How does nature heal tourists in the context of COVID-19? The perspective of the emotional mechanism
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
; 52:368-381, 2022.
Article
in English
| Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2069330
ABSTRACT
Nature has healing powers that provide physical and mental benefits to tourists and reduce their anxiety related to COVID-19. However, few empirical studies have examined the emotional mechanism that induces tourists to feel satisfied with, rather than anxious about, their lives. We explain the underlying impact mechanism that connects nature and subjective well-being in a natural heritage context by analyzing data collected from a sample of 534 tourists in Wulingyuan (south-central China). Our study revealed interesting and meaningful findings:
(a) nature has healing powers that directly and indirectly (via awe and place attachment) influence tourists' sub-jective well-being;(b) tourists with a relatively low level of positive emotions who become attached to a destination, subsequently experience a greater degree of healing;and (c) there are significant gender differences concerning the healing powers of nature among tourists. These findings contribute to well-being research by highlighting the underlying emotional mechanism whereby nature influences tourists' subjective well-being. The paper also demonstrates the moderating effects of positive emotions and gender in the proposed model, which offers valuable practical insights for governments in tourist destinations.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
Web of Science
Language:
English
Journal:
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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