IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/anture/v99y2023ics0160738323000166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tourists and ‘philosophers’: Nature as a medium to consciousness and transcendence in spiritual tourism

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Shaohua
  • Blasco, Dani
  • Hamzah, Amran
  • Verschuuren, Bas

Abstract

Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with professionals and tourists. Findings enable the construction of a hierarchical framework of spiritual tourism achievement and highlight the need to create links between protected areas, tourists, and ‘mediums’. Nature is acknowledged as a means of overcoming spiritual emptiness in a secular nation where religions function in a limited way and traditional wisdom is undervalued. This study proposes a nature-based, philosophy-oriented tourism development model, which sheds light on theoretical and industrial domains alike.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Shaohua & Blasco, Dani & Hamzah, Amran & Verschuuren, Bas, 2023. "Tourists and ‘philosophers’: Nature as a medium to consciousness and transcendence in spiritual tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:99:y:2023:i:c:s0160738323000166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2023.103543
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738323000166
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103543?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kirillova, Ksenia & Wang, Dan & Fu, Xiaoxiao & Lehto, Xinran, 2020. "Beyond “culture”: A comparative study of forces structuring tourism consumption," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Zheng, Jing & Liang, Sai & Ma, Jing & Liu, Guoqiao & Wu, Yirong, 2022. "Can tourism enhance Chinese subjective well-being?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. Gill, Chelsea & Packer, Jan & Ballantyne, Roy, 2019. "Spiritual retreats as a restorative destination: Design factors facilitating restorative outcomes," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Buzinde, Christine N., 2020. "Theoretical linkages between well-being and tourism: The case of self-determination theory and spiritual tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Amaro, Suzanne & Antunes, Angela & Henriques, Carla, 2018. "A closer look at Santiago de Compostela's pilgrims through the lens of motivations," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 271-280.
    6. Singleton, Andrew, 2017. "The summer of the Spirits: Spiritual tourism to America’s foremost village of spirit mediums," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 48-57.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kuo-Yan Wang, 2022. "Sustainable Tourism Development Based upon Visitors’ Brand Trust: A Case of “100 Religious Attractions”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    2. Rafael Robina Ramírez & Manuel Pulido Fernández, 2018. "Religious Experiences of Travellers Visiting the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Buzinde, Christine N., 2020. "Theoretical linkages between well-being and tourism: The case of self-determination theory and spiritual tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Mutia Sobihah Abdul Halim & Ekrem Tatoglu & Shamsiah Banu Mohamad Hanefar, 2021. "A Review Of Spiritual Tourism: A Conceptual Model For Future Research," Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 27(1), pages 119-141, May.
    5. Mauro Romanelli & Patrizia Gazzola & Daniele Grechi & Francesca Pollice, 2021. "Towards a sustainability‐oriented religious tourism," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 386-396, May.
    6. Liu, Yan & Cao, Xinyue & Font, Xavier, 2024. "Nudge pro-environmental contagion: Residents to tourists," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    7. Chenggang Hua & Shu Cole, 2022. "Influence of Psychological Factors on Participation and Life Satisfaction in the Context of Travel and Tourism after Spinal Cord Injury," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Paola Cardinali & Nicoletta Varani & Laura Migliorini, 2020. "Sustainable Tourism Attitude and Preference in Italian Adults: Value Orientation and Psychological Need Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-11, December.
    9. Kádár, Bálint & Gede, Mátyás, 2021. "Tourism flows in large-scale destination systems," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Ke Zhang & Victoria Labajo & Ignacio Ramos & Almudena González del Valle-Brena, 2021. "A Guest at Home: The Experience of Chinese Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, September.
    11. Francisco Cesário & Ana Sabino & Ana Moreira & Miguel Portugal & Antónia Correia, 2022. "Students’ Motivation for a Sustainable Career in the Hospitality Industry in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, May.
    12. Tahani Hassan & Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Wilmer Carvache-Franco & Orly Carvache-Franco, 2022. "Segmentation of Religious Tourism by Motivations: A Study of the Pilgrimage to the City of Mecca," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-19, June.
    13. Dajana Bjelajac & Bojan Đerčan & Sanja Kovačić, 2021. "Dark skies and dark screens as a precondition for astronomy tourism and general well-being," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 19-43, March.
    14. Silvia Aulet & Tomasz Duda, 2020. "Tourism Accessibility and Its Impact on the Spiritual Sustainability of Sacred Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    15. van Esch, Patrick & Cui, Yuanyuan (Gina) & Das, Gopal & Jain, Shailendra Pratap & Wirtz, Jochen, 2022. "Tourists and AI: A political ideology perspective," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    16. Didem Kara & Gülden Demet Oruç, 2021. "Evaluating the Relationship between Park Features and Ecotherapeutic Environment: A Comparative Study of Two Parks in Istanbul, Beylikdüzü," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Jin, Yu & Xi, Haonan & Wang, Xuhui & Ren, Xin & Yuan, Libin, 2022. "Evaluation of the Integration Policy in China: Does the Integration of Culture and Tourism Promote Tourism Development?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    18. Altinay, Levent & Alrawadieh, Zaid & Hudec, Oto & Urbančíková, Nataša & Evrim Arici, Hasan, 2023. "Modelling social inclusion, self-esteem, loneliness, psychological distress, and psychological resilience of refugees: Does hospitableness matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    19. Noga Collins-Kreiner, 2020. "Hiking, Sense of Place, and Place Attachment in the Age of Globalization and Digitization: The Israeli Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, June.
    20. Li, Tingting Elle & Chan, Eric Tak Hin, 2020. "Diaspora tourism and well-being over life-courses," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:99:y:2023:i:c:s0160738323000166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-tourism-research/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.