Exploring transformative travel experiences: The case of Turkish travelers
Main Article Content
Issue section:
Research
Keywords:
Travel experience, transformation, tansformative tourism
Abstract
Transformative tourism experiences result in long term changes on attitudes and behavior. Although research on transformative tourism has flourished in recent years, there is still a limited number of studies that investigate the travellers’ experiences to examine the impact of travel on one’s attitudes and behaviors. This exploratory study seeks to identify factors affecting transformative travel experiences to emerge. A typology of sustained travel transformations is also offered based on result of a qualitative case study conducted on Turkish travelers. As a result of thematic content analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 travelers, main themes affecting travel transformations emerged as tripograhic, personal and destination based determinants, whereas the types of transformations were classified under behavioral, attitudinal and personality changes. If tourist transformations could be understood better, this might result in better promotion of travel as a leisure activity not just at the individual level but at the policy level. Destinations, tour operators and other hospitality organizations would position their product in a potentially more transformative way if they know the causes and outcomes of travel related transformations.
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Published
May 19, 2022
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Tourism/Hospitality: Research Papers
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Author Biographies
Gurel Cetin, Istanbul University
PhDTugba Pala, Mersin University, Faculty of Tourism, Tourism Management Department, Turkey
PhD.References
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Pine, B. J. & Gilmore, J. H. (2011). The Experience Economy, Harvard Business Review Press: Boston.
Pizam, A., Uriely, N. & Reichel, A. (2000). The intensity of tourist-host social relationship and its effects on satisfaction and change of attitudes: The case of working tourists in Israel. Tourism Management, 21, 395- 406.
Pizam, A, Fleischer, A. & Mansfeld, Y. (2002). Tourism and social change: The case of Israeli ecotourists visiting Jordan. Journal of Travel Research, 41, 177-184.
Ponsignon, F., Lunardo, R. & Michrafy, M. (2020). Why are international visitors more satisfied with the tourism experience? The role of hedonic value, escapism, and psychic distance. Journal of Travel Research, 0047287520961175.
Pung, J. M., Yung, R., Khoo-Lattimore, C. & Del Chiappa, G. (2020). Transformative travel experiences and gender: A double duoethnography approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(5), 538-558.
Pung, J. M. & Del Chiappa, G. (2020). An exploratory and qualitative study on the meaning of transformative tourism and its facilitators and inhibitors. European Journal of Tourism Research, 24, 2404-2425.
Reisinger, Y. (Ed.). (2013). Transformational tourism: Tourist perspectives. Wallingford: CABI.
Sampaio, S. Simoni V. & Isnart, C. (2014). Tourism and transformation: Negotiating metaphors, experiencing change. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 12(2), 93-101.
Sheldon P. J. (2020). Designing tourism experiences for inner transformation. Annals of Tourism Research, 83, 1-12.
Smith, S. L. (1994). The tourism product. Annals of Tourism Research, 21(3), 582-595.
Soulard, J., McGehee, N. & Knollenberg, W. (2020). Developing and testing the transformative travel experience scale (TTES). Journal of Travel Research (In print).
Sowards, S. K. (2012). Expectations, experiences, and memories: Ecotourism and the possibilities
for transformations. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 6(2), 175-192.
Stone, M. J. & Petrick, J. F. (2013). The educational benefits of travel experiences: A literature review. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6) 731-744.
Stronza A. (2001). Anthropology of tourism: Forging new ground for ecotourism and other alternatives. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 261-283.
Uysal, M., Sirgy, M. J., Woo, E. & Kim, H. L. (2016). Quality of life (QOL) and well-being research in tourism. Tourism Management, 53, 244-261.
Weaver, D., Tang, C. & Zhao, Y. (2020). Facilitating sustainable tourism by endogenization: China as exemplar. Annals of Tourism Research, (In Print).
World Tourism Organization (2016), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume fourteen –The transformative power of tourism: A paradigm shift towards a more responsible traveller, UNWTO, Madrid.
Zahra, A. & McIntosh, A. (2007). Volunteer tourism: Evidence of cathartic tourist experiences. Tourism Recreation Research, 32, 115–119.
Ateljevic, I., Sheldon, P. & Tomljenovic, R. (2016). The new paradigm of the 21st century: Silent revolution of cultural creatives and transformative travel of and for the future (pp. 12- 20). World Tourism Organization (2016), Global Report on the Transformative Power of Tourism: A paradigm shift towards a more responsible traveller, UNWTO, Madrid.
Barriball, K. & While, A. (1994). Collecting data using a semi?structured interview: A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 19(2), 328-335.
Bosangit, C., Hibbert, S. & McCabe, S. (2015). If I was going to die I should at least be having fun: Travel blogs, meaning and tourist experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 55, 1-14.
Brown, L. (2009). The transformative power of the international sojourn: An ethnographic study of the international student experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 36(3), 502-521.
Bruner, E. (1991). Transformation of self in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 18, 238–250.
Cetin, G. & Bilgihan, A. (2016). Components of cultural tourists’ experiences in destinations. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(2), 137-154.
Cetin, G. & Dincer, F. I. (2014). Influence of customer experience on loyalty and word-of-mouth in hospitality operations. Anatolia, 25(2), 181-194.
Cetin, G. & Okumus, F. (2018). Experiencing local Turkish hospitality in Istanbul, Turkey. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12(2), 223-237.
Chen, C. & Petrick, J. F. (2013). Health and wellness benefits of travel experiences: A literature review. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6), 709-719.
Chen, C. C., Petrick, J. F. & Shahvali, M. (2016). Tourism experiences as a stress reliever: Examining the effects of tourism recovery experiences on life satisfaction. Journal of Travel Research, 55(2), 150-160.
Cohen, E. (1972). Toward a sociology of international tourism. Social Research, 39(1), 164-189.
Dayour, F., Adongo, C. A., Amuquandoh, F. E. & Adam, I. (2020). Managing the COVID-19 crisis: Coping and post-recovery strategies for hospitality and tourism businesses in Ghana. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights (In Print).
Dillette, A. K., Douglas, A. C. & Andrzejewski, C. (2019). Yoga tourism–a catalyst for transformation? Annals of Leisure Research. 22(1), 22-41.
Fan, D. X., Tsaur, S. H., Lin, J. H., Chang, T. Y. & Tsai, Y. R. (2020). Tourist intercultural competence: A multidimensional measurement and its impact on tourist active participation and memorable cultural experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 0047287520982372.
Graburn, N. (1978). Tourism: The sacred journey. In V. L. Smith (Ed.), Hosts and guests: The anthropology of tourism (pp. 17–31). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Johnston, L. (2001). (Other) bodies and tourism studies. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(1), 180-201.
Kallio, H., Pietilä, A. M., Johnson, M. & Kangasniemi, M. (2016). Systematic methodological review: Developing a framework for a qualitative semi?structured interview guide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(12), 2954-2965.
Kottler, J. (1997). Travel that can change your life: How to create a transformative experience. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kottler, J. A. (1998). Transformative travel. The Futurist, 32(3), 24–29.
Lean, G. L. (2009) Transformative travel: Inspiring sustainability. In R. Bushell and P. J. Sheldon (Eds.) Wellness and tourism: Mind, body, spirit, place (pp.191-205). Elmsford: Cognizant Communication.
Laing, J. H. & Frost, W. (2017). Journeys of well-being: Women's travel narratives of transformation and self-discovery in Italy. Tourism Management, 62, 110-117.
MacCannell, D. (1973). Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology, 79(3), 589-603.
MacCannell, D. (1976). The tourist: A new theory of the leisure class. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Milstein, T. (2005). Transformation abroad: Sojourning and the perceived enhancement of self-efficacy. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(2), 217–238.
Morgan, A. (2010). Journeys into transformation: Travel to an ‘other’ place as a vehicle for transformative learning. Journal of Transformative Education 8(4), 246–268.
Noy, C. (2004). This trip really changed me – Backpackers’ narratives of self-change. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(1), 78–102.
Özçelik, Ö. M. & Ömüri?, E. (2020). Transformative travel: The case of Kackar Mountain National Park (In Turkish - Dönü?ümsel seyahat: Kaçkar Da?lar? Milli Park? örne?i). Anatolia, 31(2), 172-182.
Pearce, P. L. & Foster, F. (2007). A “university of travel”: Backpacker learning. Tourism Management, 28(5), 1285-1298.
Pine, B. J. & Gilmore, J. H. (2011). The Experience Economy, Harvard Business Review Press: Boston.
Pizam, A., Uriely, N. & Reichel, A. (2000). The intensity of tourist-host social relationship and its effects on satisfaction and change of attitudes: The case of working tourists in Israel. Tourism Management, 21, 395- 406.
Pizam, A, Fleischer, A. & Mansfeld, Y. (2002). Tourism and social change: The case of Israeli ecotourists visiting Jordan. Journal of Travel Research, 41, 177-184.
Ponsignon, F., Lunardo, R. & Michrafy, M. (2020). Why are international visitors more satisfied with the tourism experience? The role of hedonic value, escapism, and psychic distance. Journal of Travel Research, 0047287520961175.
Pung, J. M., Yung, R., Khoo-Lattimore, C. & Del Chiappa, G. (2020). Transformative travel experiences and gender: A double duoethnography approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(5), 538-558.
Pung, J. M. & Del Chiappa, G. (2020). An exploratory and qualitative study on the meaning of transformative tourism and its facilitators and inhibitors. European Journal of Tourism Research, 24, 2404-2425.
Reisinger, Y. (Ed.). (2013). Transformational tourism: Tourist perspectives. Wallingford: CABI.
Sampaio, S. Simoni V. & Isnart, C. (2014). Tourism and transformation: Negotiating metaphors, experiencing change. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 12(2), 93-101.
Sheldon P. J. (2020). Designing tourism experiences for inner transformation. Annals of Tourism Research, 83, 1-12.
Smith, S. L. (1994). The tourism product. Annals of Tourism Research, 21(3), 582-595.
Soulard, J., McGehee, N. & Knollenberg, W. (2020). Developing and testing the transformative travel experience scale (TTES). Journal of Travel Research (In print).
Sowards, S. K. (2012). Expectations, experiences, and memories: Ecotourism and the possibilities
for transformations. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 6(2), 175-192.
Stone, M. J. & Petrick, J. F. (2013). The educational benefits of travel experiences: A literature review. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6) 731-744.
Stronza A. (2001). Anthropology of tourism: Forging new ground for ecotourism and other alternatives. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 261-283.
Uysal, M., Sirgy, M. J., Woo, E. & Kim, H. L. (2016). Quality of life (QOL) and well-being research in tourism. Tourism Management, 53, 244-261.
Weaver, D., Tang, C. & Zhao, Y. (2020). Facilitating sustainable tourism by endogenization: China as exemplar. Annals of Tourism Research, (In Print).
World Tourism Organization (2016), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume fourteen –The transformative power of tourism: A paradigm shift towards a more responsible traveller, UNWTO, Madrid.
Zahra, A. & McIntosh, A. (2007). Volunteer tourism: Evidence of cathartic tourist experiences. Tourism Recreation Research, 32, 115–119.
How to Cite
Exploring transformative travel experiences: The case of Turkish travelers. (2022). Industrial and Systems Engineering , 18(2), 7-17. https://ojs3x.com/index.php/ectms/article/view/1631
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