Tourists and ‘philosophers’: Nature as a medium to consciousness and transcendence in spiritual tourism

Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Wang, Shaohua, Blasco Franch, Daniel, Hamzah, Amran, Verschuuren, Bas
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10256/22985
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10256/22985
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Turisme espiritual -- Xina
Spiritual tourism -- China
Espais naturals protegits -- Xina
Protected areas -- China
Descripción
Sumario:Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with professionals and tourists. Findings enable the construction of a hierarchical framework of spiritual tourism achievement and highlight the need to create links between protected areas, tourists, and ‘mediums’. Nature is acknowledged as a means of overcoming spiritual emptiness in a secular nation where religions function in a limited way and traditional wisdom is undervalued. This study proposes a nature-based, philosophy-oriented tourism development model, which sheds light on theoretical and industrial domains alike