Creating a scale to capture travelers’ transformative outcomes

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Joelle Soulard is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech, USA. Her research interests include community development, transformative tourism, strategic planning, and innovation.

Nancy McGehee is Head of the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech. Her research focus is rural tourism development. She received the 2014 Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research and 2017 Outstanding Woman in Travel Research, Women in Travel and Tourism International (WITTI).

Abstract (150 Words)

The present study discusses the development of a scale to measure transformative outcomes in travelers. Transformative tourism aims at encouraging travelers to go out of their comfort zone, engage in critical thinking, and develop a more inclusive worldview. Transformative tourism is aligned with an increased desire from travelers to take part in travel experiences that go beyond mere consumption and offer opportunities for self-growth and development. A model composed of four dimensions was found to have good reliability and validity. From a practical perspective, having a scale is crucial for tourism practitioners to easily assess the success and measure the effects that different transformative program activities have on the travelers. From a theoretical perspective, this scale offers a complementary way to explore what makes transformative tourism stand apart from other more mainstream tourism experiences as well as investigate its key features across a broader audience and in diverse contexts.

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Creating a scale to capture travelers’ transformative outcomes

The present study discusses the development of a scale to measure transformative outcomes in travelers. Transformative tourism aims at encouraging travelers to go out of their comfort zone, engage in critical thinking, and develop a more inclusive worldview. Transformative tourism is aligned with an increased desire from travelers to take part in travel experiences that go beyond mere consumption and offer opportunities for self-growth and development. A model composed of four dimensions was found to have good reliability and validity. From a practical perspective, having a scale is crucial for tourism practitioners to easily assess the success and measure the effects that different transformative program activities have on the travelers. From a theoretical perspective, this scale offers a complementary way to explore what makes transformative tourism stand apart from other more mainstream tourism experiences as well as investigate its key features across a broader audience and in diverse contexts.