Objective Although the link between enhanced social relationships and better health has generally been well established, few studies have examined the role of leisure activity in this link. This study examined how leisure influences the link between social relationships and health in older age. Methods Using data from the 2006 and 2010 waves of the nationally representative U.S. Health and Retirement Study and structural equation modelling analyses, we examined data on 2,965 older participants to determine if leisure activities mediated the link between social relationships and health in 2010, controlling for race, education level, and health in 2006. Results The results demonstrated that leisure activities mediate the link between social relationships and health in these age groups. Perceptions of positive social relationships were associated with greater involvement in leisure activities, and greater involvement in leisure activities was associated with better health in older age. Discussion & Conclusions The contribution of leisure to health in these age groups is receiving increasing attention, and the results of this study add to the literature on this topic, by identifying the mediating effect of leisure activity on the link between social relationships and health. Future studies aimed at increasing leisure activity may contribute to improved health outcomes in older adults.

The emotions of 39 American and Dutch vacationers were investigated. Their emotions were tracked daily during their vacation using a diary. Findings indicated that fluctuations in emotions are related to length of vacation. Vacationers on an 8-to 13-day trip experienced significant changes in the balance of their emotions over the course of their trip. In general, they felt good; but this feeling began to decline at the end of the vacation. The findings demonstrate that there is no clear peak in holiday happiness, which presents challenges to tourism suppliers. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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In recent years, unprecedented developments in marathon events have occurred in China. Participating in marathons has become a serious leisure activity, and people show many leisure qualities in the process of continuous participation. This study explored the relationship between the serious leisure qualities of marathon runners and their participation behavior. Data were collected from 603 marathon runners during the 2017 Nanjing Marathon Event and the 2017 Hangzhou Marathon Event. The results showed that marathon runners differed significantly in serious leisure qualities based on different demographic variables. Serious leisure qualities and demographic variables can be positively associated with marathon runners’ number of years of running, running frequency per week, and longest marathon event. However, they did not predict marathon runners’ running distance per week or the number of marathon events participated in each year. These study findings broaden the research on serious leisure sport behavior in China and provide both theoretical and empirical support for leisure sports management. The limitations and implications of this study are also discussed.

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Purpose Applying stakeholder theory in the trade show industry, this paper aims to examine the effects of the key stakeholders’ perceptions on trade show exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 46-item measurement scale on exhibitors’ satisfaction to predict positive behavioral intention. Three dimensions were proposed to account for three key stakeholders in the trade show industry: satisfaction with self-performance, satisfaction with organizers and satisfaction with visitors. Data were collected from 594 exhibitors at three trade shows. Findings This study found that satisfaction with self-performance, satisfaction with organizers and satisfaction with visitors are significantly and positively related to exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention. All three dimensions in combination explained approximately two-thirds of the variance in exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention. Research limitations/implications This study introduced a new way of predicting exhibitor’s positive behavioral intention. Satisfaction with organizers was found to be the dominant predictor of exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention, which challenges the notion that exhibitors attend trade shows only for sales activities. Practical implications Trade show organizers and exhibitors could use the three determinants as a diagnostic tool for future improvement and benchmark their performances across different time periods and/or against their competitors. Originality/value Although the three key stakeholder types have been studied previously, the factors that theoretically lead to exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention have not been simultaneously addressed. For the first time, the model proposed in this study showcased the importance of considering all three key stakeholders when studying exhibitors’ positive behavioral intention.