The role of psychological flow in adventure tourism: sociodemographic antecedents and consequences on word-of-mouth and life satisfaction

ABSTRACT While the concept of experience has attracted considerable attention in tourism, the research on psychological flow, as a mental state that tourists may derive from extraordinary experiences, has remained limited, especially in the field of tourism marketing. Yet, this concept might have an important role in promoting sustainable forms of tourism. This paper investigates the sociodemographic antecedents and consequences of psychological flow in the context of adventure tourism, which is a sustainable form of tourism due to its connection with nature and the great potential for assuring extraordinary experiences to tourists by considering mountain biking experiences as a research setting. The empirical results reveal that age is a particularly important sociodemographic antecedent: Indeed, respondents at older ages were more likely to experience psychological flow. Furthermore, reaching this mental state, in turn, increased respondents’ likelihood to disseminate positive information about their experiences and enhanced their satisfaction with life. Theoretical and operational implications are discussed along with main limitations and directions for future research.