Abstract
AbstractPersonal technology plays an integral role in shaping people’s quality of life which includes leisure and tourism experiences. A number of personal informatics tools can support people in performing their activities by collecting biometric and environmental data; however, little is known regarding the use of psychological data to enrich leisure and tourism experiences. To address this research gap, this study aims to propose a conceptual framework that fosters memorable and meaningful leisure experiences (MMEs) based on theories from serious leisure and positive psychology. In particular, this study probes into the MMEs of serious leisure practitioners who put their efforts and resources into pursuing intrinsically rewarding leisure activities. Excelling at these activities, which may draw upon participants’ character strengths, yields sustained fulfillment which fosters personal transformation. The idiosyncratic nature of MMEs demands a phenomenological inquiry that involves in-depth interviews concerning the character strengths used and their development trajectories. Using theory triangulation from both positive psychology and serious leisure allows researchers to gain a holistic view of participants’ well-being. Character strengths were found to be the integral factors that contribute to MMEs at different stages of leisure activities. The result identified three aspects of strengths used: strengths well spent, reflection and introspection, and anticipation of the future self, which informs the development of a strengths-based personal informatics framework for leisure and tourism.
Highlights
Technology plays an integral role in supporting the tourism experience
This study investigates how people’s character strength and serious leisure activities contribute to memorable and meaningful experiences (MMEs), proposes a conceptual framework for technology-mediated experience that could support people to gain MMEs in their leisure journeys
This study addressed the following questions: RQ1: How do individuals draw upon their character strengths in their sustained pursuits of leisure activities to generate memorable and meaningful experiences during their travels? RQ2: What opportunities are there for personal informatics to foster MMEs using the themes identified in RQ1?
Summary
Technology plays an integral role in supporting the tourism experience. Future development may offer travelers new social and experiential dimensions by personalizing the provision of memorable and meaningful experiences (MMEs) [1] that are personally significant [2]. MMEs are vivid and explicit autobiographical memories that arise from exquisite, remarkable, and valuable events characterized by high emotional involvement and frequent rehearsal [4]. Serious leisure [5] can be the source of MMEs because practicing serious leisure often involves one’s commitment and self-development. This study investigates how people’s character strength and serious leisure activities contribute to MMEs, proposes a conceptual framework for technology-mediated experience that could support people to gain MMEs in their leisure journeys
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