Positive emotions and spirituality in older travelers

Gaëlle Moal-Ulvoas

Annals of Tourism Research, 2017, vol. 66, issue C, 151-158

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Older adult; Spirituality; Positive emotions; Travel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738317301111
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:66:y:2017:i:c:p:151-158

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2017.07.020

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of Tourism Research is currently edited by John Tribe

More articles in Annals of Tourism Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().