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Promoting Youth Mental Health in Spiritual Tourism Through Service Design

Author

Listed:
  • Haoyu Dong

    (School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China)

  • Jun Zhang

    (School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China)

  • Tang Tang

    (School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

Abstract

Youth are society’s vital asset, and their mental health is a priority for global public health. Spiritual tourism, through the integration of cultural and spiritual elements, promotes travelers’ mental health and has emerged as a new model of service that complements traditional mental health treatments; however, this model lacks a focus on the specific characteristics and needs of the youth demographic, as well as a design perspective, which may contribute to the inability to provide long-term mental health support for youth due to insufficient social support. Therefore, this paper explores the ways in which service design can foster long-term mental health support for youth in spiritual tourism services. The paper begins with a theoretical analysis to identify the key characteristics and limitations of current spiritual tourism services while also addressing the principles of service design and the rationale for incorporating suburban experiential lodging as a case. Subsequently, qualitative methods, including ethnographic observations, demographic surveys, and in-depth interviews, were employed with eleven youth participants and three staff members to gather insights into their experiences and needs. The findings indicate that current spiritual tourism services are hindered by issues such as low accessibility, inadequate follow-up support, and design shortcomings. Furthermore, spiritual tourism services can be designed to systematically integrate the needs for natural environments, psychological identification, and social interaction, enhancing long-term mental health support for youth.

Suggested Citation

  • Haoyu Dong & Jun Zhang & Tang Tang, 2025. "Promoting Youth Mental Health in Spiritual Tourism Through Service Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-23, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:498-:d:1564118
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giampaolo Viglia & Rebecca Pera & Shynar Dyussembayeva & Matthieu Mifsud & Linda Hollebeek, 2023. "Engagement and value cocreation within a multi-stakeholder service ecosystem," Post-Print hal-03915459, HAL.
    2. Viglia, Giampaolo & Pera, Rebecca & Dyussembayeva, Shynar & Mifsud, Matthieu & Hollebeek, Linda D., 2023. "Engagement and value cocreation within a multi-stakeholder service ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Fengru Zheng & Chung-Shing Chan & Shuying Zhang, 2024. "The effects of personal value, motivation, transformation and behavioural intention on spiritual tourism: a case study in Tibet," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 92-111, January.
    5. Jie Yin & Lili Zhao, 2024. "The Value Expression and Driving Factors of Rural Spatial Ecological Products: A Case Study of B&Bs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
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