Unraveling meaning in life from tourism: An iconology approach on cancer patients

IF 7.3 2区管理学 Q1 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

Tourism Management Perspectives Pub Date : 2025-05-09 DOI:10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101369

Wei Xiong , Xiaowen Luo , Xi Yu Leung , Meijiao Huang

{"title":"Unraveling meaning in life from tourism: An iconology approach on cancer patients","authors":"Wei Xiong , Xiaowen Luo , Xi Yu Leung , Meijiao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101369","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research on the tourism experiences of cancer patients and their perceptions of meaning in life is limited. Based on the tourist gaze, this study investigates visual-textual narratives in social media posts by 83 breast cancer patients, employing an iconology approach integrating multi-source validation and objective coding protocols to ensure methodological rigor. The findings revealed five landscape symbols, namely meteorology, waterscapes, mountainscapes, vegetation, and heritage elements, alongside three color symbols: calm and healing, uplifting, and solemn. These symbols collectively revealed multi-layered meanings embedded in the landscapes, including “life's blessings and spirituality” “power, rejuvenation, and healing” “challenges and peace”, and “tranquility and healing”. Furthermore, cancer patients engage in constructing life's meaning through landscape symbolism during travels, reflecting a dual process of “presence” and “search”. This study contributes to tourism literature by offering a novel perspective on how nature-centered tourism experiences support vulnerable individuals in their exploration of life's meaning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48141,"journal":{"name":"Tourism Management Perspectives","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101369"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Tourism Management Perspectives","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211973625000340","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Research on the tourism experiences of cancer patients and their perceptions of meaning in life is limited. Based on the tourist gaze, this study investigates visual-textual narratives in social media posts by 83 breast cancer patients, employing an iconology approach integrating multi-source validation and objective coding protocols to ensure methodological rigor. The findings revealed five landscape symbols, namely meteorology, waterscapes, mountainscapes, vegetation, and heritage elements, alongside three color symbols: calm and healing, uplifting, and solemn. These symbols collectively revealed multi-layered meanings embedded in the landscapes, including “life's blessings and spirituality” “power, rejuvenation, and healing” “challenges and peace”, and “tranquility and healing”. Furthermore, cancer patients engage in constructing life's meaning through landscape symbolism during travels, reflecting a dual process of “presence” and “search”. This study contributes to tourism literature by offering a novel perspective on how nature-centered tourism experiences support vulnerable individuals in their exploration of life's meaning.

查看原文本刊更多论文

从旅游中揭示生命的意义：癌症患者的图像学方法

关于癌症患者的旅游体验和他们对生活意义的认知的研究是有限的。基于游客的凝视，本研究对83名乳腺癌患者的社交媒体帖子中的视觉文本叙事进行了调查，采用图像学方法整合多源验证和客观编码协议，以确保方法的严谨性。研究结果揭示了五个景观符号，即气象、水景、山景、植被和遗产元素，以及三个颜色符号：平静和治愈、振奋和庄严。这些符号共同揭示了嵌入在景观中的多层含义，包括“生命的祝福和灵性”、“力量、复兴和治疗”、“挑战与和平”、“安宁与治疗”。此外，癌症患者在旅行中通过景观象征主义来构建生命的意义，体现了一种“在场”和“寻找”的双重过程。本研究提供了一个以自然为中心的旅游体验如何支持弱势个体探索生命意义的新视角，为旅游文学做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Tourism Management Perspectives Multiple-

CiteScore

15.60

自引率

3.40%

发文量

审稿时长

59 days

期刊介绍： Tourism Management Perspectives is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on the planning and management of travel and tourism. It covers topics such as tourist experiences, their consequences for communities, economies, and environments, the creation of image, the shaping of tourist experiences and perceptions, and the management of tourist organizations and destinations. The journal's editorial board consists of experienced international professionals and it shares the board with Tourism Management. The journal covers socio-cultural, technological, planning, and policy aspects of international, national, and regional tourism, as well as specific management studies. It encourages papers that introduce new research methods and critique existing ones in the context of tourism research. The journal publishes empirical research articles and high-quality review articles on important topics and emerging themes that enhance the theoretical and conceptual understanding of key areas within travel and tourism management.