Holistic Tourism: Motivations, Self-Image and Satisfaction

Abstract

Holistic tourism has become a new and alternative form of tourism and an important trend among tourists who seek programs and experiences that would allow them to achieve balance between mind, body and soul. Choosing holistic tourism means that a tourist can enjoy a different and full experience which goes beyond the simple contact with cultures, people, places or landscapes. It focuses on self-transformation and on an attempt of people understanding more about themselves. It is crucial we understand each person´s view about this new type of tourism since this perspective will surely bring potential new investors to this product. Knowing what every tourist values, feels and needs-in terms of personal fulfillment-can turn this new type of tourism into a competitive one. This study includes an empirical research conducted through questionnaires to 300 holistic tourists in four different Portuguese destinations: Azores, Gerês, Lisbon and Algarve. The results allowed a better understanding of the holistic tourists' characteristics, their main motivations, self-image perception and satisfaction levels while taking part in holistic tourism.

Information search behavior among Chinese self-drive tourists in the smartphone era

“…Besides the independence and flexibility of self-drive tours, in recent years, the concept of holistic tourism destinations has drawn the Chinese tourism industry’s attention (Seabra, 2014). Holistic tourism destinations address developing a whole region for tourist destinations and promoting integrated development (Rocha et al , 2016). To pursue further progress, the National Tourism Administration of China proclaimed 2018 as the year of integrated tourism (Tiwari, 2018).…”

Health and Wellness Tourists’ Motivation and Behavior Intention: The Role of Perceived Value

“…The push motivation is the intrinsic motivation for people to undertake tourism activities while the pull motivation of tourism is the extrinsic motivation for people to choose a destination for their well-being [36][37][38]. Push motivation can be divided into two sub-dimensions: escape from individuals' routines [39,40] and acceptable cost [41]. When individuals keep repeating their studies or work, they tend to develop a feeling of dullness and show a sullen state, which is harmful to their health and well-being [19,42].…”

Differential roles of push and pull factors on escape for travel: Personal and social identity perspectives

“…The vacation experience of being in a different milieu offers the opportunity for selfreflection, self-evaluation, self-discovery, self-exploration (Bond & Falk, 2013;Pearce, 1982), self-construction (O'Reilly, 2005), self-development (Li et al, 2015), personal identity exploration (Kivel & Kleiber, 2000), reconstruction (Ferrero, 2002;Wearing & Wearing, 2001), and ego-enhancement (Nikjoo & Ketabi, 2015). Individuals may seek experiences beyond simple contact with cultures, people, places, or landscapes, and look to achieve a balance between mind, body, and soul, self-transformation, and better selfunderstanding (Rocha et al, 2016). Such experiences can enrich one's self-worth, i.e.…”