Category: Wellness

Individuals operate in environments where they relate to each other. Even though relationships are complex, there are aspects through which individuals can express their views as they live in harmony. Many concerns have been raised with respect to relationships and the creativity involved. For instance, there have been concerns of wellness of creativity in respect to mysteries surrounding everyday lives. It is believed that wellness in creativity enhances everyday lives (Metcalfe & Game, 2002). Conventional modern society perceives genius and creativity as special expressions that define individuals within communities and societies. Some of the creative aspects include enchantment, dialogue, following the river, trying gently, haunting, fear and self-consciousness, and inspiration.

In everyday relationships, such concepts and terms are used to express the views and perceptions of individuals. From the reading, The Well of Creativity in The Mystery of Everyday Life, it is true that special words such as interesting, inspiration, self-consciousness, dialogue, and enchantment are used to explain relationships between individuals within their society. It is true that being creative enhances relationships that are experienced within individuals. Every individuals creativity is likely to take relationships or how they relate to different levels (Metcalfe & Game, 2002). Perceptions and feelings are better explained through the wellness of creativity. Therefore, the wellness of creativity within speech and writings of different individuals is likely to make relationships better.

Various words have been used repeatedly within the passage or reading. For instance, the word inspiration has appeared a couple of times in the reading.

Inspiration is usually a term aimed at giving individuals the reasons to continue doing specific things in order to achieve their goals, objectives, and targets. Every individual while relating with others has specified goals, objectives, and targets. Meeting such goals, objectives, or targets may be cumbersome and discouraging especially in circumstances or scenarios where things are not going as planned. When everything is not going on as planned, individuals require inspirations. Inspirations require a lot of creativity in them so that one is able to pick up his or her pieces in order to move on (Metcalfe & Game, 2002). Inspirations have been very effective in making sure that individuals continue to live normal lives.

Notably, it is important to consider implications of the concepts or wellness of creativity. Implications of such concepts infer that there are sense of relationships portrayed, dynamics involved, sense of identity on individuals, and impact on the learning. Creativity influences relationships to a great deal (Metcalfe & Game, 2002). In most cases, creativity brings out the aspect or idea of coming up with better ways of ensuring that relationships are harmonious. In addition, it is important to note that through specific concepts such as inspiration, self-consciousness and interesting, individuals develop a sense of identity. In this perspective, an individuals relationship with others significantly changes on the basis of such concepts.

Wellness of creativity as seen in the passage significantly affects how individuals learn. In this perspective, most individuals will learn towards being creative hence making their relationships very smooth courtesy of such concepts and aspects as illustrated above. Therefore, it is evident and true to point out that wellness of creativity within the society significantly affects how people relate to each other.

Reference

Metcalfe, A. & Game, A. (2002). The Mystery of Everyday Life. Australia: Federation Press.

Introduction

Health care systems need to be transformed from those that offer treatment to patients only, to those that prevent illnesses and ensure the wellbeing of people. In reference to Levy (2007), marketing wellness and prevention programs motivate people towards changing their negative behaviors (Levy, 2007). Therefore, the marketers of health care companies should apply marketing skills to encourage, motivate, incentivize, and motivate individuals to engage in wellness and prevention activities. In other words, it is essential for health care organizations to move from acute care to wellness and prevention (Labiris & Niakas, 2005). This means that they should adopt marketing wellness and prevention programs. This can lead them towards a concomitant emphasis on these two as part of their strategic platforms. This paper assesses the marketing strategy of Machealth, a health care organization in Australia with respect to wellness and prevention. It looks at the limitations to the current approach and provides a description of how the wellness and prevention program can be marketed in the organization.

Analysis of the Machealth Health Care organization

The Machealth Care organization is based in the region of the Aborigines of Australia. This organization relies on acute care in its provision of treatment to the community. The Australian aborigines have been facing the burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and asthma among other conditions. The Machealth Health Care organization does not currently have a wellness and prevention program. In other words, this institution does not look at wellness and prevention strategically and hence misses many opportunities. It needs this program in order to expand the scope of the organizations service. The introduction of wellness and prevention in the Machealth Health Care institution will help it in several strategic ways. For instance, it can use it in retail opportunities, community health improvement, health risk management, and clinical integration and continuum expansion. The health care organization can also use the wellness program as a marketing tool.

How Machealth Health Care organization can market wellness and prevention programs

According to Van Zee (2009), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) controls the marketing of prescription drugs. This regulatory body also ensures that adverts and promotions of drug prescriptions are truthful, balanced, and well communicated (Hawkes, 2007). However, Van Zee (2009) argues that the FDA has limited oversight of advertising and the promotion of controlled drugs (Van Zee, 2009). The Machealth Health Care organization should take advantage of this and market prevention and wellness programs. This will require the integrated involvement of its medical care professionals, patients, caregivers, and families combined. The close coordination between the above-mentioned parties can help the organization to market the wellness and prevention programs. The company should follow the following steps;

1. The second step is to plan and assess the program. The health care organization should create a plan of marketing the program based on its goals. For instance, it can integrate education and physical activities to keep its health care professionals, patients, caregivers, and families engaged in the program. It should also develop a wellness and prevention committee to create and follow the timelines of the program.
2. The first step is to build support. Considering that the Machealth organization has never considered introducing a wellness and prevention program, it should start by with a culture of wellness and prevention in its operations.
3. The third step is promoting the program and activities to employees. The marketers should also get involved in discussing different incentives and rewards to influence all parties to participate in the implementation of the program. The Machealth Care organization should communicate the plan efficiently by encouraging and reinforcing it at all levels of the institution. This should include integrating social media advertisements and other promotional tools to create awareness (Healey & Marchese, 2006).
4. The fourth step is to implement the prevention and wellness program. This should include selecting the most relevant track for the health care institution.
5. The fifth step is to evaluate the program. This will help the Machealth Care organization to know whether the program is effective in meeting the goals set by the marketers.
6. The next step is to share the results of the programs success with health care professionals, patients, caregivers, and families engaged in the program.
7. The last step is to sustain the prevention and wellness program in the organization. The Machealth Care institution should locate additional funds, maintain buy-in, and leverage the prevention and wellness program.

The potential risks or drawbacks from changing or expanding the scope of the organizations service line, in order to reach new markets

There are several potential risks associated with changing the scope of the Machealth Cares services line in reaching new markets. These include choosing the wrong solutions, internal resistance, and incurring extra costs such as time, money, and training. For instance, if the marketers of the Machealth organization integrate wrong strategies and assume that they will help in the implementation of wellness and prevention marketing programs, the health care institution may incur huge losses. Moreover, if the health care professionals, patients, caregivers, and families engaged in the program fail to adopt the new change, the marketing of the prevention and wellness program can be a wasted effort.

References

Hawkes, C. (2007). Regulating Food Marketing to Young People Worldwide: Trends and Policy Drivers. American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 1062-1072.

Healey, B.J., & Marchese, M. (2006). The use of marketing tools to increase participation in worksite wellness programs. Academy of Health Care Management, 2(4), 75-84.

Labiris, G., & Niakas, D. (2005). Demand management and the EU healthcare market integration. Journal of Medical Marketing, 5(1), 32-35.

Levy, J. (2007). Demographic changes in Europe: Opportunity or threat? Journal of Medical Marketing,7(4), 287-293.

Van Zee, A. (2009). The Promotion and Marketing of OxyContin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health Tragedy. American Journal of Public Health. 99(2), 221-227.

Introduction

Workplace wellness encompasses all health promotion organizational policies and activities to support positive behavior among workers and improve health outcomes. Such programs can be offered through various techniques, including compulsory employee training, third-party providers, or staff seminars (Song & Baicker, 2019). Employee wellness is continually becoming significant in business today. Although the advantages of the initiatives cannot be realized immediately, healthy workers add value to their colleagues, employers, and the broader organization. The benefits of employee wellness programs include increased productivity, high worker morale, improved retention and recruitment of employees, reduced healthcare costs and risks, enhanced satisfaction, and healthy workplace culture. Organizations should adopt best wellness practices and consider current trends to obtain maximum returns from these programs.

Practices in Workplace Wellness

The corporate wellness industry has been growing tremendously, with organizations focusing on having the most comprehensive and effective programs. One feature of a suitable wellness approach is consistency to enable people to develop habits. Although individuals have different needs, the regime should universally be consistent. Establishing stability makes it easy for workers to build a routine around the program, thus boosting attendance (Song & Baicker, 2019). Secondly, wellness programs should be results-oriented; following the first session, operators should collect and analyze meaningful data. Consequently, they develop suggestions to increase program enrollment, develop person-centered sessions for all employees, customize and coordinate care plans, and provide feedback to relevant stakeholders. Another best practice of workplace wellness is integrating health and wellness benefits into the overall organizational culture. One way to do this is by including frequent, meaningful reminders of the significance of wellness in the offices communication channels. Companies should merge available health improvement resources and recognize the roles of each participant. Subsequently, this will result in joint planning to ensure a seamless end-user experience that invites individuals to the appropriate material at the right time.

Current Trends

Trends in workplace mental health have been significantly shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020. The first shift is that wellness programs are focused more on improving workers mental health. The coronavirus era had a substantial impact on the working conditions of people, leading to additional anxiety and stress, which pressured their mental health. To resolve the overarching implications of the COVID-19 outbreak, organizations wellness programs provide people with 27/7 access to confidential helplines and affordable sessions with qualified therapists. Further, they are developing holistic mental health solutions that encompass well-being apps, self-care and fitness, and employee assistance programs (Grossmeier & Johnson, 2020). Secondly, telehealth is continually being incorporated into any organizations wellness program. The technology involves delivering health education, information, and care services through remote technologies. Many employers intend to invest more in telehealth. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still around in many nations, telemonitoring is an excellent solution for many employees and employers. It allows one to make virtual appointments and consultations with their healthcare providers.

Another critical workplace wellness trend today is focusing on prevention rather than treatment. Organizations establish measures that create suitable work environments for workers to avoid being stressed or strained at work. Instead of companies sending employees to therapists and counselors to help relieve their work-related stress, managers should promote the creation of a safe and stress-free environment. In addition, awareness of physical activity and workshops on healthy eating, reducing binge drinking, and quitting smoking are being promoted. Financial wellness has also become a significant aspect of todays workplace wellness programs. The phenomenon describes the overall financial health of a person and the absence of stress related to lack of money. Money-related pressure has increased tardiness and absenteeism at work because workers who worry about their finances are mentally absent from work (Grossmeier & Johnson, 2020). With the coming of the pandemic, many peoples finances were affected. Some companies suffered losses and could not pay bonuses and increase salaries; some peoples partners and family members lost their jobs. Consequently, organizations lost money due to reduced employee productivity catalyzed by financial stress. As a result, wellness programs began paying attention to their staffs financial wellness through workshops, perks, and dedicated partnerships.

Challenges Faced by Workplace Wellness Programs

However, organizations still struggle to establish wellness programs that maintain employee engagement with time. One of the challenges faced in running these activities is insufficient or lack of funding. Most of the time, the cost of running the initiatives is often low because the participants undertake free activities, such as group walks. Nevertheless, some special wellness activities like inviting financial experts cost money, which might be challenging to raise (Sawchuk et al., 2020). Another challenge faced by wellness activities is limited leadership support. Organizations senior executives do not visibly and actively promote the initiatives. Although they have approved and endorsed the events, they do not volunteer to lead the sessions. As a result, employees lose interest. Lastly, workplace wellness suffers from inconsistencies because some of these approaches do not have a solid structure. The program structure should include the number of challenges, defined expectations, timeframes, and effective communication on the rewards and incentives. Therefore, they lack predictability, and people cannot form habits out of them.

Recommendations

One recommendation to solve the financial problems related to wellness programs is allocating funds in the companys budget to cater to wellness programs. Since these activities have proven beneficial, employers should be willing to reserve money for wellness. Secondly, the leadership of the organization should be dedicated to wellness activities. The organization should designate a senior executive member as the head of health and well-being and encourage other leaders to participate. Having a committed management team promotes a supportive culture that encourages employee participation (Sawchuk et al., 2020). Further, the organization should appoint the most seasoned executive with the respect of most employees as an influencer. The senior manager will unite the team for the greater wellness cause and encourage healthy habits. Finally, wellness programs should have consistency to make it easy for workers to build a routine around the program, thus boosting attendance. Although specifics of the activity, such as challenges, might change, participants should know what to do, where to get updates and sign up, the program schedule, and how to earn rewards. Additionally, the organization can organize an annual companywide event for employees to attend wellness sessions together.

Conclusion

To conclude, there is a positive correlation between a companys performance and employee wellness. The advantages of workplace wellness programs include increased productivity, employee morale, retention and engagement, and reduced health risks. An effective workplace wellness program should cater to individuals financial, physical, mental, and emotional needs and the whole organization. The overall benefits of implementing a comprehensive approach to employee wellness surpass the costs incurred. Based on the current trends on the topic, it is anticipated that employers will continue to invest in the welfare of their workers in the future. Consequently, this will enhance their health and trust in their organizations. Employers and HR departments of organizations should develop comprehensive workplace wellness programs that include a combination of continuous communication, committed leadership, and a well-designated structure. Additionally, the program should cater to the individual needs of employees and allow them to visualize the progress of the program and each ones performance.

References

Sawchuk, N., Russo, J., Ferguson, G., Williamson, J., Sabin, J., Goldberg, J., Madesclaire, O., Bogucki, O., & Buchwald, D. (2020). Barriers and bridges to implementing a workplace wellness project in Alaska. Rural and Remote Health, 20(3), 5946-5946.

Grossmeier, J., & Johnson, S. S. (2020). Factors Driving Exemplary Workplace Health and Well-Being Initiatives. American Journal of Health Promotion, 34(1), 105-106.

Song, Z., & Baicker, K. (2019). Workplace wellness programs and health outcomesreply. JAMA, 322(9), 893-893.

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to determine the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly. The study focused on the tourism sector of Istria, Croatia. The study explored various factors that motivated the elderly tourists to participate on wellness tourism, in line with main objective. The study relied on primary data using structured questions to explain the main objective and the data was analyzed using statistical tools like SPSS, and ANOVA analysis.

The study categorized the tourists into three groups with regard to the level of wellness, for instance, high level wellness, moderate level wellness and low level wellness. The results of the study revealed that the variables of the study varied significantly among the three groups, for instance, tourists who fell in the category of high level wellness preferred to take longer vacations and had a greater urge for entertainment. All in all, wellness tourism is regarded as a segment of health tourism and many tourists make the visits for health purposes.

The findings of this study are very relevant to the elderly tourists, tourist planners and tourist marketers. It is also adequate for the country to improve and protect the physical appearance of tourist destination sites to enable her to be in a competitive position as compared to the other countries. Moreover, the ease of accessibility to the tourist destination sites should be improved so as to give an easy time for the elderly tourists to move around. Accommodation facilities and other social amenities should be upgraded so that they can be up to standard and fit the specifications and the requirements of the elderly tourists.

Introduction

Overview

This chapter covers the background to the study, problem statement, research objectives and hypotheses and the significance of the study.

Background to the study

Wellness entails a particular notion of health (Müller & Lanz-Kaufmann, 2002, p. 12). Health can be defined as a condition in which the body functions well physically, mentally, socially, with no presence of diseases or frailty. The concept of wellness is therefore separated from visiting health spas, as the spas are like hospitals that treat illnesses. Wellness can, therefore, be defined as an incorporated functioning mode that leans towards getting the best out of an individual’s potentials or abilities, given the particular environment in which the individual lives in.

Wellness directs the advancement of an individual to an upward or forward direction in order to realize a high degree of functioning of the individual. In addition, wellness involves the advancement of the entire body of the individual with regard to the individual’s mind, spirit, or will to aid in his/her functionality. An individual will achieve a higher degree of wellness when he/she is self responsible, aware of the basic nutritional requirements, manages stress effectively, and sensitive to the surrounding environment (Ardell, 1977, p. 54).

The condition of being combined with a positive attitude in a continuous process entails the vibrant development of wellness (Travis, 1984, p. 33). Travis explained this with the aid of a health continuum that is shown in Figure 1.1 below. The neutral point in the health continuum shows that no apparent sickness exist yet a low intensity of wellness prevails. The individual is protected from premature death by returning them to the neutral point. The main aim of the wellness model is not only just to aid in healing of the individual’s diseases, but also to elevate the individual to a higher rank of wellness.

The definition of wellness according to Müller and Lanz-Kaufmann is in line with the definition given by Ardell (1977) as shown in Figure 1.2 below. Wellness is a health condition whereby the individual’s body, intellect and spirit work in unison. The elements that define wellness include: self-conscientiousness, health and prettiness, food nutrition, recreation, mental education, social interaction and sensitivity to the environment (Travis, 1984, p. 33). In addition, Müller and Lanz-Kaufmann noted that the hospitality industry should strive to refurbish its market in order to provide products that promote wellness so that the tourists can enjoy their trips better.

Recent history in the field of wellness tourism point out to the fact that many individuals have resorted to seek for treatments or other health related therapies to boost their personal health standard and the general appearance. Complementary medicines gave way to the introduction of conventional medicine with the aim of aiding the people to stay in good physical shape and to be energetic. Yoga and massage are some of the most popular methods of treatment that are being used in the present world. Wellness tourism is widely regarded as a branch of health tourism as the tourists are motivated to better their health standards.

Many at times, wellness vacations are spent in institutions that help to cure various illnesses; there is still a difference between wellness and cures from the health perspective. It is a belief that the urge for wellness is normally followed by healthy individuals, who have the prime objective of prevention rather than cure. The wellness tourists however seek for services which are similar to those of tourists seeking for cure services, but it is their enthusiasm of safeguarding and advancing their health that separates them from those tourists seeking for cure services. Figure 1.3 illustrates the separation of wellness tourism with regard to demand.

The supply side of wellness tourism is not easy to separate due to the fact that the same service provider can comply with the specific requirements. Institutions that offer cure services can host both tourists seeking for cure services and wellness tourists. Wellness institutions should therefore be well equipped with the relevant infrastructures that support efficient guest care. These institutions should have the best mixture of enjoyment, exercise, proper nutrition, recreation, entertainment, and mental education. An example of a wellness institution is a spa, which offers a favourable environment that enables the individual to enhance his or her wellbeing in an appropriate manner.

Statement of the problem

Wellness tourism is considered to be a subset of health tourism. Health tourism can be defined as the movement of individuals from one location to the other with the aim of advancing, steadying and re-establishing their physical health, mental health and social relationships. Wellness tourism involves the individuals visiting hotels or recreational centres that provide wellness services. Wellness tourism, being a subset of healthcare tourism does not entail elective surgery.

It is required that wellness hotels should have an up-to-standard wellness infrastructure in order to provide the best services to the tourists. There exist various extents of wellness as there exist various extents of illness. Wellness tourism, therefore, is in line with the individual’s intent to improve the class of his/her life, physical health, mental health and social interaction. The individuals stay in specific hotels that have the capability to make available the relevant professional expertise and professional care. The various service packages of the hotels include: physical training, dieting activities and mental training. The hotels that function in line with wellness tourism should therefore strive to safeguard the individual’s physical health, mental health, and social relations.

Objectives of the study

The general objective of this study was to determine the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly. In line with the general objective, the study examined the following specific objectives:

1. To determine the effectiveness of sun and sea on elderly participation on wellness tourism;
2. To determine the influence of cultural heritage and events on elderly participation on wellness tourism;
3. To determine the influence of the desire for entertainment on elderly participation on wellness tourism;
4. To investigate the influence of the urge to take a vacation on elderly participation on wellness tourism;

Hypotheses of the study

In order to meet the above objectives, the following hypotheses were tested:

1. Ho₁: Sun and sea motivate the elderly tourists to travel;
2. Ho₂: Cultural heritage and events motivate the elderly tourists to travel;
3. Ho₃: The urge for entertainment motivate the elderly tourists to travel;
4. Ho₄: The urge to take a vacation motivate the elderly tourists to travel;

Justification of the Study

The findings of this study are of great value to policy makers and regulatory authorities. It provides the policy makers with a wide exposure with regard to the assessment of the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly, thus enabling them to adopt the relevant strategies in line with the situation. The findings of this study also add to the body of knowledge of related studies.

Scope of the Study

The scope of this study was in line with the general objective, which was to explore on the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly. Using primary data and applying statistical techniques, the study explained the variables to meet the research objectives. The study used a cross-sectional research design to meet the objectives. The data of the survey were analyzed using statistical techniques such as SPSS and ANOVA analysis.

Literature Review

Introduction

This chapter reviews the theories both empirical and theoretical that are closely linked to the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly.

Decisive models of tourists’ actions

The process of tourists’ behaviour is both complex and vigorous. In the context of tourism., the tourist behaviour process is considered to be complex due to the fact that tourism products are intangible and the purchasing power of the tourists is accumulated (Correia, 2002). Three sets of models have emerged as a result of the interdisciplinary status of wellness tourist behaviour. The models include: microeconomic models, structural models and processional models. For the case of microeconomic models, wellness tourists normally have the motive to increase their utilities to the maximum subject to a combination of constraints such as: time, income and the level of technology (Morley, 1992). For the case of structural models, the connection between the input and output is scrutinized. Consequently, for the case of processional models, the tourist’s judgments are put to examination (Abelson & Levi, 1985).

The classical economic theory is the main basis of the microeconomic model that analyses the behaviour of the wellness tourists. When taking into consideration the demand for manageable goods or services, classical economic theory is very instrumental. In addition, the classical economic theory brings into focus the limitations that relate to tourism analysis. Samuelson (1991) asserts that the notion that the tourists strive to maximize the utility that they derive from wellness tourism contributes to the process of tourism analysis. Moreover, the destination sites for tourists are not considered as objects that can directly be used, but rather products that have characteristics that facilitate the derivation of utility (Lancaster, 1966, p. 140); this utility is subject to various constraints. Morley (1992, p. 254) brings into focus the utilization of microeconomic theory to the field of tourism. Microeconomic analysis creates a platform that is beneficial for the analysis of the behaviour of wellness tourists (Paraskevopoulos, 1977; O’Hagan & Harrison, 1984, p. 922; Song & Witt, 2000).

The whole decision making process of the tourists is analyzed by processional models. The models pay much attention to the underlying factors that influence the decision making process of the tourists. In simple terms, processional models give out information that relate to the actions of the tourists in their decision making process. There are various factors that influence the decision making process of the tourists; the main outstanding factor is actually the decision process. Tourism products, just like other normal products have several attributes which play the role of distinguishing them from the possible substitute products (Song & Witt, 2000; Lancaster, 1966, p. 140).

Scholarly studies that relate to the analysis of the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly are founded on the basis of various models that are considered to be outstanding. These models stem from the perspective of the processional models. The first model is the Nicosia model (1966) which concentrates on the correspondence that occurs between the tourist and the firm, and how the firm convinces the tourist to acquire her products. Another model dubbed Howard and Sheth’s model (1969) integrated the input notion that describe the conduct of the tourists; in addition, the model states the ways by which the tourists incorporate these inputs in their decision making process. Howard and Sheth’s model has continued to be regarded as the most important model for analyzing tourist activities.

Wellness tourist performance can be assessed by paying regard to the analytic analysis of desire, anticipations, conception and satisfaction. Gallarza, Saura and Garcia (2002, p. 63) emphasized on the use of statistical tools (such as multivariate analysis that depend on other analyses like correlation matrix, sampling techniques and regression analyses) on tourism. Qualitative choice models are very efficient in assessing the wellness tourist behaviours; such models entirely depend on multinomial logit (Stynes & Peterson, 1984, p. 310; Barros & Proença, 2005, p. 302; Fleischer & Pizam, 2002, p. 118). In the recent past, many academic scholars have applied structural models on researches that relate to the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly (Baker & Compton, 1998, p. 800).

Tourist decision making process

There are three fundamental stages that are involved in the process of decision making by the tourists; the stages include: the pre-decision, the decision and the post-purchase assessment (Crompton & Ankomah, 1993, p. 466; Bentler & Speckart, 1979, p. 457; Um & Crompton, 1990, p. 438; Ryan, 1994). Before the tourist proceeds to make the purchase, the pre-decision stage usually precedes. This stage normally entails serious decision making by the tourist as he/she has to make the best choice out of the many alternatives. The kind of choices that the tourists have in this stage include: the travel destination, the activities to engage in during the travel and the level of expenditure that the tourist expects to commit. Very many tourists are motivated to travel because of the various activities that they intend to engage in or carry out (Crouch & Jordan, 2004, p. 120; Crompton & Ankomah, 1993, p. 466).

The pre-decision stage gives way for the decision stage. At this point the tourists make decisions paying attention to the time they have available for the travel and the amount of income that they want to commit on the travel. The decision stage is mostly concerned with the purchase of products. The post-purchase stage stems from the factors that determine the process of making choices and checks whether the tourist has been satisfied with the decisions or the choices that he/she had opted for. This stage, therefore, plays an important role in assessing the likelihood of making the purchase again and also in recommending or opposing the choice or the decision (Abelson & Levi, 1985; Barros & Proença, 2005, p. 300).

Speculative factors

Motivational factors

Generally, motivation refers to a certain need that influences a person to assume a certain demeanour in order to satisfy that need. The motivation theories can be linked to the psychological factors like: wants, desires and goals, as the theories provide a description of the psychological factors (Fodness, 1994, p. 563). The psychological factors of needs, desires or goals induce an urgent urge in the person’s mind which leads him/her to purchase goods or services; thus, motivation directly influences the feelings of the individuals (Gartner, 1993, p. 200; Dann, 1996, p. 43; Baloglu, 1997, p. 226). Tourists who have divergent motives may assess a tourist destination in the same manner especially if they are of the opinion that the destination provides them with the maximum wellness utility.

The important motivational elements that have been pointed out by different scholars in their studies include: the urge to get away from the daily programs or work; and the urge to seek for alternative enjoyable experiences (McCabe, 2000, p. 1050). The push-pull model was generated by Crompton (1979, p. 410). The model postulates that tourism is driven by two main forces; the first force, known as push, pushes the tourist out of his/her home driven by the desire to travel to an unspecified destination. In this context, the motivation of the push force depend on the satisfaction anticipated by the tourist, the urge to adventure, prestige, knowledge, and the desire to make new friendships. The second force, known as pull, provides the tourist with the direction regarding the choice of the destination (Uysal, Mclellan & Syrakaya, 1996, p. 62). The motives of the pull force influence the tourist’s choice of the place to visit; the forces are connected to the features of the destination and the infrastructures that define tourism. The features of the destination enable the tourist to make judgments as to whether their desires will be fully satisfied (Mohsin & Ryan, 2003, p. 117; Beerli & Martin, 2004, p. 670; Uysal, Mclellan & Syrakaya, 1996, p. 62; Fodness, 1994, p. 563). When the tourist has already pointed out the need, he/she proceeds to identify the destination that grants him/her the maximum satisfaction; the next stage after this is the learning stage.

The tourist’s learning course

The learning process enables the tourist to gain the knowledge concerning a product and how the product will impact on the satisfaction of the tourist. Bettman and Park (1980) studied the learning process before developing another model that processes information about the behaviour of the tourists when they are making decisions concerning the destinations that they want to visit. Actually, the tourist has the ability to retain at most seven destination sites and at least two destination sites (Miller, 1956, p. 83).

The learning process presents a number of destination sites to the tourist, who has a strain in remembering all of the destinations; thus, it is practical to choose a manageable number of destination sites that do not pose any hardship to the tourists. The analysis of the tourist learning can be viewed from the behavioural perspective or from the cognitive perspective. From the behavioural perspective, the tourist learning takes place in three parts, namely: gathering of information, making a choice and the learning experience. When the behaviour of the tourist is repetitive, then the benefits of the result are realized.

From the cognitive perspective, much attention is paid to the results of learning that come about due to undetermined problems. The external and internal stimuli trigger variations of the tourist behaviour which define the process of tourist learning. The external and internal stimuli encompass the initial experiences that the tourist has with regard to the previous visits, the recommendations made to the tourist by friends or relatives concerning a destination site, promotion or publicity about the destination site, and the public’s perception on the destination site. In the beginning, these stimuli have an effect on the needs of the tourist or their motivation; but as the tourist enters the learning process, these stimuli are instrumental in influencing their decisions, thus, enabling them to point out the kind of sites that fit their image or personality (Miller, 1956, p. 82; Mohsin & Ryan, 2003, p. 117).

A study conducted by Guy, Curtis and Crotts (1990) confirm that the tourists’ learning about a destination is determined by their previous experiences or by the kind of information that they receive either directly or indirectly concerning the destination. Tourists who are uncertain normally rely on information from travel agencies so that they can be equipped with the necessary information concerning the destination site (Money & Crotts, 2003, p. 195). The search for information relating to the destined visit site by the tourists is motivated by the various contingencies in the market place and the nature of the visits (Fodness & Murray, 1997, p. 506). Tourists who travel on a regular basis have a more affinity to receive information that relate to the travel product or the travel destination; with this regard they are more enthusiastic to spread the information to other interested travellers (Jamrozy, Backman & Backman, 1996, p. 912). The learning process by the consumes give way to the perception

Perception factors of the tourists

Perception refers to the way in which the travel tourists regard the value of the product (Sheth, Newman & Gross, 1991, p. 163; Correia & Crouch, 2004; Correia, Valle & Moço, 2005). The concept of perception stems from the cognitive point of view or from the behavioural point of view. Thus, it should be noted that perception occurs as a result of the process of tourist learning together with their motivations. Previous researches concerning tourist motivation reveal that the tourists’ selection and assessment of travel products are influenced mostly by affective factors (Fodness, 1994, p. 558).

Every tourist is driven by his/her personal motivational factors to travel; these motivational factors are both internal and external and they define the tourists’ insights regarding the destination (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999, p. 870; Gartner, 1993, p. 193; Correia, Valle & Moço, 2005). The internal motivational factors stem from the push motives while the external motivational factors stem from the pull motives. Perception is a dynamic process due to the fact that the tourists have the ability to select, to organize and to spell out the various stimuli into a useful and clear manner. The perception of the tourist, therefore, varies from the real characteristics of a product to the manner in which the tourist grasps and analyzes information (Dann, 1981, p. 190; Pearce, 1982, p. 153). Perception can occur selectively if the tourist decides to be selective in his/her exposure, attention, perceptual blockage and perceptual defence. It is a common practice of the tourists to select only things they need and block out the things that they regard as unnecessary or unfavourable to them.

There are two concepts of perception that stem from the tourists’ learning process. One of the concepts is the cognitive perception, while the other one is the emotional perception. When the tourist assesses the features of the desired destination, cognitive perception is achieved; on the other hand, emotional perception relies on the thoughts of the tourist with regard to the desired destination (Gnoth, 1997, p. 292). Both the two perceptions (cognitive and emotional) are essential for formulating models of perception of the tourists’ travel products.

Satisfaction factors of the tourists

Each tourist has a different interpretation of the concept of satisfaction, thus, its definition is divergent among the various tourists. Many scholars in their research articles have linked the definition of satisfaction to the distinction between expectation and experience (Woodside, Frey & Daly, 1989, p. 12). Bultena and Klessig (1969, p. 349) gave a definition of satisfactory experience as a part of the level of the correspondence between the tourists’ desires and the experiences that they undergo. Satisfaction does not entirely stem from the pleasures that the tourists derive from the travelling experience, but rather it is the analysis that checks out whether the experience satisfied the tourist as it was expected to (Hunt, 1977, p. 459). Various researches have revealed that satisfaction and the brand’s attitude mean one and the same thing (LaTour & Peat, 1979, p. 433).

Affective reactions have a major influence on the experiences of the tourists’ consumption process with regard to their judgments on post-purchase satisfaction (Madrgal, 1995, p. 212; Spreng, MacKenzie & Olshavsky, 1996, p. 17; Barsky, 1992, p. 54; Oliver, 1993, p. 422). In this case, it is assumed that the satisfaction of the tourists is dependent on the performance of the product (wellness), the perceptions of the tourist in relation to the product, and the motivations that the tourists have. The ratio between the performance and the perception rises as the level of the tourist’s satisfaction also rises (Barsky, 1992, p. 54); the ratio depends on the nature of the experiences that the tourists have in relation to the experience they had envisaged or desired. Dissatisfaction of the tourists come about when there is a major disparity between what the tourists had expected and what they actually experience in terms of the performance of the products.

Various scholars have expressed their criticisms concerning the conceptualization of satisfaction with regard to the expectations that the tourists have. Satisfaction is perceived to have a connection with surprise (Arnould & Price, 1993, p. 26). In addition, Miller (1977) concluded that tourist satisfaction can occur in various forms; for instance, desirable satisfaction, ideal satisfaction, and tolerable satisfaction. When tourists go for holidays, their satisfaction levels are highly connected to their level of motivation. When the travel destination is attractive, the needs and the motivation of the tourists are highly satisfied (Truong, 2005, p. 229). The perception of the destination encompasses a variety of factors and various attraction sites that the tourist believes to have the capacity to satisfy his/her desires or expectations. Therefore, when the post-purchase behaviour analysis is undertaken, it is expected to make out whether the travel tourists have been satisfied by the tourist products or whether they have been dissatisfied by the same. The analyses of the post-purchase tourist behaviour are related to the concept of push and pull satisfaction. When the concept of push and pull satisfaction is likened to motivation, both the tangible and intangible components of the post-purchase analysis can be measured (Truong, 2005, p. 229).

Behavioural objectives factors of the tourist

The intention by the tourist to make a purchase depends on their motives relating to both the behavioural and social norms. The motives of the tourists depend on the level of expectations that they have concerning the probability of assuming a certain behaviour and the assessment of how they regard it (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980). Lam and Hsu (2006) in their study used the theory of reasoned action to show that the intention of the tourists to choose a destination site depends on the recognized behaviour and the past behaviour (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980). The image that the travelling tourist portrays depends on the quality of the destination site, the anticipated satisfaction, the eagerness of the tourists to return and their enthusiasm to propose the destination to their friends. When the destination site is of a high quality, the tourists will be persuaded to return to the site because of the high level of satisfaction he/she experiences; the level of satisfaction will further influence whether the tourists will recommend the destination site to their friends. Further, studies show that the more a tourist visits a site, the more he/she is motivated to return, especially with regard to mature destinations (Kozak, 2001, p. 792).

Examination of the study assumption

The tourists rely on information sources for travel awareness

Studies by Baloglu and McCleary (1999) confirm that tourists utilize the various sources of information so as to be familiar with the destined site. The sources of information include: the media (i.e. newspapers, televisions, internet, or travel magazines), information from friends or relatives through word of mouth, among others (Um & Crompton, 1990, p. 436; Fakeye & Crompton, 1991, p. 12; Dann, 1977, p. 186). The information is very beneficial to the tourists in their decision making process. There are four basic types of sources of information, they include: neutral information sources (tourism firms), commercial information sources (travel agencies), social information sources (relatives or friends) and promotional information sources (internet, magazines, radios or television) (Bargeman & Poel, 2006, p. 711; Crotts, 1999).

Various information sources motivate the tourists to visit

In their study, Um and Crompton (1990) established that travel tourists use the various sources of information to bring about a cognitive perception or an affective perception. Tourism is like any other product, thus, the tourist should seek for all the relevant information that relate to the product before deciding to purchase it. Woodside and Lyosnski (1989) in their study revealed the influence of the information sources on how they trigger the needs of the tourist. Tourists who are uncertain always resort to use travel agencies rather than media sources to get information relating to a destination site (Money & Crotts, 2003, p. 195). Wellness tourists are motivated by the promotional campaigns or publicity of the destination site (Crompton, 1979, p. 412; Kotler, Haider & Rein, 1993).

The sources of information initiate pull motivations in the tourist’s mind

The sources of information act as forces that affect pull motivations on the minds of travel tourists (Woodside & Lyosnski, 1989; Holbrook, 1978, p. 550; Gartner, 1993, p. 200).

Push motivations are instigated by internal motives of the tourists

Push motivations that are instrumental in influencing the tourist’s trip are classified as internal factors (Dann, 1977, p. 186). These internal factors that influence the push motivations include: the feeling of loneliness by the tourist, the urge of the tourist to travel, and the desire of the tourist to gain social recognition. In addition, Crompton (1990) regard internal factors as the factors that trigger the urge to travel in order to relax, socialize, earn prestige and get away from the daily routine.

Pull motivations are instigated by external motives of the tourists

In their study, Uysal and Hagan (1993) confirm that the characteristics of the tourist’s travel destination are connected to the pull factors. The tourist’s choice of the travel location is mostly influenced by the pull motives (Crompton, 1990, p. 53). Examples of pull motivation factors include: the available hospitality, accommodation, cost of the trip, type of food, nightlife, among others.

The process of tourist participation on wellness tourism is both complex and vigorous. In the context of tourism, the tourist behaviour process is considered to be complex due to the fact that tourism products are intangible and the purchasing power of the tourists is accumulated (Correia, 2002). The classical economic theory is the main basis of the microeconomic model that analyses the behaviour of the tourists. When taking into consideration the demand for manageable goods or services, classical economic theory is very instrumental. In addition, the classical economic theory brings into focus the limitations that relate to tourism analysis. Microeconomic analysis creates a platform that is beneficial for the analysis of the behaviour of travel tourists (Paraskevopoulos, 1977; O’Hagan & Harrison, 1984, p. 922; Song & Witt, 2000). There are various factors that influence the decision making process of the tourists; the main outstanding factor is actually the decision process. Tourism products, just like other normal products have several attributes which play the role of distinguishing them from the possible substitute products (Song & Witt, 2000; Lancaster, 1966, p. 140).

Qualitative choice models are very efficient in assessing the participation of wellness tourists; such models entirely depend on multinomial logit (Stynes & Peterson, 1984, p. 310; Barros & Proença, 2005, p. 302; Fleischer & Pizam, 2002, p. 118). There are three fundamental stages that are involved in the process of decision making by the tourists; the stages include: the pre-decision, the decision and the post-purchase assessment (Crompton & Ankomah, 1993, p. 466; Bentler & Speckart, 1979, p. 457; Um & Crompton, 1990, p. 438; Ryan, 1994).

Elderly tourists’ participation motivations

Motivation refers to the category of a need or a plight that urges a person to engage in a certain action that is expected to offer him/her satisfaction (Moutinho, 2000, p. 13). In other instances, motivation has been taken to mean the drive that exists within a person that compels him/her to do a certain thing so as to meet a psychological need or a biological need (Fridgen, 1996, p. 46). Travel motivation is the kind of motivation that is connected to the reason why people decide to travel (Hsu & Huang, 2008, p. 52). The motivation that is connected to the tourists’ travel encompasses a wide spectrum of the tourists’ behaviours and their previous travel experiences. Examples of motivations that lead people to travel include: the desire to relax, the urge to gain excitement, the need to interact with friends socially, the spirit of adventure, the urge to interact with families, the drive to improve personal status, and the urge to get away from the daily routines or stress. Pearce (1982) connected tourists’ motivation and behaviour to the Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of human needs; he was of the opinion that “the main reason that made the tourists to be attracted to the destined place of visit was their desire to attain self actualization, the feeling of love or belongingness, and also to attain the physiological needs” (p. 42).

There exist various available literatures that explain the various factors that motivate tourists to travel. In their study, Cleaver et al. (1999) revealed that “the market for the elderly is not uniform, and they pointed out seven segments that relate to the motivation for the elderly tourists. The segments include: thinkers, nostalgic, physicals, learners, status seekers, friendly and escapists” (p. 8). In addition, Backman et al. (1999) pointed out the similarities and contrasts that exist between the younger elders (55 to 64 years) and the older elders (65 years and above). In their study, they revealed that “the main motivation factors that drove the younger elders to travel was the need to relax or to engage in leisure activities; on the other hand, the older elders were mainly motivated to travel by educational attractions and national attractions” (p. 17). Moreover, Fleischer and Pizam (2002) did a review of the past studies regarding travel motion and made an inference that “the older elders were generally motivated to travel by the desire to relax, interact, learn, and to gain excitement” (p. 108). In the same manner, Horneman et al. (2002) in his study revealed that “the motivation for the elderly was moving towards the desire to rest or relax, the desire for physical exercise or fitness, and the desire for education” (p. 34).

The most recent study done by Huang and Tsai (2003) did a review of the previous studies concerning travel motivation and found out that “the motivation to travel can be categorized into various groups, for instance, rest and relaxation, education, adventure, socializing, and escape from daily patterns of life” (p. 565). In the same way, Jang and Wu (2006) concluded that “the significant push and pull motivations of the tourists were: the desire to seek knowledge, and the urge to be safe” (p. 308).

Elderly tourist profiles and requirements

An exploration of the past studies concerning travel motivation factors mainly focused on senior or elderly travellers by checking on their profiles, tastes and needs. A study conducted by Anderson and Langmeyer (1982) to assess the profiles of the senior travellers mainly concentrated on two elderly groups (over 50 years and below 50 years). The study found out that “both the two groups were motivated to travel by the desire to fulfil their pleasure, the desire to rest or relax, and the desire to meet families or friends; however, the group which was above 50 years of age had a higher probability of touring historical sites” (p. 22). In addition, a study conducted by Javalgi et al. (1992) confirmed that “younger tourists are more educated as compared to the elderly tourists, thus, they always carry out an information search before they proceed with their visit” (p. 16). In addition, the study also found out that “the elderly tourists had adopted a culture of purchasing trip packages that covered the costs of both transportation and accommodation” (p. 17).

Zimmer et al. (1995) conducted a study that mainly dwelt on the attributes of the elderly travellers; the study found out that “the most crucial discriminating variables that existed between those who travel and those who do not travel were: mobility problems, age, and level of education” (p. 8). A study conducted by Koss (1994) found out that “the elderly tourists preferred tourism packages that offered them excitements and added value to their lives” (p. 37). In a related study, Bai et al. (2001) conducted a study that focused on elderly tourists from Britain, Germany and Japan. They found out that “the elderly tourists preferred to have packaged tours; this was evident by the significant number of the tourists in travel parties” (p. 152).

Patterns of behaviour of the elderly tourists

Several studies have been carried out to check on the patterns of behaviour of the elderly tourists. In his study, Shoemaker (1989) concentrated on elderly tourists from Pennsylvania by exploring their travel behaviours and their motivations to travel. He further “segmented the market for the elderly tourists into three groups, for instance, tourists travelling as a family, tourists who rested actively, and the older set of tourists” (p. 18). Romsa and Blenman (1989) conducted a study that focused on the patterns of vacation for elderly German tourists by concentrating on their travel modes, travel destination, length of stay, type of accommodation chosen, and vacation memories. They found out that “all the above listed factors were instrumental in influencing the tourists to travel” (p. 182).

Another study conducted by Huang and Tsai (2003) on the elderly tourists from Taiwan revealed that “the elderly tourists were reluctant to sign up for an all-inclusive tour package” (p. 565). Instead, the elderly tourists preferred to have elegant tours which had a high quality in terms of provision of services. Littrell (2004) conducted a study that sought to explore on the tourism activities of the elderly tourists and their behaviour when it comes to shopping. The tourists’ travel activities that were explored in this study included sports tourism, cultural tourism, outdoor tourism and entertainment tourism. The study found out that “the profiles of the tourists were diverse with regard to their probability to shop at retail outlets, their choice of shopping malls, and their sources of information concerning the available shopping activities” (p. 351).

Motivation is regarded as a shape of the state of needs that influences a person to engage in a certain action or activity that has a higher probability of granting him/her a certain level of desired satisfaction (Moutinho, 2000, p. 13). Motivation is a procedure concerning preferences made by individuals or subordinate organisms among substitute forms of deliberate activity (Britton, et al., 1999, p.27). Barcelo (2000) suggested that “the present and immediate influence on the vigour, direction and persistence of action can be termed as motivation” (p. 24). Kinni (1994) found out that “business managers are striving to establish and maintain an atmosphere that is more favourable for the satisfaction of tourists, who are striving together in groups towards attaining of pre-determined goals” (p. 14). In the same way, Robson (2002) insinuated that “motivation can be offered to workers as per the following methodologies: the customary or traditional approach; implicit bargaining; human relations approach; internalized motivation; and competition” (p. 62).

Travel motivation can be explained as the magnitude of commitment, vigour, and originality in the part of the tourist. For many tour managers, amidst of ever gradually increasing more aggressive business atmosphere of the recent years, finding out, means to motivate the clients. In reality, a variety of varied hypotheses and means of tourist motivation have appeared, extending from increased involvement to monetary incentives and employee empowerment. For small tourist enterprises, motivation can occasionally be predominantly challenging where the promoters have frequently worked for many years for establishing a company that he may be reluctant to delegate significant authorities to others. But the business owners should be aware of such drawbacks. Some of the issues connected to unmotivated travellers include deteriorating morale, less contentment, and widespread dissuasion. If permitted to prolong, these issues can lessen earnings, competitiveness, and productivity especially for small business.

The motivation theories can be linked to the psychological factors like: wants, desires and goals, as the theories provide a description of the psychological factors (Fodness, 1994, p. 563). The psychological factors of needs, desires or goals induce an urgent urge in the person’s mind which leads him/her to purchase goods or services; thus, motivation directly influences the feelings of the individuals. Tourists who have divergent motives may assess a tourist destination in the same manner especially if they are of the opinion that the destination provides them with the maximum utility.

The significant elements of motivation that have been pointed out by different scholars in their studies include: the push to get away from the daily programs or work; and the urge to seek for alternative enjoyable experiences (McCabe, 2000, p. 1050). The push-pull model was generated by Crompton (1979). The model postulates that “tourism is driven by two main forces; the first force, known as push, pushes the tourist out of his/her home driven by the desire to travel to an unspecified destination” (p. 410). In this context, the motivation of the push force depend on the satisfaction anticipated by the tourist, the push to adventure, esteem, awareness, and the desire to make new friendships.

Pull is the second force that provides the tourist with the direction regarding the choice of the destination (Uysal, Mclellan & Syrakaya, 1996, p. 62). The drive of the pull force influences the tourist’s selection of the place to visit; the forces are linked to the attributes of the destination and the infrastructures that describe tourism. The features of the destination enable the tourist to make judgments as to whether their desires will be fully satisfied. When the tourist has already pointed out the need, he/she proceeds to identify the destination that grants him/her the maximum satisfaction.

It is very beneficial for the elderly tourists to learn about the travel destination before making up their minds to travel. A study conducted by Guy, Curtis and Crotts (1990) confirm that the tourists’ learning about a destination is determined by their previous experiences or by the kind of information that they receive either directly or indirectly concerning the destination. Tourists who are doubtful normally depend on information from travel agencies so that they can be furnished with the essential information regarding the destination site (Money & Crotts, 2003, p. 195). The search for information relating to the destined visit site by the tourists is motivated by the various contingencies in the market place and the nature of the visits (Fodness & Murray, 1997, p. 506). Tourists who travel on a habitual basis have a more likelihood to receive information that relate to the travel product or the travel destination; with this regard they are more passionate to spread the information to other interested travellers (Jamrozy, Backman & Backman, 1996, p. 912).

The elderly tourists have different perceptions concerning the kind of travel destination that they wish to have. Perception refers to the way in which the travel tourists regard the value of the product. The concept of perception stems from the cognitive point of view or from the behavioural point of view. Thus, it should be noted that perception occurs as a result of the process of tourist learning together with their motivations. Previous researches concerning tourist motivation reveal that the tourists’ selection and assessment of travel products are influenced mostly by affective factors (Fodness, 1994, p. 558).

Every tourist is motivated by his/her personal motivational factors to travel; these motivational factors are both internal and external and they define the tourists’ insights regarding the destination (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999, p. 870; Gartner, 1993, p. 193; Correia, Valle & Moço, 2005). The internal motivational factors originate from the push motives while the external motivational factors originate from the pull motives. Perception is a self-motivated process due to the fact that the tourists have the capability to choose, to systematize and to spell out the various stimuli into a useful and clear manner.

The awareness of the tourist, therefore, fluctuates from the real characteristics of a product to the manner in which the tourist captures and analyzes information (Dann, 1981, p. 190; Pearce, 1982, p. 153). Awareness of the tourist can occur selectively if the tourist decides to be selective in his/her exposure, attention, perceptual blockage and perceptual defence. It is a common practice of the tourists to select only things they need and block out the things that they regard as unnecessary or unfavourable to them.

There are two impressions of insight that stem from the tourists’ learning process. One of the impressions is the cognitive perception, while the other one is the emotional perception. When the elderly tourist assesses the features of the desired destination, cognitive perception is achieved; on the other hand, emotional perception relies on the thoughts of the tourist with regard to the desired destination (Gnoth, 1997, p. 292). Both the two insights (cognitive and emotional) are essential for putting together models of perception of the tourists’ travel products.

Every tourist has a great aspiration to satisfy his/her incentive when they decide to travel. Each tourist has a different explanation of the notion of satisfaction, thus, its definition is divergent among the various tourists. Many scholars in their research articles have connected the definition of satisfaction to the dissimilarity between expectation and experience (Woodside, Frey & Daly, 1989, p. 12). Bultena and Klessig (1969) gave a definition of satisfactory experience as “a part of the level of the correspondence between the tourists’ desires and the experiences that they undergo” (p. 349). Satisfaction does not entirely originate from the pleasures that the tourists gain from the travelling experience, but rather it is the analysis that checks out whether the experience satisfied the tourist as it was expected to (Hunt, 1977, p. 49). A variety of researches have made known that satisfaction and the brand’s attitude mean one and the same thing.

Affective responses have a great effect on the experiences of the tourists’ consumption process with regard to their judgments on post-purchase satisfaction. In this circumstance, it is assumed that the satisfaction of the tourists is relative to the performance of the product, the awareness of the tourist in relation to the product, and the motivations that drive the tourists. The ratio between the performance and the perception rises as the level of the tourist’s satisfaction also rises (Barsky, 1992, p. 54); the ratio depends on the nature of the experiences that the tourists have in relation to the experience they had envisaged or desired. Frustration of the tourists come about when there is a major disparity between what the tourists had anticipated and what they actually experience in terms of the performance of the products.

A variety of scholars have expressed their disapproval concerning the conceptualization of satisfaction with regard to the expectations that the tourists have. Satisfaction is perceived to have a connection with surprise (Arnould & Price, 1993, p. 26). As well, Miller (1977) concluded that tourist satisfaction can occur in various forms; for instance, desirable satisfaction, ideal satisfaction, and tolerable satisfaction. When tourists go for holidays, their satisfaction levels are highly connected to their level of motivation. When the travel destination is attractive, the needs and the motivation of the tourists are highly satisfied (Truong, 2005, p. 229). The perception of the destination encompasses a variety of factors and various attraction sites that the tourist believes to have the capacity to satisfy his/her desires or expectations. Therefore, when the post-purchase behaviour analysis is taken on, it is expected to make out whether the travel tourists have been contented by the tourist products or whether they have been discontented by the same. The analyses of the post-purchase tourist behaviour are related to the concept of push and pull satisfaction. When the concept of push and pull satisfaction is likened to motivation, both the tangible and intangible components of the post-purchase analysis can be measured (Truong, 2005, p. 229).

The purpose of the tourist to make a purchase depends on their motives relating to both the behavioural and social norms. The intention of the tourists depend on the level of expectations that they have concerning the likelihood of adopting a certain behaviour and the assessment of how they regard it (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980). Lam and Hsu (2006) in their study used the theory of reasoned action to show that the intention of the tourists to choose a destination site depends on the standard behaviour and the past behaviour (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980). The picture that the travelling tourist depicts depends on the quality of the destination site, the anticipated satisfaction, the eagerness of the tourists to return and their enthusiasm to propose the destination to their friends. When the destination site is of a high quality, the tourists will be persuaded to return to the site because of the high level of satisfaction he/she experiences; the level of satisfaction will further affect whether the tourists will recommend the destination site to their friends. Further, studies show that the more a tourist visits a site, the more he/she is motivated to return, especially with regard to mature destinations (Kozak, 2001, p. 792).

Decision making process of the elderly tourists

Scholarly articles have pointed out that there are three fundamental stages that are involved in the process of decision making by the tourists; the stages include: the pre-decision, the decision and the post-purchase assessment (Crompton & Ankomah, 1993, p. 466; Bentler & Speckart, 1979, p. 457; Um & Crompton, 1990, p. 438; Ryan, 1994). Before the tourist carries on to make the purchase, the pre-decision stage normally paves the way. This stage normally involves serious decision making by the tourist as he/she has to make the best preference out of the many alternatives. The kind of choices that the tourists have in this stage include: the travel destination, the activities to engage in during the travel and the level of expenditure that the tourist expects to commit. Very many tourists are motivated to travel because of the various activities that they intend to engage in or carry out (Crouch & Jordan, 2004, p. 120; Crompton & Ankomah, 1993, p. 466).

The pre-decision stage leads to the decision stage. At this point the tourists make decisions paying attention to the time they have available for the travel and the amount of income that they want to commit on the travel. The decision stage is mostly concerned with the purchase of products. The post-purchase stage originates from the factors that determine the process of making choices and checks whether the tourist has been satisfied with the decisions or the choices that he/she had opted for. This stage, therefore, plays an important role in assessing the likelihood of making the purchase again and also in recommending or opposing the choice or the decision (Abelson & Levi, 1985; Barros & Proença, 2005, p. 300).

There are three sets of models that have emerged as a result of the interdisciplinary status of the elderly tourists’ behaviour. The models include: microeconomic models, structural models and processional models. For the case of microeconomic models, elderly tourists normally have the motive to increase their utilities to the maximum subject to a combination of constraints such as: time, income and the level of technology (Morley, 1992). For the case of structural models, the connection between the input and output is scrutinized. Consequently, for the case of processional models, the tourist’s judgments are put to examination (Abelson & Levi, 1985).

The microeconomic models that analyses the behaviour of the tourists are found on the basis of the classical economic theory. When taking into consideration the demand for manageable goods or services, classical economic theory is very instrumental. In addition, the classical economic theory brings into focus the limitations that relate to tourism analysis. Samuelson (1991) asserts that the notion that the tourists strive to maximize the utility that they derive from tourism contributes to the process of tourism analysis. Moreover, the destination sites for tourists are not considered as objects that can directly be used, but rather products that have characteristics that facilitate the derivation of utility (Lancaster, 1966, p. 140); this utility is subject to various constraints. Morley (1992) brings into focus the utilization of microeconomic theory to the field of tourism. Microeconomic analysis creates a platform that is beneficial for the analysis of the behaviour of elderly tourists (Paraskevopoulos, 1977; O’Hagan & Harrison, 1984, p. 922; Song & Witt, 2000).

Research Methodology

Introduction

Methodology is the process of instructing the ways to do the research. It is, therefore, convenient for conducting the research and for analyzing the research questions (Snell & Dean, 1992, p. 480). The process of methodology insists that much care should be given to the kinds and nature of procedures to be adhered to in accomplishing a given set of procedures or an objective. Methodology gives a description of distinct methods or procedures that are to be used in analyzing the data. These methods or procedures stand for a creative generic structure; thus, their order may be rearranged, or they may be combined or broken down in sub-processes.

With this regard, research methodology can entail elaboration of the generic processes and procedures; as well, research methodology can be elaborated through figurative means and can be adjusted to eliminate obscurity in the school of thought with tenacious conceptions or doctrines as they associate to a specific field or discipline of inquiry especially if the philosophical and/or principle of the presumptions that signify a specific methodology or a specific study is known as reasoning methodology. A section on the methodology in academic research of the researchers will always be generally de rigueur.

The research strategy

First, with regard to the qualitative research, areas of study were chosen with determination, paying attention to whether the areas of study are in line with the features that have been predetermined (Creech, 1995, p. 33). Next, the part played by the researchers was to obtain a higher critical care (Creech, 1995, p. 33). This is mainly done in qualitative research due to the fact that there is every chance of the researcher assuming a transcendental or a ‘neutral’ position. Thus, this appears to be more elusive both in philosophical and/or practical terms. It is for this reason that the qualitative researchers are frequently pressed to mirror on their part in the research procedures and make things obvious in their research analyses.

Consequently, a wide variety of forms can be taken by qualitative data analysis; the forms range within quantitative research in its coverage on meaning, signs, and language. Moreover, qualitative research procedures evaluate contextually and holistically, instead of being isolationist and reductionist. Nevertheless, transparent and systematic methods to analysis are ever considered as crucial for cogency. However, the most customary division between the employment of quantitative and qualitative research particularly in the social sciences is that quantitative methods are employed to evaluate the main hypotheses. This is so to establish content correctness and to evaluate measures that the researcher believes he/she should evaluate. This is regarded as one of the striking benefits of qualitative research.

Logic and conceptual system development

For this part, choosing a logic and conceptual system of the research design is a choice between the positivist and the social constructionist. The positivist view shows that social worlds exist externally, and its properties are supposed to be measured objectively, rather than being inferred subjectively through feelings, intuition, or reflection. The basic beliefs for the positivist view are that the observer is independent, and science is free of value. The researchers should concentrate on facts, look for causality and basic laws, reduce phenomenon to simplest elements, and form hypotheses and test them.

Preferred methods for positivism consist of making concepts operational and taking large samples. While on the other hand, social constructionists hold the view that reality is subjective and it is socially constructed and given meaning by people. It is best explored through a clear focus on the ways that people make sense of the world via language. The basic beliefs for the social constructionists are that the observer is part of what is observed and science is driven by human interest.

Research Process

For the research process, the choices of the two processes: deductive and inductive processes can be used for carrying out the research. A deductive approach is described as a study in which the theory is tested by the empirical observation, and is referred to as moving from the general to the specific. Deductive research establishes a theory and then checks on the data; it uses quantitative data and it is a very structured approach. On the other hand, inductive approach is a study in which the theory is developed from observation of reality and is the opposite of deductive research; it moves from the specific observations to the general statements.

Inductive approach does not start with the theory, and is very flexible using qualitative data. This study mainly used the inductive process for the case of exploring the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly because the theory is developed from the observations of the reality, and during the process, there are qualitative data that are used for data analysis.

Qualitative research is a way in which research questions are captured in various academic fields of study, conventionally used in the social sciences, but also in research on market and other areas (Snell & Dean, 1992, p.480). Exhaustive apprehensions of human demeanour with regard to qualitative researchers are being carried out with an aim to assess the causes that relate to such demeanour. The qualitative method investigates the question as to how and why decision making is carried out; hence, focused and smaller samples are more frequently preferred to huge samples (Skinner, 1953, p. 306). On the particular cases studied, qualitative methods produced only information and any more general findings were only conjectures (guesses on informative). Quantitative methods on the other hand verified the validity and truthfulness of the hypotheses. Creech (1995) further asserts that qualitative methods can be explained as a source of data or an explanation based on the dimensions of the graph or a non-mathematical data collection.

During the research process, qualitative approaches have the benefit of permitting for more multifariousness in the capacity to adapt to new developments as well as in responses of research itself (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 215). Qualitative research takes a lot of time to conduct besides being much expensive. In various kinds of research, more cost effective methods of qualitative research have been designed; this has helped to solve the problem of high costs and the speed of conducting the research. It is important that the research should be conducted timely, paying much attention to the limited resources in relation to the cost (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 214).

Research Methodology

Methodology gives a description of distinct methods or procedures that are to be used in analyzing the data. These methods or procedures stand for a creative generic structure; thus, their order may be rearranged, or they may be combined or broken down in sub-processes. With this regard, research methodology can entail elaboration of the generic processes and procedures; as well, research methodology can be elaborated through figurative means and can be adjusted to eliminate obscurity in the school of thought with tenacious conceptions or doctrines as they associate to a specific field or discipline of inquiry especially if the philosophical and/or principle of the presumptions that signify a specific methodology or a specific study is known as reasoning methodology.

Quantitative and Qualitative Approach

Quantitative approach

Quantitative research approach refers to the use of statistical techniques, mathematical techniques and calculation techniques to empirically analyze data (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 217). Quantitative methodology aims at utilizing mathematical and statistical theories and models to analyze the data. Quantitative methodology validates the hypotheses and conclusions that have been drawn from qualitative methodology (Carter, 2009, p.239). The scientific procedures and processes that are utilized in quantitative methodology encompass: deriving models and theories; designing instruments for data gathering; controlling the variables empirically; and analyzing data through use of models.

Quantitative methodology is relevant for categorizing the observations or variables, examining the variables and generating statistical representations to analyze the observations. A researcher who utilizes quantitative research design has a predetermined knowledge of what to expect. In addition, the researcher employs data collection instruments like questionnaires or other relevant data collection equipments (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 216). The kind of data handled through quantitative methodology is mainly in numerical or statistical format. A strong feature of quantitative methodology is that it is the most efficient design to test hypotheses. Its limitation is that the relevant details of the variables or observations may be overlooked (Robson, 2002, p. 212).

Qualitative approach

Qualitative approach is mostly concerned with the human motives and the reasons behind such motives (Snell & Dean, 1992, p.482). The main questions that come with qualitative approach are ‘why?’ and ‘how?’, in addition to ‘what?’, ‘where?’ and ‘when?’. With regard to this, a researcher utilizing the qualitative approach will tend to use smaller samples rather than larger samples (Carter, 2009, p. 239). Qualitative approach strictly generates only information that applies to the designated case study; any additional information is treated as guesses. Once hypotheses are drawn through qualitative approach, they are tested through quantitative approach (Robson, 2002, p. 212).

Qualitative approach gives a full detail in terms of the description of the research process. Unlike quantitative research, the researcher has no idea of what results to expect. The researcher mainly relies on observations to collect data. One limitation of qualitative approach is that it consumes a lot of time and demands many resources in terms of money and expertise (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 219).

Questionnaire Survey

Questionnaires are pre-formulated set of questions which require the respondents to record their answers usually within closely defined alternatives (Carter, 2009, p. 239). Questionnaires can be administered to the respondents either by mail or personally by the researcher. Before designing a questionnaire, there are three principles to pay attention to, these principles include: principles of wording, principles of measurement and the general set up of the questionnaire.

The principle of wording entails: (a) the content and purpose of the questions, i.e. the researcher needs to understand the nature of variables to be tapped; if a variable is subjective such as satisfaction where a respondent’s beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes are to be measured, the questions should tap the dimensions and elements of the concepts. In addition, where objective variables such as age and income are tapped, a single direct question would be appropriate (Robson, 2002, p. 216). (b) wording and language, i.e. language of the questionnaire should approximate the level of understanding of respondents. Consequently, the choice of words should depend on the level of education of the respondents (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 219). (c) type and form of question, i.e. type relates to whether question will be open ended or closed whereas form relates to positively and negatively worded questions [1 -5 with 1 being the lowest] versus [1-5 with 1 being the highest] (Robson, 2002, p. 216). (d) sequencing of questions, i.e. the questions should be structured in a way that they start from general questions to specific questions or from easy to difficult questions (Carter, 2009, p. 239).

The principle of measurement encompasses the principles to be followed to ensure that the data collected are appropriate to test the hypotheses. These principles include: categorization, which entails the adjustment of negative questions to become positive questions; coding; using scales and scaling techniques; and reliability and validity: reliability indicates how stably and consistently the instrument taps the variable. While validity establishes how well a technique, instrument, or process measures a particular concept (Robson, 2002, p. 214).

Validity and Reliability

Validity refers to whether an instrument actually measures what it is supposed to measure, given the context in which it is applied. Reliability is concerned with consistence of measures. The level of an instruments’ reliability is dependent on its ability to produce the same results when used repeatedly. To achieve validity and reliability, the data was checked for coding errors and omissions while coding into excel sheets. The database was also verified for accuracy and completeness of all the entries to ensure reliability of data is achieved.

Validity of the data represents the data integrity and it connotes that the data is accurate and much consistent. Validity has been explained as a descriptive evaluation of the association between actions and interpretations and empirical evidence deduced from the data (Robson, 2002, p. 214). The canyon of validity is applicable to all guises of evaluation (which are both qualitative and quantitative) by coalescing scientific inquiry and rational debates to prove or disprove the outcomes and interpretations emanating from the data collected (Carter, 2009, p. 239).

Survey Sample Framework

A sample is a subset of the population, i.e. it comprises some elements chosen from the whole population (Barcelo, 2000, p. 626). Sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population. The study of the sample and an understanding of its properties or characteristics would make it possible to generalize such properties to the population elements; that is, characteristics of the population such as population total, population mean, population standard deviation and population variance [parameters] can be approximated via measures of central tendency, dispersion, and other statistics (Easterby, Thorp & Lowe, 2008, p.216).

The main reasons for sampling include: it is impractical to collect data from the entire population; sampling is time saving, in addition to saving costs and human resources. Collecting data from the entire population may occasion fatigue and increased errors; hence, sampling is widely preferred (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 308). The target population composed of tourists who made visits to five towns in Istria County. The towns included: Poreč, Medulin, Vrsar, Rovinj and Pula.

Questionnaire Administration

Data can be classified into two and they are secondary data and primary data. Primary data refers to the new data (observation, survey, interview, experiment, etc) that the researcher needs to collect for the research while secondary data refers to the existing data that are available in various sources including books, journals, internet, etc. (Easterby, Thorp & Lowe, 2008, p.216). For primary data collection, the issue is to focus on sampling. As far as researcher is considered, the sampling technique is significant. For example, the sample size that is determined should not be too small as this will make it difficult to generalize the data. It is to be noted that reliable results can be originated from larger sample size (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 309).

The primary data sources comprise observation and participant observation, questionnaires and interviews, texts and documents, focused group, case study, etc. Questionnaires are practical approaches of collecting data. Respondents were also given the analogue questions that were supplemented by in depth interviews. The outstanding advantages of using questionnaires are that the data are accurate, anonymous, and they can cover a broad location without any geographical limitation. The disadvantages of using questionnaires are that they could be expensive, impersonal, delay in getting results, and the response rate can be very low (Easterby, Thorp & Lowe, 2008, p.216). In this study, questionnaires were issue in 17 hotels in Istria County. The hotels were selected with regard to their location and size.

Respondents and Unit of Analysis

In this study the questionnaires were issued to tourists visiting hotels in Istria, Croatia. The study chose a target of 1,249 respondents and received feedback from 1,130 respondents. This is equivalent to a 90.5% response rate which is very good. In this research, data from the survey were entered into the Excel spreadsheet program for future analysis. Data was analyzed using SPSS, regression and correlation analysis.

Non-Response Bias

Non-response bias is a situation whereby the respondents give answers that are very different from the possible answer of the participants who did not respond (Bryman & Bell, 2003, p. 310). An illustration on how non-responsive bias occurs is whereby the researcher selects a sample of administrators and conducts a survey with regard to their work commitment, the administrators with a higher level of work commitment might not respond to the survey due to the fact that they have a limited amount of time for participation; on the other hand, administrators with a lower level of work commitment might be shy to respond because of the fear that their colleagues might think of them as inefficient. Thus, in this scenario, a non-response bias can result to the underestimation of the work commitment level or overestimation of the same.

Findings, Data Analysis and Interpretation

Introduction

This section covers the analysis of the data, presentation and interpretation. The results were analyzed using SPPS, ANOVA, regression and correlation analysis.

Descriptive statistics

The tourist sites (Poreč, Medulin, Vrsar, Rovinj and Pula) were visited by at least 50% of all the tourists coming to Istria County. In this study 1,249 questionnaires were issued to respondents; only 1,130 were successfully filled out. The results revealed that the female respondents were 53% as compared to the male respondents who were 47%. All the respondents had an average age of 45.39 years with a standard deviation of 14. Actually, majority of the respondents were aged between 34 and 58 years. In addition, a major number of the respondents had obtained a higher level of education. The respondents had varied backgrounds with regard to their occupations; for instance, 70% were employees, managers were 17% and 13% were hotel owners.

With regard to the country of origin, 30% of the respondents came from Germany, followed by Austria (18%), Italy and the UK (12%), Russia (10%), and the rest were classified as other countries. In addition, a big number of the respondents (53%) had visited Istria County initially. First time visits were more than repeat visits. Many of the respondents were travelling together with their spouses, and 33% were travelling with their spouses together with not less than one child. The respondents were grouped into three categories; the fist category was, high level wellness, the second category was moderate level wellness, and the third category was low level wellness. Using a Chi-square test and ANOVA, the important differences among the three categories of the respondents were noted. The results are summarised in Table 4.1 and Table 4.2.

Table 4.1 Relationship between tourists’ characteristics and wellness groups.

Country of origin had the largest size effect, hence indicating an average strength. The size effect for the other variables was comparatively low. The important differences among the three groups were confirmed for size of settlement, visiting with children, visiting with spouse, relying on brochures for information, relying on TVs for information, motivation by sun and sea, motivation by cultural heritage, willing to stay in another part of Croatia, food and drinks prices, tour of Spain, tour of Greece, sex/gender, occupation, first visit or repeat visit, country of origin, and education level. High level wellness tourists did not prefer to: stay in villages (28%), and to travel together with the children (44%) as compared to the two remaining groups. In addition, high level wellness tourists had a higher likelihood of relying on brochures to obtain information about the destination site (53%) and also to tour Spain (51%).

On the other hand, 21% of the tourists in the category of low level wellness visited with their partners or spouses. This percentage was the least as compared with the other categories. 13% of low level wellness category of tourists relied on TVs for information regarding the destination site. 17% of the tourists in the category of moderate level wellness considered sun and sea as their main motivational factors to visit as opposed to 59% of the tourists in the category of high level wellness who did not consider sun and sea as the main motivational factors.

38% of the German tourists and 40% of the Italian tourists regarded wellness to be very essential to their lifestyle. In addition, 54% of Russian tourists and 71% of the UK’s tourists confirmed that wellness was very essential to their lifestyle. 33% of the respondents in the category of low level wellness had elementary or high school level of education. 28% of the tourists in the category of high level wellness complained about the high prices of food and drinks in the hotels.

The Chi-square test confirmed the overall significance of the variables, but the post hoc test did not reveal any considerable relationship between the three categories of wellness and motivation by cultural heritage, motivation to travel, willingness to stay in another part of Croatia, and tour of Greece. With regard to these variables, it was noted that 49% of the tourists in the category of high level wellness were highly willing to stay in another side of Croatia as compared to the other groups, 46% of the same tourists were motivated by cultural heritage, while 52% were willing to tour Greece and 50% were visiting for the first time.

Table 4.2 ANOVA analysis of tourists’ characteristics by wellness category.

NOTE: * = Significant at 0.01

Mean with subscripts vary at p<0.05.

The three categories of tourists varied with regard to having a house, having a car, clothes and shoes, vacation, entertainment, stay period, insight of the vacation, and the age as shown in Table 4.2 above.

The respondents who had the view that wellness was not essential to their lifestyle regarded having a house, car, clothes and shoes as the least significant. The relevance of having a vacation and entertainment varied significantly among the three categories of tourists. The two variables were the most significant to high level wellness tourists and were least significant to low level wellness tourists. Also the period of stay during the trip varied significantly among the three categories of tourists. The high level wellness tourists preferred to stay for long as opposed to the low level wellness tourists who preferred to stay for a shorter period. The high level wellness group had the perception that lack of money influenced their vacation; the opposite was true for the low level wellness group. In terms of age, the high level wellness group was the oldest among the three groups.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusion

Wellness tourism is considered to be a subset of health tourism. Health tourism can be defined as the movement of individuals from one location to the other with the aim of advancing, steadying and re-establishing their physical health, mental health and social relationships. Wellness tourism involves the individuals visiting hotels or recreational centres that provide wellness services. Wellness tourism, being a subset of healthcare tourism does not entail elective surgery.

• Even though health tourism has been in existence in Istria, wellness tourism emerged as a subdivision of health tourism. Many tourists are motivated by sun and sea which are mainly income created. Wellness tourism, therefore, emerged as a segment in the market that took into consideration the two constituents (sun and sea). The packages of wellness tourism are presented in all the tourist destination sites.
• Wellness of the tourists are always accompanied by tranquillity, calmness and privacy, therefore, the consumers of wellness tourism always have a different mode of lifestyle as compared to other tourism consumers who do not seek for wellness services. Wellness tourism is mostly based on the socio-demographic attributes of the tourists. These attributes were the basis of categorising the wellness tourists into three groups.
• The period of stay during the trip varied significantly among the three categories of tourists. The high level wellness tourists preferred to stay for long as opposed to the low level wellness tourists who preferred to stay for a shorter period. The high level wellness group had the perception that lack of money influenced their vacation; the opposite was true for the low level wellness group. In terms of age, the high level wellness group was the oldest among the three groups.

Recommendations

A good number of tourists regarded wellness tourism to be very significant to their lifestyles, thus, Istria County should make wellness tourism to be an activity on its own. This will ensure that the tourists are satisfied in every aspect, thus, making the holidays enjoyable.

In addition, the tourism season should be expanded so that the tourists can have a longer time to stay during their vacation. Relevant marketing strategies should be used to market the tourist destination sites.

Statement of contribution

Summary

The main aim of this study was to determine the influence of wellness tourism’s participation for the elderly. The study focused on the tourism sector of Istria, Croatia. The study explored various factors that motivated the elderly tourists to participate on wellness tourism, in line with main objective. The study relied on primary data using structured questions to explain the main objective and the data was analyzed using statistical tools like SPSS, and ANOVA analysis.

The study categorized the tourists into three groups with regard to the level of wellness, for instance, high level wellness, moderate level wellness and low level wellness. The results of the study revealed that the variables of the study varied significantly among the three groups, for instance, tourists who fell in the category of high level wellness preferred to take longer vacations and had a greater urge for entertainment. All in all, wellness tourism is regarded as a segment of health tourism and many tourists make the visits for health purposes.

The findings of this study are very relevant to the elderly tourists, tourist planners and tourist marketers. It is also adequate for the country to improve and protect the physical appearance of tourist destination sites to enable her to be in a competitive position as compared to the other countries. Moreover, the ease of accessibility to the tourist destination sites should be improved so as to give an easy time for the elderly tourists to move around. Accommodation facilities and other social amenities should be upgraded so that they can be up to standard and fit the specifications and the requirements of the elderly tourists.

Contributions and impacts

Wellness entails a particular notion of health. Health can be defined as a condition in which the body functions well physically, mentally, socially, with no presence of diseases or frailty. The concept of wellness is therefore separated from visiting health spas, as the spas are like hospitals that treat illnesses. Wellness can, therefore, be defined as an incorporated functioning mode that lens towards getting the best out of an individual’s potentials or abilities, given the particular environment in which the individual lives in.

Wellness directs the advancement of an individual to an upward or forward direction in order to realize a high degree of functioning of the individual. In addition, wellness involves the advancement of the entire body of the individual with regard to the individual’s mind, spirit, or will to aid in his/her functionality. An individual will achieve a higher degree of wellness when he/she is self responsible, aware of the basic nutritional requirements, manages stress effectively, and sensitive to the surrounding environment.

The entire process of the tourists’ decision making is analyzed by processional models. The models pay much consideration to the underlying factors that influence the decision making process of the wellness tourists. In simple terms, processional models give out information that relate to the behaviour of the tourists in their decision making process. There are various factors that influence the decision making process of the tourists; the main outstanding factor is actually the decision process. Tourism products, just like other normal products have several attributes which play the role of distinguishing them from the possible substitute products.

Scholarly studies that relate to the analysis of travel motivation are founded on the basis of various models that are considered to be outstanding. These models stem from the perspective of the processional models. The first model is the Nicosia model (1966) which concentrates on the correspondence that occurs between the tourist and the firm, and how the firm convinces the tourist to acquire her products. Another model dubbed Howard and Sheth’s model (1969) integrated the input notion that describe the behaviour of the tourists; in addition, the model states the ways by which the tourists incorporate these inputs in their decision making process. Howard and Sheth’s model has continued to be regarded as the most important model for analyzing the travel motivations of the elderly tourists.

Travel motivation of the elderly tourists can be assessed by paying regard to the analytic analysis of desire, anticipations, conception and satisfaction. Gallarza, Saura and Garcia (2002, p. 63) emphasized on the use of statistical tools (such as multivariate analysis that depend on other analyses like correlation matrix, sampling techniques and regression analyses) on tourism. Qualitative choice models are very efficient in assessing the behaviour of the elderly tourists; such models entirely depend on multinomial logit. In the recent past, many academic scholars have applied structural models on researches that relate to the assessment of the travel motivation of the elderly tourists.

It is required that wellness hotels should have an up-to-standard wellness infrastructure in order to provide the best services to the tourists. There exist various extents of wellness as there exist various extents of illness. Wellness tourism, therefore, is in line with the individual’s intent to improve the class of his/her life, physical health, mental health and social interaction

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Introduction

The importance of wellness centers cannot be emphasized adequately in the present-day world. The emergence of lifestyle diseases, as a result of improper feeding habits and reduced levels of physical fitness are pointers to the importance of these facilities. It should be noted that persons of all age groups are affected by these conditions, making it indispensable to make fitness facilities accessible to persons of all age groups. Studies have shown that frequents users of these facilities have reduced infection rates, hence a longer lifespan.

Discussion

As a result of the constraints of space, only basic equipment will be incorporated into this facility. Since the facility is aimed at ensuring patrons maintain high-fitness levels, prominence will be given to fitness and movement. This will also be beneficial since maintenance costs will be lowered considerably. It should be noted that trainers will advise patrons on the appropriate dieting practices, and the required water treatment that will complement the practice for satisfactory results.

The facility will have equipment that will enable patrons to exercise different areas of their bodies. Some of the areas that will be given prominence are cardiovascular and potency training, in addition, to the kinesis functional training. Vibration training will also be carried out, as well as exercising the Cadillac and reformers sites of the body. Lastly, a segment will be set aside to house the studios for the Agna and Mantra practices. Here, Yoga and Pilates will be carried out. A separate studio for aerobic training will also be established. It should be noted that this facility will aim to accommodate individual preference of the patrons, by using technology and time-tested exercises.

The centre will also work with the aim of realizing lower rates in the intake of alcohol and other drugs. This calls for the availability of trained counselors and medical practitioners to help in achieving this course. Most importantly, it will be a student driven process, since they will take up a majority of the responsibilities. These include sensitization drives and basic counseling activities. They will be required to refer complex cases to the professionals for specialized attention. This department will also carry out research sessions to determine different issues affecting students and the magnitude of these activities on the well being of the students. Lastly, this section will be tasked with the provision of alcohol screening services and alternative late-night entertainment activities.

Conclusion and Recommendation

It is advisable for this department to work closely with the liaison office when working out the modalities of carrying out mass awareness drives and counseling sessions, with the purpose of responding to challenges facing students, irrespective of their background. The guidance and counseling department should also focus on encouraging restraint among the student population. This will instigate a reduced indulgence in risky behavior as regards alcohol consumption. In addition, the program should encourage protective behavior. This may be achieved by engaging participants in discussion over several topics, including assault, insomnia, poor academic returns, and sexual abuse.

In addition, the unit should join forces with other similar movements within the institution, especially those with a high membership. This will be beneficial, since time and manpower will be saved. This is because the society will tap into existing networks; hence reach a wider audience over a short time frame, as opposed to initiating fresh recruitment drives which may take longer periods of time to achieve similar results.

Introduction

Wellness refers to an optimal state of wellbeing in the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social dimensions (Floyd, Mimms & Yelding, 2007). These dimensions interact in varied ways to determine the quality of an individual’s life. They affect different aspects of life. Therefore, it is important to focus on improving each one of them. An optimal state of wellbeing requires a healthy balance in the development of the mind, body, and spirit (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

If anyone of them is ignored, the others are affected adversely. A healthy mind results in a healthy body and soul, while a healthy body results in a healthy mind and soul. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), wellness refers to complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). It matters because of its role in influencing the quality of life, emotions, actions, and interactions with other people (Floyd et al., 2007). Wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth that helps individuals to become self-aware with regard to their choices and decisions, which enhance health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Physical wellness

Physical wellness involves the attainment of good health through proper diet, engagement in physical exercise, and eradication of diseases (Das, 2010). This dimension allows people to execute their daily tasks without being overly fatigued and stressed. One of the most important aspects of obtaining physical wellness is the realization that behaviors, choices, and decisions affect the quality of life in various ways. Therefore, adopting healthy habits and refraining from destructive habits is important. Activities that lead to optimal physical wellness include regular physical exercise, habitual medical checkups, avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, immunization against diseases, eating a proper diet, consuming the recommended amount of water intake daily, and getting enough sleep (Das, 2010).

Qualities of physical wellness include physical strength, high confidence and self-esteem, high levels of energy, cheerfulness, determination, focus, and self-control. Destructive habits, indolence, and poor diets are the main hindrances to this dimension of wellness (Floyd et al., 2007). Optimal wellness enhances people’s lives by increasing their productivity, performance, and output at work and in family matters. In addition, it improves their attitudes towards life and other people (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Decisions and actions are determined by the level of wellness attained. For instance, optimal wellness results in positive beliefs, feelings, and opinions, while lacking physical wellness results in negative feelings, beliefs, and opinions. Pursuing wellness could prompt some people to ignore other important aspects of their lives, such as family and career (Floyd et al., 2007). Research suggests that people should engage in regular physical exercise, avoid sedentary lifestyles, and eat healthy foods in order to attain complete wellness (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). Physical wellness has far-reaching implications than other dimensions of wellness if not pursued persistently.

Emotional wellness

Emotional wellbeing involves the complete recognition, acceptance, and embracement of one’s emotions (Das, 2010). This dimension is very important because emotions play a key role in determining the quality of decisions, outlook on life, and behavior. It determines how well people are able to cope with life challenges. Emotional wellness allows individuals to alter their situations by recognizing that they are in control of their emotions and can change them (Floyd et al., 2007). Effective expression of feelings is an important aspect of reducing stress, developing autonomy, and improving decision-making skills. Qualities of emotional wellness include optimism, strong relationships, enthusiasm, conscientiousness, prudence, self-control, compassion, patience, joy, happiness, and calmness (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Issues that hinder the attainment of this dimension include stress, negative mental attitudes, denial of feelings, lack of mindfulness, failure to accept and learn from mistakes, and imbalances in other dimensions (Edlin & Golanty, 2014). Strategies for improvement include the development of autonomy, management of emotions, acceptance of personal feelings, and stress management through therapy and counseling (Das, 2010). It is important to seek help from other people in order to address emotions that could build up to dangerous levels. Emotional wellbeing results in positive opinions, beliefs, and feelings that have positive outcomes (Fair, 2009).

In contrast, lack of emotional wellness results in destructive beliefs and opinions that are detrimental to the quality of life. Positive implications of emotional wellness include a better understanding of self, reduced risk of attracting conditions such as depression, and stronger relationships and interactions with other people (Floyd et al., 2007).

Pursuing emotional wellness can lead to self-abnegation in search of acceptance from society. This has a negative influence on individuality and self-reliance. According to research, individuals should practice relaxation techniques, participate in therapy and counseling, focus on self-care, observe mindfulness, and learn effective ways of expressing their emotions because these approaches improve emotional wellbeing (Floyd et al., 2007). In addition, research suggests that individuals should take their emotional wellness seriously because emotions play a very critical role in influencing decisions and behaviors. Ignoring this dimension can have far-reaching implications on the quality of life.

Spiritual wellness

The spiritual dimension of wellness involves a vigorous search for the purpose and meaning of life as well as the embracement of nature and its forces (Floyd et al., 2007). Enhancing spirituality does not involve a belief in God, even though belief in a higher power makes life more meaningful. Spirituality is individualized and attained in different ways. Many people ignore the importance and impact of spiritual wellness in their lives. This dimension is inevitable because, in order to attain personal fulfillment, it is vital to find the meaning of human existence. Examples of qualities that demonstrate spiritual wellness include a great appreciation of nature, development of a life purpose, ability to forgive, calm navigation of life’s challenges, compassion, happiness, purpose-driven living, value-based decisions, and deep appreciation of meditation and mindfulness (Floyd et al., 2007).

In addition, highly spiritual people are able to distinguish between right and wrong and practice their beliefs and values without fear of contradiction or reprimand. This dimension allows individuals to find the meaning and purpose of their existence. In addition, it enables them to appreciate the various life experiences they encounter as important aspects of their human existence. It establishes a balance between the inner self and the outside world in a way that brings peace and harmony. The human spirit is indestructible and possesses powers that the mind and body lack. It empowers individuals to go through the toughest situations in their lives without losing hope or giving up. Issues that may hinder spiritual wellness include fear, self-indulgence, resistance to change, unwillingness to make certain sacrifices, and hopelessness (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

Strategies for improvement include meditation, mindfulness, reflection, embracement of personal values, and making decisions that are consistent with one’s values and principles (Floyd et al., 2007). Spiritual wellness makes life meaningful and gives individuals a sense of worth. It is easy to give up hope and resign to fate due to a lack of meaning and purpose in life. Many people confuse religion and spirituality. Even though both concepts are different, religion can be used as a way of improving one’s spirituality. According to research, developing personal beliefs, values, and principles is important in the attainment of states such as compassion, love, altruism, purpose, and happiness (Floyd et al., 2007).

In addition, actions and decisions are affected by individual beliefs, values, and convictions significantly. Life becomes meaningful when each experience and event in life improves the quality of life in any dimension of wellness. The positive implications of spiritual wellness include acceptance of other people’s beliefs, compassion, enhanced morality, meaningful lives, and improved societal harmonization. Negative implications of spirituality arise whenever religion is part of the wellness path. Certain religious beliefs impart feelings of guilt, fear, and low self-esteem. In addition, believing that such situations in life are a result of weak spirituality could cause negative outcomes. Finally, highly spiritual people sometimes substitute medical intervention with their spirituality by believing that their faith can eradicate diseases (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Research has shown that spiritual wellness has a positive impact on health outcomes because of the beliefs, attitudes, and practices that spiritual people embrace. Spirituality eradicates stressful feelings and promotes healthy behaviors. Spiritual people deal better with conditions such as anxiety, depression, blood pressure, and chronic illnesses than non-spiritual people (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

Intellectual wellness

Intellectual wellness is the attainment of optimal mental abilities through engagement in creative and stimulating activities that furnish specific skills and knowledge (Fair, 2009). This dimension also involves the realization of human potential through participation in activities that develop talents and aptitudes for the betterment of humanity. Learning is an important part of life that emancipates people from ignorance and poor lifestyles (Floyd et al., 2007).

This dimension is important because it stimulates individual and societal growth. Individual growth is attained through the use of available information to improve other dimensions of wellness. On the other hand, societal growth is attained through the generation of knowledge that is shared with other people in order to improve the quality of their lives. Examples of qualities that demonstrate intellectual wellness include exploration of new ideas, innovation, participation in academic activities, reading, curiosity, and embracement of mental stimulation (Edlin & Golanty, 2014).

Curiosity is the main reason why people explore new things, develop new ideas and concepts, and find solutions to problems that persist in society. Solving societal problems is an example of how important intellectual wellness is to human existence. Mental stimulation is sought in activities such as debates, discussions, reading, and research (Fair, 2009). Improving intellectual wellness allows people to solve problems, improve creativity, and increase their knowledge in various fields of study. This dimension is very important because it augments the other dimensions in various ways. For instance, learning is an important aspect of improving any dimension of wellness because it enables individuals to evaluate and analyze available literature regarding the improvement of those dimensions. People who are passionate about their intellectual wellness learn new skills in order to grow, search for activities that stimulate their minds, and embrace opportunities that prompt them to use their creativity (Floyd et al., 2007).

The positive implications of this dimension include improved creativity, attainment of knowledge and skills, exploration of one’s potential, and access to numerous opportunities. Negative implications include pride, reactivity, and unwillingness to pursue other dimensions such as spirituality (Fair, 2009). This dimension can be improved by reading voraciously, participating in creative endeavors, learning new things and taking intellectual challenges, and using knowledge to solve problems. Other useful strategies include cultural involvement, exploration of hobbies, and participation in community programs (Floyd et al., 2007).

People who are intellectually well-pursuing endeavors that increase their knowledge and skills. Open-mindedness is a requisite for intellectual wellness because people always encounter new ideas, cultures, beliefs, values, and environments that require change. Open-mindedness facilitates creative and critical thinking, open discussions on critical matters, acceptance of other people’s values, and embracement of new ideologies (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

The quality of beliefs and opinions is primarily affected by an individual’s level of wellness. Lack of knowledge on certain matters results in poor opinions and beliefs. For instance, if an individual possesses little knowledge on a certain issue, they are likely to harbor poor opinions that express their lack of knowledge on that issue. According to research, exploring hobbies, constant learning, and embracing challenges are effective ways of improving intellectual wellness (Floyd et al., 2007). People with optimal wellness think critically, develop their own ideas, challenge conventional ways of doing things, and use their time effectively in the pursuance of meaningful endeavors that contribute to personal growth.

Social wellness

This dimension of wellness involves the creation of symbiotic relationships, effective interactions with people who exhibit different characters and personalities, and mastery of communication skills (Fair, 2009). It also involves developing respect for oneself and others because human relations are inevitable in the attainment of health and happiness. Social wellness is characterized by the existence of support systems that include family members, relatives, and friends who offer emotional, spiritual, economic, and social support to each other (Floyd et al., 2007).

This dimension is important because the development of strong relationships is an essential part of achieving fulfillment in life. In addition, it empowers individuals to develop skills such as assertiveness, confidence, compassion, and self-esteem (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015).

These skills affect other dimensions of wellness positively. Social wellness encourages communication, which is a component of conflict management and human interaction. Qualities that demonstrate wellness in this dimension include sociability, strong relationships, participation in social activities, strong friendships, and excellent communication skills. People who exhibit optimal social wellness express themselves assertively, engage in community activities, create strong social networks, like fun, possess excellent communication skills, and are respectful. Issues that may hinder improvement include introversion, antisocial behaviors, poor communication skills, and conditions such as depression and anxiety. Poor communication skills deny individuals the opportunity to express themselves clearly, present ideas, and convey their feelings. Social wellness can be improved by creating more friendships, seeking and providing support from family and friends, taking part in social activities, seeking fun activities, and embracing diversity (Floyd et al., 2007).

The positive implications of this dimension include strong family and friendship ties, rewarding interactions, and acceptance of diversity in society. Social wellness affects people’s feelings, beliefs, and opinions significantly. For instance, teenagers are victims of peer pressure that shapes most of their decisions, opinions, and behaviors. According to research, social wellness has a great impact on physical health (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2015). Social connectedness has direct implications on the functioning of the immune system, motor skill retention, and overall wellness. Research has also linked isolation to health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases. People who have strong networks of friends are happier and healthier compared to people who prefer to spend time alone. Social interactions facilitate the expulsion of stress and emotions. Therefore, they have positive influences on physical and mental wellbeing.

Conclusion

Success, fulfillment, and happiness are attained by actively pursuing physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual wellness throughout life. These dimensions of wellness play different roles in people’s lives. In addition, they interact in various ways to affect the quality of life. Each of these dimensions is developed differently and affects the feelings, opinions, decisions, and actions of individuals significantly. Therefore, it is important to pursue wellness persistently and with dedication. Physical wellness involves the maintenance of good health through activities such as physical exercise, proper diet, and sleep.

Emotional wellness involves the acceptance and expression of emotions that affect people’s actions, behaviors, and decisions. Life takes meaning when people embrace spirituality through reflection, mindfulness, and meditation. Spirituality is developed in many ways that vary from culture to culture. However, its impact on people’s lives is similar. Intellectual wellness involves the active pursuance of activities that instill knowledge and skills and, at the same time, developmental faculties. Innovation is one of the positive implications of intellectual wellness. Research studies have shown that each of these dimensions is important in the attainment of fulfillment in life. In addition, they have shown that these dimensions interact in different ways to determine the quality of life. Ignorance is one of them results in poor outcomes that affect different aspects of human life.

References

Das, B. (2010). New Textbook, Health and Wellness for Life Outlines the Six dimensions of Wellness. Web.

Edlin, G., & Golanty, E. (2014). Health and Wellness. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Web.

Fair, S. (2009). Wellness and Physical Therapy. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Web.

Floyd, P., Mimms, S., & Yelding, C. (2007). Personal Health: Perspectives and Lifestyles. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Web.

Hoeger, W., & Hoeger, S. (2015). Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Web.

Dali Lama’s assertions compare to the principles of wellness that describe the interplay of various factors that promote a sense of well-being. To achieve wellness, one must embark on a process that entails making proper decisions that promote a healthy lifestyle.

The failure to embrace an appropriate lifestyle will lead to a poor state of wellness. Dali describes heaven as a state of pleasantness and happiness that individuals with good deeds gain. He asserts that this state is not permanent, and one must embrace the aspect of compassion and good deeds if he or she wants to remain in heaven.

The people in heaven do not have to input considerably efforts towards the attainment of a different state, as heaven is the ultimate state for all individuals. On the other hand, Dali describes hell as a state of unhappiness that results when people do negative deeds and cause harm to others. Like heaven, hell is not eternal and individuals can redeem themselves from such a state by embracing compassion. The people in hell have to input energy to advance to a better state.

This view relates to the principle of wellness that promotes prevention rather than treatment. Treatment is a costly process that requires a lot of input in terms of time and money. In some cases, effects associated with a poor state of wellness may be irreversible. However, prevention through the adherence to a healthy lifestyle helps to minimize such risks while employing minimal inputs. The pleasantness and happiness in heaven compare to the principle to wellness that attaches pleasure to the contentment of the body, mind and spirit.

Like heaven or hell, the state of wellness or un-wellness is not permanent. This assertion compares to the principle of wellness that promotes an outcome-oriented approach. This principle discourages individuals from focusing on their problems rather than identifying measures and inputting effort to solve them. An individual in a poor state of wellness can adopt the relevant approach to achieve wellness.

On the other hand, an individual enjoying the state of wellness can deteriorate into the un-wellness state if they stop to observe the guidelines for a healthy lifestyle. Dali describes the attainment of a state of heaven or hell as an aspect that largely depends on the input of an individual. Although a spiritual leader may provide guidance concerning the process of reaching heaven, he cannot play various roles on one’s behalf.

This aspect compares to the principle of wellness that describes an individual’s body, mind and spirit as the true healer. In this regard, professional help can only facilitate the process of healing. Another principle of wellness in this consideration is the fact that wellness requires active participation. It is only possible to attain a good health through individual efforts, but not by depending on other people. The role of other people is limited, to a certain extent.

Dali asserts that individuals who fail to make the necessary changes before death return to the world reincarnated as beings in a worse state. However, since reincarnations occur multiple times, individuals have an opportunity to redeem themselves from their unpleasant state. The goal for reincarnation is to allow all individuals to attain a state of contentment in all aspects. This compares to the ultimate goal of wellness in which an individual attains a state of contentment in aspects of the body, mind and spirit.

Online groups

People who live in terms of stress or in some complicated environment are subjected to various psychological problems. The latest research findings evidence that about 65% of the population of a big city suffers from disorders and other complicated challenges (White, n.d.). Counseling might help them by providing support and outlining possible treatment. However, some individuals might have hesitations about the given practice and the positive effect it promotes on their personality.

The self-help groups are created to help this sort of person and provide support. They give the opportunity to discuss a problem, sharing various experiences and remedies which helped to recover. The efficiency of these groups is based on the idea that all members have the same problem and the confession becomes not so embarrassing. The information about the recovery presented by a person who used to suffer from the same problem considered to be more credible and is followed by the members of the group.

Feelings connected with the session

Modern technologies introduce the possibility to use the Internet as a remedy which could help to organize self-help groups and provide consulting services to people. Smart Recovery belongs to the sites of this sort and it suggests the possibility to participate in one of the groups related to various issues. The group Overcoming Addictions was chosen for the investigation.

Describing the feelings before attending the self-help group, it is vital to admit the absence of fear. The site guarantees the total anonymity as the information provided by the members of the group is treated with a great level of confidentiality (Overcoming Addictions, n.d.). This factor has a positive impact on a potential participant and encourages a person to involve in this sort of activity to find a solution to the nagging problem. Admission of the problem is often taken as the major concern of the given sphere and the provided anonymity makes this process easier.

Self-help groups impact on the health of a person

Participating in the functioning of the group, I felt confident and relaxed. The benevolent atmosphere resulted in the appearance of the ardent discussion and the increase in the level of trust. All members of the group shared their thoughts, touching upon the most complex and embarrassing aspects of their addiction. Many of the critical issues discussed during the session were of great importance for the participants and they were quite satisfied with the process of their recovery. Finally, the positive experience connected with the overcoming of the addiction was also discussed during the meeting and some members decided to use the same practices. It is vital to admit the positive feelings after the session and the positive image of the self-group formed under the influence of this very course.

It follows from the above-mentioned experiment that the group makes a good impression. It focuses on anonymity and motivation, trying to persuade people to attend the course and get rid of the problem. The investigation of the main aspects of the functioning of the groups of this sort proves the fact that this remedy could assist a persons recovery by providing useful practices and experiences related to the same problem. The self-help groups assistance could be recommended to people who are not able to use traditional counseling because of various reasons. It could help to motivate a patient and guarantee his/her recovery with the help of the members of the group.

References

Overcoming Addictions. (n.d.). Web.

White, B. (n.d.). Web.

Introduction

University students may be regarded as highly vulnerable to mental health issues due to continuous stress caused by academic workload and high expectations from families, peers, and society. That is why it is essential to evaluate various mental health-related practices to support their emotional wellness and prevent more serious mental health complications. This paper aims to assess the potential impact of storytelling interventions and credit-based courses on university students’ emotional well-being and its improvement.

Impact of Storytelling Interventions

Multiple studies address the influence of storytelling on people’s mental health. Thus, in their article, O’Donnell et al. (2019) discussed the impact of storytelling on the emotional well-being of people who use mental health services. It was qualitative research that implied “a narrative exploration of the politics of storytelling in the context of mental health systems” (O’Donnell et al., 2019, p. 2). The study was based on the interviews of three participants with the experience of storytelling practice while undergoing mental health treatment and the analysis of their reports.

According to them, storytelling intervention allows patients with mental health disorders to listen to their peers’ stories and share their own stories as well, and this practice has a highly positive effect. First of all, sharing stories of successful recovery empowers people – stories provide an opportunity for patients to confront mental health illnesses with an understanding that they are not alone. In addition, stories allow to perceive a person’s inner fears, weaknesses, and concerns even if they are unspoken. Patients’ stories in which they share the detrimental aspects of mental health disorders help them seek support and assistance. At the same time, listening to others’ narrations allows individuals to express their own emotions and release negative ones contributing to their emotional well-being. According to the findings, storytelling, especially related to the way from madness, distress, and oppression to survival and resistance, may improve a person’s wellness through the acceptance of his conditions and the provision of new ways of coping.

Storytelling plays an important role in personal recovery as well. Nurser et al. (2018) reported its growing popularity for patients with mental health issues. This approach presupposes the shift from professional-led care to expertise in own self-care, personal empowerment, the rediscovery of strengths, and coping techniques. For the obtainment of necessary skills and knowledge, recovery colleges offer specific courses dedicated to personal recovery through storytelling, its forming, and sharing. This research used a qualitative approach, and data were collected from participants’ interviews. In turn, the participants of this study were eight people with mental health issues who had attended the storytelling-based course in a recovery college. The results indicated the positive impact of storytelling on personal recovery. According to participants, stories’ mutual sharing improved interconnectedness, inspiration, and the feeling of hope and security (Nurser et al., 2018). In addition, forming and sharing personal stories created a new sense of identity and empowered people in their confrontations with mental health difficulties.

Storytelling allows people to take an active position in relation to their health condition. This article of Soderlund et al. (2021) referred to the use of a transmedia storytelling web-based app by Latina women with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, who could not attend traditional services due to their inaccessibility, lack of knowledge, fear, or stigma. The qualitative research presupposed data collection from interviews and subsequent analysis. The participants were 28 English-speaking Latina women aged 21-50 with signs of depression and anxiety who had been engaged with an app.

On the basis of the results, researchers discovered that active engagement with storytelling intervention was associated with patients’ transition from passive listeners to active observers who shared their viewpoints in relation to the stories’ heroine. The researchers identified three conceptual categories that “provided insight into women’s experiences, including encountering a trustworthy nurse-therapist character, taking in messages that dispel old beliefs, and preparing when and how to take action” (Soderlund et al., 2021, para. 4). In this case, they assumed that storytelling could have a positive impact on women’s mental health as through this intervention, they acquire knowledge and skills for personal assistance along with the understanding of its significance.

At the same time, storytelling is efficient for the promotion of mental well-being for people who faced substantial challenges. Thus, the article by Mannell et al. (2018) aimed to examine the expediency of storytelling intervention for women with mental health issues due to experienced gender-based violence. The qualitative research used semi-structured interviews for data collection, and its participants were 20 Afghan women from two safe houses who had faced violence from their husbands or other male figures and who had the experience of being involved in storytelling activities (Mannell et al., 2018). Received information was analyzed both inductively and deductively with the use of a thematic network for the reliability of the results.

According to the findings, women admitted that storytelling intervention was perceived as a painful but beneficial experience that contributed to the improvement of their emotional well-being and coping with mental health issues. At the same time, a supportive environment and the presence of non-judgmental listeners played a crucial role in the process of treatment. Nevertheless, the results offered “an alternative to biomedical models of mental health support” for the victim of violence (Mannell et al., 2018, p. 91). In addition, they may be used as a source of information in the study dedicated to the impact of storytelling on students’ mental wellness.

Another article explored the impact of storytelling on the improvement of the mental health of adolescents who survived the Wenchuan earthquake. The qualitative research implied a secondary analysis of the school-based cross-sectional survey with 1028 participants involved (Tanaka et al., 2020). The participants were students with the traumatic experience of loss, injury, and home destruction during the earthquake who agreed to complete self-reported questionnaires, which were subsequently analyzed. All participants had previously undergone mental health or disaster education that included the practice of storytelling. According to the results, the majority of students admitted that storytelling was a positive experience, and storytelling group intervention and the consulted-health-professionals group provided significantly better outcomes for students’ mental well-being in comparison with the absence of any treatment. In general, storytelling in a supportive environment helps prevent severe mental health disorders and improve emotional wellness.

Storytelling may be not only traditional but with the use of modern technologies. The qualitative research of De Vecchi et al. (2017) evaluated the ability of digital storytelling to improve mental health and prevent mental health difficulties. Using a process evaluation framework, they analyzed the attitude of two digital storytelling workshops 11 participants related to this practice on the basis of their interviews. According to the results, participants described their experience of digital storytelling as highly beneficial. It helped them overcome fears of sharing their emotions, feelings, and concerns. In addition, engaged in individual and group reflections, participants admitted that digital storytelling empowered them to confront their mental health issues and create a renewed identity.

Interventions for Students

In the present day, there is a variety of interventions for university students, and researchers aim to evaluate their efficiency. The article of Ahorsu et al. (2021) addressed the methods of prevention of emotional stress and related mental health disorders in university students. While “the onset of mental illness in 75% of cases is between 17 and 24 years,” students are more vulnerable to it due to academic pressure, workload, and the necessity to meet the expectations of families, professors, and peers (Ahorsu et al., 2021, p. 1). At the same time, seeking mental health assistance remains stigmatized – thus, a considerable number of young people prefer to hide their emotional discomfort rather than visit counseling centers.

The study combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches in relation to data collection on the basis of participants’ involvement in the project program. Aiming to prevent suicide and improve the general emotional well-being of students, the program consisted of two parts – mental health promotion and coping-strategy-based group workshops (Ahorsu et al., 2021). 62 university students were involved in the program, and its efficiency was evaluated on the basis of their self-administered questionnaires, post-activity immediate feedback, and group discussions. According to the results, the major improvement was in mental health awareness. In other words, while there was no significant improvement in help-seeking behavior, students acquired essential coping skills and strategies that would allow them to help themselves improve their mental health and avoid mental health issues in the future.

In another article, the efficiency of Internet interventions for the improvement of university students’ mental health was evaluated. According to Harrer et al. (2019), “12–46% of all university students are affected by mental health disorders in any given year” due to high expectations of society, low academic achievements, and college dropout (p. 1). At the same time, a considerable number of studies are dedicated to the examination of Internet-delivered programs’ ability to improve young people’s mental well-being.

Thus, in the format of a systematic review and meta‐analysis, researchers collected and analyzed 48 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations dedicated to this topic. The inclusion criterion was the presence of randomized control trials in which the impact of an Internet intervention for the management of mental health issues had been evaluated on the basis of the comparison of the results of control and intervention groups. According to the results, Internet interventions may impact university students’ mental well-being, but their effects are from small to moderate. In particular, Internet interventions have an insignificant impact on stress, anxiety, and depression. However, they may improve people’s mental wellness in the case of role functioning and eating disorder symptoms.

The expediency of modern technologies for the improvement of mental health become more and more substantial. Bendtsen et al. (2020) aimed to estimate the expediency of the use of a fully automated mobile health intervention for the promotion of mental wellness for university students. Their quantitative research implied a 2-arm, single-blind, parallel-groups randomized controlled trial. The participants were 654 university students with mental health issues who were recruited via digital advertising in healthcare centers. They were randomly divided into the intervention group, which was supposed to use a mobile health program, and the control group, which had traditional treatment. Data were collected through follow-up questionnaires, and according to the results, the use of the mobile program substantially contributed to students’ positive mental health, characterized by positive individual and social functioning and positive feelings and emotions. In other words, a mobile intervention promotes mental wellness, and these outcomes may contribute to the general understanding of the efficiency of different types of assistance for university students.

One more quantitative study addressed the impact of mindfulness practices on the mental well-being of medical and psychology students who were particularly vulnerable to stress-related mental health disorders. De Vibe et al. (2013) organized a randomized controlled trial in which 288 participants were allocated to either intervention or control groups. Students in the intervention group were involved in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, while students in the control group received no treatment or standard university courses; data were collected through self-reported questionnaires. According to the results, no significant differences related to the promotion of emotional wellness were observed between groups, and the outcomes were predicted by the increased number of mindfulness exercises and a higher level of attendance in the intervention group (De Vibe et al., 2013). At the same time, the most substantial effects were reported only by female participants.

Conclusion

On the basis of a literature review dedicated to the expediency of storytelling on people’s mental health, it is possible to assume that this practice may be highly beneficial for the prevention of mental health issues among university students, as listening and sharing stories may empower them. At the same time, credit-based courses may be regarded as an appropriate practice for the promotion of mental well-being, as individual reflections and group workshops contribute to the acquisition of helpful knowledge and skills for personal recovery. At the same time, university courses are more efficient in comparison with digital programs as they are more intensive and ensure a higher level of attendance.

References

Ahorsu, D. K., Sánchez Vidaña, D. I., Lipardo, D., Shah, P. B., Cruz González, P., Shende, S., Gurung, S., Venkatesan, H., Duongthipthewa, A., Ansari, T. Q, & Schoeb, V. (2021). Effect of a peer‐led intervention combining mental health promotion with coping‐strategy‐based workshops on mental health awareness, help‐seeking behavior, and well-being among university students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 15(1), 1-10.

Bendtsen, M., Müssener, U., Linderoth, C., & Thomas, K. (2020). A mobile health intervention for mental health promotion among university students: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(3), e17208

De Vecchi, N., Kenny, A., Dickson-Swift, V., & Kidd, S. (2017). Exploring the process of digital storytelling in mental health research: A process evaluation of consumer and clinician experiences. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1-13.

De Vibe, M., Solhaug, I., Tyssen, R., Friborg, O., Rosenvinge, J. H., Sørlie, T., & Bjørndal, A. (2013). Mindfulness training for stress management: a randomised controlled study of medical and psychology students. BMC Medical Education, 13(1), 1-11.

Harrer, M., Adam, S. H., Baumeister, H., Cuijpers, P., Karyotaki, E., Auerbach, R. P., Kessler, R. C., Bruffaerts, R., Berking, M., & Ebert, D. D. (2019). Internet interventions for mental health in university students: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 28(2), 1-18.

Mannell, J., Ahmad, L., & Ahmad, A. (2018). Narrative storytelling as mental health support for women experiencing gender-based violence in Afghanistan. Social Science & Medicine, 214, 91-98.

Nurser, K. P., Rushworth, I., Shakespeare, T., & Williams, D. (2018). Personal storytelling in mental health recovery. Mental Health Review Journal, 23(1), 25-35.

O’Donnell, A., Sapouna, L., & Brosnan, L. (2019). Storytelling: An act of resistance or a commodity. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 10(6), 1-13.

Soderlund, P. D., Hollingsworth, A. S. M., & Heilemann, M. V. (2021). Participant engagement in a transmedia storytelling web-based app intervention for mental health of Latina women: Qualitative analysis. JMIR Mental Health, 8(1), e22575.

Tanaka, E., Iso, H., Tsutsumi, A., Kameoka, S., You, Y., & Kato, H. (2020). School-based psychoeducation and storytelling: Associations with long-term mental health in adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29, 1-9.

Wellness is a concept that encompasses a holistic balance of mental, physical, and spiritual faculties. Wellness has become a pseudo-movement that provides various models on how individuals can make conscious life and health choices. Nevertheless, most scholars agree that a balance of mental, health, and spiritual faculties is the key to achieving wellness. Different individuals can achieve varying levels of wellness in regards to their perceptions and their respective communities. Wellness dates back to about two millenniums ago when the need to treat and heal became a part of human existence.

Eventually, wellness has gained prominence to include individual awareness of a wide range of factors such as internal and existential ones. Counseling in connection to wellness falls under this category of positive existence through awareness. Consequently, it encompasses a wide range of factors including optimum health, development, and positive functioning. This article presents an overview of how wellness is manifested in counseling.

One existing theoretical connection to wellness involves the concept of the wheel of wellness. The wheel of wellness model depicts spirituality as the most prominent element in wellness. On the other hand, spirituality involves a great deal of understanding of an individual’s life and purpose and somehow connecting these factors to religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. The wheel of wellness includes 12 spokes in the life task, and they include “having a sense of worth, self-control, realistic beliefs, intellectual stimulation, sense of humor, problem-solving, emotional management, exercise, nutrition, stress-management, cultural identity, gender identity, and creativity” (Myers & Sweeney, 2007, p. 1).

This model has evolved to become a more practical counseling tool that is known as The Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle Inventory (WEL). The WEL model is also used to formulate other tools of wellness as well as improving the existing ones.

One application of the WEL was in a study that was based on a database that included individuals who had undertaken a WEL test. This study revealed that there is a non-circumflex connection between the spokes that are contained in the wheel of wellness. Most of the scholars who have delved into the study of WEL interpret the significance of spirituality as a central factor differently. For example, Adler was of the view that all the spheres of wellness are indivisible and united in a peculiar manner (Witmer & Sweeney, 1992). Consequently, wellness forms a base for a holistic movement that dwells on five pillars namely: creative, coping, essential, physical, and social. This model is a simplification of the previous wheel of wellness and WEL models.

In connection to counseling, wellness is utilized in various applications including psychological and demographic components. Furthermore, counselors have applied the concept of wellness to evaluate and conduct pre-post-tests on diverse populations including elementary school children, college-going youths, and independent adults (Myers & Sweeney, 2007). Various studies on the concept of Wheel and WEL have also been carried out by psychology scholars, counselors in training, and professional counselors among other groups. The five concepts of WEL or the 5F-Wel have since become domineering concepts in the world of counseling.

The concept is widely accepted among counselors across America, Europe, and Asia in connection to counseling of school-going children and youth. In the future, the key to integrating wellness and counseling lies in the ability to foster healthy lifestyles and conduct accurate assessments and interventions.

References

Myers, J. E., & Sweeney, T. J. (2007). Wellness in counseling: An overview (ACAPCD-09). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Web.

Witmer, J. M., & Sweeney, T. J. (1992). A holistic model for wellness and prevention over the lifespan. Journal of Counseling and Development 71, 140-148. Web.