Wellness Tourism: An Application of Positive Psychological Theory to Overall Quality of Life by Alana Kathryn Dillette A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama August 6, 2016 Keywords: wellness, tourism, quality of life, positive psychological well-being Copyright 2016 by Alana Kathryn Dillette Approved by Alecia C. Douglas, Associate Professor Nutrition, Dietetics & Hospitality Management Carey Andrzejewski, Associate Professor Educational Foundations, Leadership, & Technology David Martin, Associate Professor Nutrition, Dietetics & Hospitality Management Muzzaffer Uysal, Professor Tourism and Hospitality Management Abstract This goal of this dissertation was to ascertain the characteristics of and relationships between wellness, positive psychological well-being, transformative experiences and overall quality of life within a tourism context. In order to accomplish this, three independent articles addressed eight research questions using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The first article explored holistic wellness through the qualitative analysis of 1216 TripAdvisor reviews. Utilizing the netnographic method in combination with exploratory inductive framework analysis, four dimensions of wellness were revealed: body, mind, spirit and environment (Dunn 1959). Results from the study were diverse, highlighting both barriers and pathways towards wellness. Findings revealed the possibility of wellness tourism to provide impactful and memorable wellness travel experiences. Article two explored a priori dimensions of psychological well-being within the yoga tourism context. Deductive thematic analysis was the method used to analyze 12 semi-structured interview transcripts. Findings revealed the existence of seven a priori dimensions of positive psychological well-being and their association with transformative experiences. Evidence from this study indicated that yoga tourism does in fact provide the environment for yoga tourists to experience positive psychological well-being while travelling as well as after their trip has concluded. Results suggest that yoga tourism has the ability to transform the lives of participants on varying levels. Future research exploring the presence of these findings within a larger wellness tourism context is warranted. ii Finally, the third article aimed to quantitatively examine the relationships between tourists’ positive psychological well-being and overall satisfaction with quality of life (QOL). Quantitative surveys were distributed using the online platform, Amazon Mechanical Turk resulting in 862 useable surveys. This article developed and tested a new model of positive psychological well-being and quality of life measures. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and importance performance analysis were employed in this study. Results partially supported hypotheses suggesting that further research is needed to fully validate the proposed model. Limitations, implications and future research is discussed for each individual study. iii Acknowledgments When I arrived at Auburn some years ago, I never would have imagined I would be walking away with my Doctorate in hand. It has not always been easy, but definitely well worth the effort and time spent to achieve such a major feat. Many have supported this journey, and my heart is full with gratitude for each of you. First and foremost, to my advisor of six years, Dr. Alecia Douglas. I am deeply grateful for your support, encouragement and thoughtful feedback over the years. You expected nothing but the best from me, and I will forever be appreciative to you for your guidance. To Dr. A., thank you for igniting my passion for qualitative research and encouraging me to continue along this path. Dr. Martin, thank you for your unwavering support of all my research ideas, and your free counseling services in the main office, you never let me leave without a smile. Dr. Uysal, thank you for awakening my interest in quality of life research during your first visit to Auburn. Finally, to Dr. O’Neill, your lightheartedness and supportive nature made the department such an enjoyable environment for me to grow into a strong teacher, researcher and leader. I would also like to thank the HRMT Graduate Research Fellowship, the Southern Regional Educational Board Fellowship and the Women’s Philanthropy Board for assisting with the financial requirements of this project. Finally, to my family, friends, colleagues and professors, thank you for your continuous support, encouragement and prayers throughout this process. I could not have done it without you! iv Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. xiv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ xvi List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ xvii Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................. 3 Purpose of the study & study objectives .......................................................................... 4 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 5 Definitions of terms ......................................................................................................... 6 Significance of the study ................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................... 12 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 12 Wellness Tourism .......................................................................................................... 12 Wellness Tourism: Size & scope of the market ............................................................. 17 Yoga Tourism ................................................................................................................ 19 Quality of life research on Tourism ............................................................................... 21 Positive psychological theory ........................................................................................ 24 v The PERMA model of well-being ................................................................................. 26 Transformative experiences through Tourism ............................................................... 30 Chapter 3. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 34 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 34 Human subjects approval ............................................................................................... 35 Research articles ............................................................................................................ 35 Article 1. ................................................................................................................... 35 Article 2. ................................................................................................................... 37 Article 3 ................................................................................................................... 39 Statistical programs used for data analysis .................................................................... 42 Qualitative Methodology ............................................................................................... 43 Article 1. ................................................................................................................... 43 Netnography ....................................................................................................... 43 Framework analysis ........................................................................................... 44 Familiarization ............................................................................................ 45 Identifying a thematic framework ............................................................... 45 Indexing ...................................................................................................... 46 Charting ....................................................................................................... 46 Mapping and interpretation ........................................................................... 46 Article 2. ..................................................................................................................