Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations Increase Tourists’ Well-Being?

Philipp Schlemmer, Cornelia Blank and Martin Schnitzer
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Philipp Schlemmer: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Cornelia Blank: Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism, UMIT, 6060 Hall, Austria
Martin Schnitzer: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Physical activities have been proven to have an impact on general well-being in everyday life; however, literature lacks an analysis of the effects of physical activities in vacation settings. Thus, the study aimed at assessing the impacts of physical activity on well-being during vacation by taking a longitudinal approach. We utilized a pre-post within-subject design ( n = 101) by testing vacationers prior to, during, and after their vacation in an alpine environment. Therefore, a series of eight linear mixed model analyses of co-variance was performed. The results suggested that the duration of a vacation and the amount of physical activity have a positive impact on the components of well-being, which was expressed by changes in the activation, elation, excitement, and calmness subscales of the Mood Survey Scale. Demographic patterns did not reveal any influences. Physical activity might be a marker for well-being, which influences people’s everyday life and leisure time behavior by motivating them to engage in more physical activity. This research extends the existing literature by (1) proving the effects of vacations on well-being, (2) pointing out the effects of demographic predeterminations, and (3) gathering in-depth knowledge about the role of physical activity in changes to well-being.

Keywords: sports tourism; health tourism; physical activity; vacation; well-being; alternative tourism; tourism strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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