Looking Back on Your Travel Memories: Effects of Memorable Tourism Experiences on Well-being via Daily Recovery Experiences

Abstract

This study aims to examine memorable tourism experiences and their role in subsequent well-being. To achieve this, we carried out longitudinal surveys during the winter vacation period, recruiting participants via an online marketing research company. A total of 230 participants completed questionnaires comprising questions seeking demographic information and psychological scales at four time points so that the changes in their well-being could be assessed. Our findings indicate that having a memorable experience during a vacation had positive influences not only on the recovery experience at that time, but also on the recovery experience during subsequent daily life. Although the recovery experience during and after the vacation was profoundly involved, it should be noted that only the recovery experience after returning to everyday life was further associated with individuals’ well-being. The results demonstrate new findings on how extraordinary experiences during vacations influence commonplace activities.