TY - JOUR
T1 - Transformative travel and external activism
T2 - framing external activism outcomes within the travelers’ discourse of perceived transformation
AU - Soulard, Joelle
AU - McGehee, Nancy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Transformative travel is based on the sustainable approach of encouraging travelers to immerse themselves at the destination, be challenged, engage in introspection, identify their prejudices, and develop worldviews that are more inclusive of others’ beliefs, knowledge, and customs. A significant gap present in the transformative travel literature is the lack of understanding of the travelers’ external activism outcomes, which are outcomes related to a perceived change in the travelers’ personal role in supporting societal change (e.g. becoming an activist). This area is crucial to examine because the ultimate goal of self-reflection in travelers is to sustain external activism. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether travelers express the presence of external activism outcomes in their discourse of perceived transformation. Travelers, who describe themselves as being transformed, share their discourse of external activism outcomes via short-answer testimonies, which are analyzed using content analysis. Their discourse reveals that travelers frame external activism as outcomes of their perceived transformation. Practitioners can use findings to advocate and market transformative travel as a sustainable way to foster inclusivity.
AB - Transformative travel is based on the sustainable approach of encouraging travelers to immerse themselves at the destination, be challenged, engage in introspection, identify their prejudices, and develop worldviews that are more inclusive of others’ beliefs, knowledge, and customs. A significant gap present in the transformative travel literature is the lack of understanding of the travelers’ external activism outcomes, which are outcomes related to a perceived change in the travelers’ personal role in supporting societal change (e.g. becoming an activist). This area is crucial to examine because the ultimate goal of self-reflection in travelers is to sustain external activism. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether travelers express the presence of external activism outcomes in their discourse of perceived transformation. Travelers, who describe themselves as being transformed, share their discourse of external activism outcomes via short-answer testimonies, which are analyzed using content analysis. Their discourse reveals that travelers frame external activism as outcomes of their perceived transformation. Practitioners can use findings to advocate and market transformative travel as a sustainable way to foster inclusivity.
KW - external activism
KW - social action
KW - social mobilization
KW - transformation
KW - transformative experiences
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U2 - 10.1080/09669582.2022.2029871
DO - 10.1080/09669582.2022.2029871
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123433490
SN - 0966-9582
VL - 31
SP - 821
EP - 839
JO - Journal of Sustainable Tourism
JF - Journal of Sustainable Tourism
IS - 3
ER -