Psychological nature of leisure and tourism experience

Incentive Travel: a Theoretical Perspective

“…These appear similar to the push and pull motives identified earlier; however, Mannell and Iso-Ahola (1987) argue that people choose leisure and tourism activities in order to both leave behind personal and interpersonal problems and everyday life, and to seek personal and interpersonal rewards. Their argument is that the psychological benefits sought by individuals are a result of the interplay between the escaping and seeking dimensions.…”

“…At the same time, most destinations invest heavily in marketing collateral such as brochures and websites to portray their attractions in the best possible light, and thereby pull visitors in (Mansfeld, 1992). Despite the identification of push and pull factors as distinctive motivators, it has been demonstrated that both forces operate concurrently to drive tourism behavior (Dann, 1981;Mannell & Iso-Ahola, 1987). However, some theorists argue that pull factors are not true motivators, but rather simple explanations of why tourists prefer some destinations and activities over others (e.g., Pizam, Neumann, & Reichel, 1978).…”

“…For example, exotic, luxury destinations, which may well be out of the normal range of holiday possibilities for some people, may arguably represent a powerful motivator. Perhaps the concepts of escaping and seeking (Mannell & Iso-Ahola, 1987) are a better representation of this dichotomy-individuals want to escape from daily life, and seek rewards. Such rewards are argued to include competence, challenge and opportunities to learn, as well as interacting with friends or members of a travel group.…”

“…In an attempt to understand tourist motivation using leisure theories, Iso-Ahola (1980) and Mannell and Iso-Ahola (1987) proposed that taking a vacation could be considered as a function of two key concepts-escaping and seeking. These appear similar to the push and pull motives identified earlier; however, Mannell and Iso-Ahola (1987) argue that people choose leisure and tourism activities in order to both leave behind personal and interpersonal problems and everyday life, and to seek personal and interpersonal rewards.…”

A Visitor Experience Scale: Historic Sites and Museums

“…In fact, feminist leisure scholars from both North America and the United Kingdom have examined the differences in leisure experience among marginalized people (e.g., lesbian and gay, visible minority) (Kivel et al, 2009). Mannell and Iso-Ahola (1987) introduced three psychological approaches to studying leisure experiences: definitional, post-hoc satisfaction and immediate conscious experience approaches. The definitional approach centers on the perceived determining factors that will influence the perception of leisure.…”