Transformative travel and external activism: framing external activism outcomes within the travelers’ discourse of perceived transformation

Abstract

Transformative travel is based on the sustainable approach of encouraging travelers to immerse themselves at the destination, be challenged, engage in introspection, identify their prejudices, and develop worldviews that are more inclusive of others’ beliefs, knowledge, and customs. A significant gap present in the transformative travel literature is the lack of understanding of the travelers’ external activism outcomes, which are outcomes related to a perceived change in the travelers’ personal role in supporting societal change (e.g. becoming an activist). This area is crucial to examine because the ultimate goal of self-reflection in travelers is to sustain external activism. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether travelers express the presence of external activism outcomes in their discourse of perceived transformation. Travelers, who describe themselves as being transformed, share their discourse of external activism outcomes via short-answer testimonies, which are analyzed using content analysis. Their discourse reveals that travelers frame external activism as outcomes of their perceived transformation. Practitioners can use findings to advocate and market transformative travel as a sustainable way to foster inclusivity.

Keywords:

• transformative experiences
• transformation
• external activism
• social action
• social mobilization

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joelle Soulard

Joelle Soulard's research focuses on the roles of travel experiences in fostering inclusivity, transformation, well-being, social change, and activism from the perspectives of travelers and destination residents. Her interests reside in the desire to create research that is actionable, inclusive, and offers creative solutions to challenges encountered by community members and travelers at destinations. She is affiliated with the European Union Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Nancy McGehee

Nancy Gard McGehee's research includes over 25 year's work in rural tourism development and transformative tourism at both the domestic and international levels. She has published over 44 refereed journal articles, 2 books and 5 book chapters. She is a Fulbright Specialist Program Awardee (Portugal, May 2015, Rural Tourism Development), received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research in 2014, and was cited as an Outstanding Woman in Travel Research by Women in Travel and Tourism International (WITTI) in April 2017.