L. Eugene Thomas From Loneliness to Solitude: Religious and Spiritual Journeys in Late Life by Barbara Payne and Susan McFadden Case Studies From Sacred to Secular: Memoir of a Midlife Transition toward Spiritual Freedom by Richard B. Griffin The Way of the Religious Renouncer: Power through Nothingness by L. Eugene Thomas Historical and Literary Studies Aging and Spiritual Empowerment: The Stories of Oedipus and David by Stephen Bertman and W. Andrew Achenbaum Fairy Tales and the Spiritual Dimensions of Aging by Allan B. Chinen Spiritual Well-being, Maturity, and Aging: Biblical Illustrations by J. Gordon Harris Honor Thy Mother: Aging Women in the Jewish Tradition by Dena Shenk Participant Observation A Social Milieu for Spirituality in the Lives of Older Adults by Susan A. Eisenhandler Life Narrative and Spiritual Journey of Elderly Male Religious by Edward J. Quinnan Interview and Survey Research Generativity as Pragmatic Spirituality by Robert L. Rubinstein Religiosity and Fear of Death in Non-Normative Aging by Sheldon S. Tobin, Elise N. Fullmer, and Gregory C. Smith Gero-Transcendence: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration by Lars Tornstam For Further Reading Index
Claims that religion can influence ethical behavior in business are plausible to many people but problematic in light of existing research. Our analysis indicates that religious role expectations, internalized as a religious self-identity, can influence ethical behavior. However, relationships of religious role expectations to behavior are moderated by religious identity salience and religious motivational orientation. We conclude by discussing the influence of organizational context on religious identity salience and the need for innovative and interdisciplinary empirical research on religion and ethical behavior in organizations.
Purpose ‐ The purpose of this study is to identify the profiles of current senior travelers using accurate segmentation criteria based on ageing and behavioral tourism variables, shown to be useful in gerontology, marketing and tourism marketing literature. Design/methodology/approach ‐ A self-complete questionnaire was administered to a work status-based quota sample of 300 senior consumers (retired people aged 50-76). Using behavioral variables, cluster analysis was performed. The clusters were then profiled using a discriminant analysis, involving demographic, ageing, and also some behavioral variables not included in the initial analysis. Finally, the current tourism offers were studied, considering the segments characteristics revealed. Findings ‐ Four distinct segments have been identified. Each segment differs considerably from one another on a set of variables, including consumer behaviors variables. Research implications ‐ This paper fills a research gap, outlined by several previous researchers in the senior consumer field, by identifying the current travel motivations of seniors and the role of subjective ages in the consumption of tourism. Practical implications ‐ The paper provides dedicated tools to better understand the senior market. It also provides practical guidance for tourism companies to improve their current offer, better target and better satisfy each senior segment. Originality/value ‐ This research provides the first known tourism French senior market segmentation. It also reveals an interesting (discriminant) segmentation variable for the senior market: the discrepancy age, which has until now been neglected in senior studies. Finally, it addresses an issue linked to one of the major current opportunity markets, i.e. the senior market, for one of the most important service industries, i.e. the tourism industry.
This research investigates how observers react when they see someone else being given a compliment that is flattering but that appears sincere. Prior work suggests that to the extent the compliment is perceived to be genuine, observers will not judge the source negatively. Merging insights from social comparison research and dual attitudes theory, this article presents a novel conceptualization of observer reactions to flattery. Specifically, while observers’ deliberative attitudes toward apparently sincere flattery may be positive, a spontaneous process of comparing oneself with the target will produce an implicit negative reaction rooted in the unpleasant sensation of envy. This conceptualization yields a host of related implications, successfully predicting observers’ reactions toward insincere as well as sincere flattery and toward the flattery target as well its source, and also explaining how their envy-based negative reaction may ironically induce observers to behave in a manner consistent with the flatterer’s interests. Convergent findings across four experiments provide a multifaceted understanding of observer reactions to flattery, while also informing the literature on social comparison and envy.
The senior travel market may be segmented and profiled with a combination of psychological characteristicstravel motives; travel risk perceptions; cognitive age-as well as demographic characteristics. Activities-age, a measure of cognitive age related to the age a person identifies with while enjoying travel activities was able to discriminate between the four travel-motive segments identified with a large survey of the senior market: discovery and self-enhancement, enthusiastic connectors, reluctant travelers and nostalgic travelers. While nostalgia is an important travel motive for the largest segment of senior travelers, the cognitively younger, wealthier, healthier and better educated seniors are motivated to travel for discovery and self-enhancement. Each of the four travel segments provide travel marketers with opportunities for product and service development.
A review of the literature on senior travelers revealed no studies that investigated how the senior market has changed over time. Nor did the search reveal any replications of previous studies. While this is not surprising, it is somewhat disappointing, especially given that measuring how attitudes change over time can be very enlightening. The study presented in this article adds to the prior literature on the mature market by examining how the mature market has changed over a 10-year period. While the study does not track the same people over a 10-year period (obviously, this would have been the ideal situation), it does replicate a study that was undertaken in 1986 (published in 1989).
The present paper attempts to provide an answer to the much neglected sociological treatment of tourist motivation, with specific reference to the question, “What makes tourists travel?” A theoretical case is suggested for concentration on “push” factors, and, in particular, those stemming from “anomie” and “ego-enhancement” in the tourist himself. It is further argued that the presence of such factors is conducive to the creation of a fantasy world, one to which he plans a periodic escape. At the empirical level, the study evaluates the above two concepts in the light of a recent investigation of visitors' attitudes to Barbados. Thecomponents of the typology are also briefly examined.
This survey study examined a proposed causal model of acceptance of death, through a chart review and interviews of sixty-nine home hospice patients, their primary caregivers, and hospice staff. Path analysis revealed an overall significant effect of the model, explaining 23 percent of the variance in the dependent variable planning for death. Patient values was found to have a significant direct effect upon planning for death. Spirituality was negatively related to death anxiety and positively related to social support. Age had a direct effect upon spirituality, with older patients having a higher level of spirituality. Ethnicity was related to patient social support, with whites having higher social support. Correlations conducted between variables further specified the model, revealing relationships between age and ethnicity, and social support and hospice values.
This is an account of research on spirituality being conducted by a group of professors and students at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology of Pepperdine University. The article presents a humanistic definition and description of spirituality based on the writings of Abraham Maslow, John Dewey, William James, Carl Jung, and others. A preliminary report is also made on the development of the Spiritual Orientation Inventory, a measure of spirituality based on the humanistic model and designed to assess the spirituality of those not affiliated with traditional religion.
As shoppers, what factors influence our decision to purchase an object or service? Why do we chose one product over another? How do we attribute value as part of the shopping experience? The theme of 'serving' the customer and customer satisfaction is central to every formulation of the marketing concept, yet few books attenpt to define and analyse exactly what it is that consumers want. In this provocative collection of essays, Morris Holbrook brings together a team of the top US and European scholars to discuss an issue of great importance to the study of marketing and consumer behaviour. This ground-breaking, interdisciplinary book provides an innovative framework for the study of consumer value which is used to critically examine the nature and type of value that consumers derive from the consumption experience - effiency, excellence, status, esteem, play, aesthetics, ethics, spirituality. Guaranteed to provoke debate and controversy, this is a courageous, individualistic and idiosyncratic book which should appeal to students of marketing, consumer behaviour, cultural studies and consumption studies.
Companies increasingly complain about a new band of “mysterious” consumers whose behavior is challenging the very foundation of modern consumer economies: materialistic aspirations. There is less interest in “things”. Designer labels are not the turn-on like they were a few years ago. Despite significant means, many shoppers are passing up Lord & Taylor for Wal-Mart. An especially valuable resource for these and other changes in consumer behavior that are altering the rules for successful marketplace engagement is the annals of adult development psychology. Epochal changes taking place in leading consumer behaviors owe much to the common midlife shift toward to self-actualization.
The psychosocial model of mental health postulates that wellbeing in late life is significantly influenced by several externally generated factors such as social resources, income and negative life events. More recently, the gerontological literature is drawing attention to the increasingly influential role of existential factors such as religiosity, spirituality and personal meaning in the psychological wellbeing of older adults. This study examined the unique and combined contribution of specific dimensions of religiosity, spirituality and personal meaning in life as predictors of wellbeing in samples of community-residing and institutionalized older adults. Using hierarchical regression analyses, the results showed that personal meaning, involvement in formal religion, participation in spiritual practices, importance of religion, degree of comfort derived from religion, sense of inner peace with self, and accessibility to religious resources were significant predictors of wellbeing for the combined sample. The pattern of associations between wellbeing and the preceding psychosocial dimensions was, however, stronger for the institutionalized elders. The findings confirmed that existential measures of personal meaning, religiosity and spirituality contributed more significantly to the variance in wellbeing than did demographic variables or other traditional measures such as social resources, physical health or negative life events. The importance of existential constructs of religiosity, spirituality and personal meaning in helping older adults to transcend old age stresses and sustain wellbeing are discussed.
This chapter describes a spiritual dimension of ageing using themes and a model for spiritual tasks of ageing, developed as a part of doctoral studies that examined spirituality amongst a group of independent-living older adults in Canberra and NSW. This model has been tested further and the model was confirmed through in-depth interviews of residents of nursing homes in the ACT. The first study identified six major spiritual themes from participant interviews. These were: ultimate meaning in life for each person, the way they responded to meaning, self-sufficiency versus despair, moving from provisional to final life meanings, relationship versus isolation in ageing and hope versus despair.
To grow old is but one chapter in a lifelong journey of spiritual formation. Spirituality can be defined most easily by what it is not. Aging is a process of discovery and pondering, reminiscing, and acting, integrating and meaning making, even surrendering to Life as it is, not as we will it to be. Spiritual insights are gained from James Fowler, Viktor Frankl, Thomas Merton, Paul Tournier, Adrian Van Kamm, and Rachel Remen.
Examined psychologists' perceptions of spirituality, religious affiliations, belief orientations, theoretical orientations, and educational and training experiences. 272 clinical psychologists (mean age 48.8 yrs) completed a mail survey instrument, which included questions on personal history, current religious affiliation, theoretical orientation, education and clinical training, and the perceived relevance of spirituality in personal life and clinical work. Results indicate that, although the majority of Ss reported that spirituality was personally relevant, most of these Ss had belief orientations outside mainstream religion. Ss who perceived spirituality as relevant in their own lives were more likely to perceive spirituality as relevant in clinical work. Spiritual issues were not addressed in the course of training of most Ss. Findings suggest that spirituality and religion may be legitimate topics of study in psychoanalytic training. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)