Abstract
New research is emerging on the relationships between tourism and quality of life (QOL) and subjective well-being (SWB). This paper develops a measure of SWB and reports findings from a two-step survey that measured changes in well-being amongst low-income individuals who had received financial support to access a holiday break ('social tourists'). This is the first study to assess well-being amongst social tourists. The findings indicate that tourism contributes to social tourist's well-being. There are greater effects in some areas including psychological resources, leisure and family life domains contributing to social well-being. Social tourists have lower levels of SWB than the general population. Further studies are needed to compare tourism's contribution to SWB amongst mainstream tourists.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 42-65 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Annals of Tourism Research |
| Volume | 41 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Scheme in conjunction with the Family Holiday Association. The authors would like to thank Professor Heidi Winklhofer in the Division of Marketing, Nottingham University Business School and to Ralph Footring, freelance copy editor and typesetter for their constructive guidance and comments on a draft version of this paper.
Keywords
- Happiness
- Holidays
- Quality of life
- Social tourism
- Subjective well-being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management