Tourist spiritual experience: A scale development and empirical study

A growing body of research has shown that tourists can have spiritual experiences through travel, but at present, no valid and reliable instrument is available for assessing this phenomenon. To address this gap, this research was conducted and comprised two studies. In Study 1, an instrument was developed for measuring the concept of tourist spiritual experience. A scale with 25 items measuring six factors was established. The six factors were inner peace, sense of social connection, self-awareness, self-transcendence, awareness of the environment, and meaningful travel. In Study 2, researchers utilized the scale to investigate the relationship between the sources of tourist spiritual experience (tourism authenticity, interpersonal interaction, transcendental connection, and activity immersion) and the consequences (memorable experience and well-being). This study expands the theoretical knowledge on spirituality in tourism. The findings of this study serve as a reference for activity planning and itinerary design by tourism operators.