Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Paul Heintzman is a professor of leisure studies and an affiliated professor in the M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability program at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on leisure, recreation, parks, tourism, the environment, and spirituality. He is an Associate Editor of both the Journal of Leisure Research and Leisure/Loisir.

Abstract (150 Words)

In recent decades there has been a dramatic increase in empirical research on the spiritual outcomes of leisure travel and tourism, however there are few frameworks or models that synthesize this empirical research. In this paper I will provide a preliminary framework to organize empirical research that has examined the spiritual outcomes of leisure travel and tourism. This framework will be based on a slight modification of an existing framework of outdoor activities and spirituality that includes antecedent conditions, setting, and recreation components, which together lead to short and long-term spiritual outcomes (Heintzman, 2016a). In the tourism context, the recreation component will be renamed the tourism component. Spiritual and religious outcomes include spiritual/religious experience, spiritual well-being, and leisure-spiritual coping. A preliminary but not exhaustive review of empirical studies on the religious and spiritual dimensions of leisure travel reveals that most of the elements of this framework are present.

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Spiritual and Religious Outcomes of Leisure Travel and Tourism: A Framework for Synthesizing Empirical Research

In recent decades there has been a dramatic increase in empirical research on the spiritual outcomes of leisure travel and tourism, however there are few frameworks or models that synthesize this empirical research. In this paper I will provide a preliminary framework to organize empirical research that has examined the spiritual outcomes of leisure travel and tourism. This framework will be based on a slight modification of an existing framework of outdoor activities and spirituality that includes antecedent conditions, setting, and recreation components, which together lead to short and long-term spiritual outcomes (Heintzman, 2016a). In the tourism context, the recreation component will be renamed the tourism component. Spiritual and religious outcomes include spiritual/religious experience, spiritual well-being, and leisure-spiritual coping. A preliminary but not exhaustive review of empirical studies on the religious and spiritual dimensions of leisure travel reveals that most of the elements of this framework are present.