Tourists' happiness through the lens of positive psychology

Abstract

The purpose of the thesis is to contribute to knowledge in tourism studies by linking
\nfresh concepts from psychology to tourist behaviour studies. The research field is
\ncalled positive psychology and stems from organised initiatives by mainstream and
\nprominent psychologists since the year 2000. The broad aim of positive psychology
\nis to investigate what makes life worth living and the central preoccupation is with
\nwhat human happiness means and how it can be measured.
\n
\nThe thesis is divided into six chapters. Following an introductory chapter on
\nhappiness, a detailed literature review covers key themes of positive psychology,
\nyouth travel, cultural tourism, tourist motivation, tourist satisfaction and
\nmethodological creativity. Each of the themes is divided into smaller sections in
\nwhich recent and salient works are discussed. Knowledge gaps related to the overall
\ntheme of tourist happiness are identified in the review of these themes. To close the
\ngaps, the thesis then addresses three questions:
\n
\n1) How can a positive psychology approach to understanding human motivation
\ncontribute to a sound theory of tourist motivation?
\n2) How can flow state methods from positive psychology contribute to a better
\nunderstanding of tourist satisfaction?
\n3) How can the answers to the first two questions contribute to a conceptualisation of
\na happy tourist?
\n
\nThree studies are presented and analysed through a positive psychology lens in
\nchapters 3, 4 and 5 to broadly address these questions. The studies analyse the
\nexperiences of a group of Australian study-abroad university students in relation to
\ntheir travel year in Spain. The first and the last studies were conducted in Sydney
\nand the second study was conducted in Spain. The first is a motivation study which
\nconsisted of a smaller qualitative investigation and a separate quantitative,
\nsupportive study. Travel motives of the student group were investigated qualitatively
\nthrough an analysis of "a perfect day" at a destination. Using personal narrative
\nessays, travel motives of relationship/belonging, safety/comfort, curiosity/mental
\nstimulation and self-development were identified through this positive psychology
\nlens. In the supportive context study, motives of a group of backpackers were
\ninvestigated through motivation scales. It was shown that the students' travel motives 
\nare similar to the motives of these other youth travellers. The essay approach thus
\neases the measurement of motivation. It is shown that through descriptions of perfect
\ndays similar travel motivations can be uncovered as in a more complex survey. By
\nsimplifying the measurement (employing the simple question which is universal in its
\napplication and is not culture, age nor gender specific) the positive psychology
\napproach contributes to a sound theory of tourist motivation.
\n
\nThe second study is an analysis through in-depth interviews of the students'
\nimmediate conscious experiences at Spanish cultural heritage sites. The aim of this
\nstudy was to identify immediate satisfaction themes from on-site experiences of the
\nstudents at these sites. It is shown that the students' immediate satisfaction is
\ncharacterised by challenge-skill balance, total concentration, autotelic (intrinsically
\nrewarding) events, time transformation and the related themes of mindfulness, object
\nfocus, personal experience, calm/tranquility and discovery. It is further demonstrated
\nthat the flow model from positive psychology was useful in uncovering this layer of
\nsatisfaction and that it contributes to the overall picture of tourists' happiness.
\n
\nThe last study is an analysis of the students' memorable experiences in Spain. These
\nexperiences were analysed through personal narrative essays. It was found that the
\nsatisfaction themes of challenge-skills balance and autotelic events featured in the
\nstudents' memorable experiences. Evidence of eudaimonia and surprise was also
\nuncovered. These themes, together with those identified in the motivation and the onsite
\nstudy further contribute to the exploratory picture of tourists' happiness.
\n
\nThe sixth and final chapter recaps the contribution of the three studies and presents
\na preliminary overview of tourists' happiness. Tourists' happiness through the lens of
\npositive psychology is a product of the travel motivations for relationships and
\nbelonging, safety and comfort, curiosity and mental stimulation and a motive for
\npersonal development. The tourists' happiness is also about the on-site and
\nmemorable experience themes identified in the satisfaction studies. These tourist
\nexperience themes are all linked to the three dimensions of happiness from positive
\npsychology: meaning, engagement and positive emotions. It is recommended that
\nfuture tourism research relevant to the issue of tourists' happiness and the positive
\npsychology field should be conducted. Suggested future research studies are: a
\nchallenge-skill balance study, a positive emotions and meaning "study, a positive
\npsychology study on tourism education and a study of benefits of travel to tourists'
\nhealth.