Exploring travel and spirituality: The role of travel in facilitating life purpose and meaning within the lives of individuals

This thesis is a phenomenological study of individuals who engaged in tours provided by Hands Up Holidays, a tour operator marketing their travel as ‘spiritual’. Hands Up Holidays views spirituality as being a broader concept than religion and attracts both religious and non-religious individuals who are seeking personally meaningful experiences. With the exception of the religious tourism literature, there is a paucity of research exploring ‘spirituality’ within a tourism framework and, specifically, what role travel plays in the search for meaning and life purpose within the lives of individuals. Spirituality is presented by scholars as conceptually representing every individual’s personal search for meaning in life; in this way, although closely related, it is conceptually different from religion; while every person is argued to be spiritual, only some are religious. The thesis aims to explore spirituality and travel; specifically, the role of travel in facilitating life purpose and meaning in the lives of individuals. To inform this study, the thesis takes a journey through a range of conceptualisations and thinking about spirituality amongst scholars. This journey reveals that each description of spirituality comprises three core constructs, these being that spirituality involves a search for meaning and life purpose, transcendence and connectedness in life. This thesis thus bases its conceptual platform on these three core constructs of spirituality. Through the analysis of 11 in-depth individual research portraits, research participants give their voice within this thesis; in addition to recounting their travel experience with Hands Up Holidays, individuals write themselves into the research in a manner that held significant personal meaning to oneself, such as through sharing one’s reflective stories, photographs and/or diaries. Key research findings were drawn from thematic analysis of each of the 11 in-depth research portraits and from my personal reflections recorded throughout the research process. Four themes arose from thematic analysis. They are titled, ‘spirituality as the essence of being human,’ ‘spirituality experienced subjectively and objectively,’ ‘life-defining moments,’ and ‘search for meaning fuelled by modern frustrations’. Analysis of these themes yielded five main findings. Firstly, each person could be conceptually considered ‘spiritual’; this has ramifications for how ‘spiritual tourism’ is conceptualised. Secondly, individuals do not separate their spirituality from their travel experiences (that is, their travel experiences are filtered through how they derive meaning and purpose in their life); this highlights the need for the travel experience to be explored within the wider context of an individual’s life. Thirdly, an individual’s spirituality is expressed subjectively and objectively. Fourthly, each individual experienced ‘life-defining’ moments, which influenced how one derives life meaning and the personal meaning one imbues onto one’s travel experiences. Fifthly, certain individuals experienced significant frustration with contemporary, primarily Western World issues, that influenced one’s travel motivations and experiences. Future research from different contexts will advance the understanding of the individual traveller that is provided through this thesis. This thesis concludes by purporting that spirituality is a worthwhile lens through which to explore the personal meaning religious and non-religious individuals derive from their travel experiences

International Tourists' Experiences of the Heritage Buildings in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

There has been increased attention given in the tourism literature to experiential perspectives of tourism. This thesis addresses the lack of attention in previous experiential studies to the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism. Specifically, this thesis explores the influence of heritage buildings in shaping international tourists' experiences of a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. This research sought insight into the specific attributes of heritage buildings that influenced the experiences of international tourists visiting the region, and examined the relative importance of heritage buildings for international tourism to Hawke's Bay, as perceived by international tourists visiting the region. In this way, results are assumed in the personal constructs of individual consumers (Beeho Prentice, 1997; Prentice, Witt Hamer, 1998; McIntosh Siggs, 2005). An increased understanding of the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism is essential in strengthening support for preservation, for product development and promotion. A mixed-methodology comprising of 50 semi-structured interviews, 66 photograph-supported interviews and 354 structured questionnaires was adopted. Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings were found to have an important influence on tourists' experiences of the region, visually and as part of the narratives of their reported experiences. Attributes of Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings that influenced tourists' experiences of the region included their architecture, exterior and interior design, colour, history and associated stories. Furthermore, the interviews elicited three key experiential themes that emerged from respondents' narratives of their experiences in Hawke's Bay. They are; 'visual appeal', 'personal reflections' and 'engaging experiences'. Specifically, it was found that a townscape is not a passive space. Heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential place filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement, and imbued with personal meaning. Visitors in effect created their own experiences through their active interaction with the environment; rendering it relevant to a context they were personally interested in, or which held personal significance for them. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that, as perceived by international tourists, heritage buildings are important to a region; a significant proportion of respondents indicated that they would theoretically be willing to pay some money to ensure the preservation of Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings. This thesis evidences the important relationship between heritage buildings and tourism, and future research is advocated to advance upon the conclusions made in this research

THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS

Traditionally within the developed western world, decisions concerning the preservation of heritage buildings and sites have been primarily based upon economic measurement and criteria. It is recognised that heritage assets offer many experiential qualities and hold importance to the wider lives of individuals; specifically, tourists and host communities imbue the sites with their own personal values and subjective significance. They seek personal meaning and connection through their experiences with heritage. In this way, the accountability of heritage building preservation can be viewed in greater terms than solely their economic value. Despite this recognition, there remains a lack of attention in previous heritage tourism studies towards exploring the personal meaning and experiential qualities of heritage buildings, with the exception of the literature focusing on buildings of religious significance. Further, the spiritual value of heritage has been explored largely within the context of sites of religious significance; spirituality though is a broader, more encompassing concept than religion. This paper explores the spiritual value ascribed by international tourists to heritage buildings within a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. Sixty-six photograph-supported interviews conducted with international tourists found that heritage buildings can hold deep 'spiritual' meaning to individuals. Rather than any religious significance, findings showed that heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential 'spiritual' space filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement and personal meaning. The paper concludes that this finding has important implications for the way in which heritage buildings are promoted, developed and preserved within a destination townscape

Considerations for sustainable tourism development in developing countries: Perspectives from the South Pacific

Nations of the South Pacific face a number of major challenges with respect to sustainable tourism development. Much of the literature presents overtly pessimistic conceptualisations of South Pacific nations as environmentally vulnerable and economically dependent. This paper argues that the narrative concerning sustainable tourism development in the South Pacific is incomplete and the predominant narrative viewing the South Pacific nations as economically and environmentally vulnerable is too simplistic. Additionally, this paper challenges the narrative that high or mass levels of tourism within the South Pacific cannot be sustainable. Based on experience derived from operational experience and consultancy, this paper provides insights into the challenges and possibilities for sustainable tourism development in the South Pacific

The image of India as a Travel Destination and the attitude of viewers towards Indian TV Dramas

For a few decades now, various television stations in Indonesia have been broadcasting foreign drama series including those from a range of Asian countries, such Korea, India, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines . This study aims to explore attitude towards Asian drama in those countries and the destination image of the country where the drama emanates from as perceived by the audiences. This study applied a mixed-methodology approach in order to explore particularly attitudes towards foreign television drama productions. There is a paucity of study exploring the attitudes of audiences towards Indian television dramas and a limited study focussing on the image of India as a preferred travel destination. Data was collected using an online instrument and participants were selected as a convenience sample. The attitude towards foreign television dramas was measured using items that were adapted from the qualitative study results, whereas for measuring destination image, an existing scale was employed. This study found that the attitudes of audiences towards Indian drama and their image of India had no dimension (one factor). The study also reported that attitude towards Indian dramas had a significant impact on the image of India as a travel destination and vice-versa. Recommendations for future study and tourism marketing are discussed

Tourism and final wish making: the discourse of terminal illness and travel

This paper identifies a new discourse about tourism, that of final wish making. The website communications of charitable foundations whose dedicated purpose is to grant final wishes for adults with a terminal illness and their families were examined using critical discourse analysis. Specifically, the aim of this study was to understand how these charitable organisations construct, communicate and mediate meanings around terminal illness and travel for these individuals. Our study found that, promoted as a final wish in one’s life, tourism is framed as a transformational concept that is beneficial in the imminent time before death, as a legacy for life, and after death. Our analysis indicated implications around the memory-making potential of tourism and the differential power relations between final wish organisers and vulnerable individuals with a terminal illness. The paper calls for further research exploring the marginalisation of the terminally ill through tourism, but equally the potential of tourism to include the most vulnerable tourists in their final days

Hyperlink network analysis of a tourism destination

Hyperlinks critically impact the online visibility of a tourism destination and the effectiveness of information flow between tourism organizations and enterprises on the Internet. This study investigates the hyperlink network of the tourism industry in Western Australia. Network analysis is applied to explore, analyze, and visualize this network of 1,515 tourism websites. Several dimensions of network structure are examined, and the results indicate that the hyperlink network of this destination has a very sparse, centralized and hierarchical structure, and that the websites tend to form communities based on their geographical locations. Public tourism organizations and information services play a central and significant role in the destination network. The key implication for organizations and the industry as a whole is that education about the instrumental importance of hyperlinks could increase interconnectivity and therefore industry performance

Structure, stability, and reorganization of 0.5 L0 topography in block copolymer thin films

The structure, stability, and reorganization of lamella-forming block copolymer thin film surface topography (“islands” and “holes”) were studied under boundary conditions driving the formation of 0.5 L0 thick structures at short thermal annealing times. Self-consistent field theory predicts that the presence of one perfectly neutral surface renders 0.5 L0 topography thermodynamically stable relative to 1 L0 thick features, in agreement with previous experimental observations. The calculated through-film structures match cross-sectional scanning electron micrographs, collectively demonstrating the pinning of edge dislocations at the neutral surface. Remarkably, near-neutral surface compositions exhibit 0.5 L0 topography metastability upon extended thermal treatment, slowly transitioning to 1 L0 islands or holes as evidenced by optical and atomic force microscopy. Surface restructuring is rationalized by invoking commensurability effects imposed by slightly preferential surfaces. The results described herein clarify the impact of interfacial interactions on block copolymer self-assembly and solidify an understanding of 0.5 L0 topography, which is frequently used to determine neutral surface compositions of considerable importance to contemporary technological applications

Pattern Transfer of Sub-10 nm Features via Tin-Containing Block Copolymers

Tin-containing block copolymers were investigated as materials for nanolithographic applications. Poly(4-trimethylstannylstyrene-block-styrene) (PSnS-PS) and poly(4-trimethylstannylstyrene-block-4-methoxystyrene) (PSnS-PMOST) synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization form lamellar domains with periodicities ranging from 18 to 34 nm. Thin film orientation control was achieved by thermal annealing between a neutral surface treatment and a top coat. Incorporation of tin into one block facilitates pattern transfer into SiO_2 via a two-step etch process utilizing oxidative and fluorine-based etch chemistries

Resist materials for 157-nm microlithography: an update

Fluorocarbon polymers and siloxane-based polymers have been identified as promising resist candidates for 157 nm material design because of their relatively high transparency at this wavelength. This paper reports our recent progress toward developing 157 nm resist materials based on the first of these two polymer systems. In addition to the 2-hydroxyhexafluoropropyl group, (alpha) -trifluoromethyl carboxylic acids have been identified as surprisingly transparent acidic functional groups. Polymers based on these groups have been prepared and preliminary imaging studies at 157 nm are described. 2-Trifluoromethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1] heptane-2-carboxylic acid methyl ester derived from methyl 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylate was also prepared and gas-phase VUV measurements showed substantially improved transparency over norbornane. This appears to be a general characteristic of norbornane-bearing geminal electron-withdrawing substituents on the 2 carbon bridge. Unfortunately, neither the NiII nor PdII catalysts polymerize these transparent norbornene monomers by vinyl addition. However, several new approaches to incorporating these transparent monomers into functional polymers have been investigated. The first involved the synthesis of tricyclononene (TCN) monomers that move the bulky electron withdrawing groups further away from the site of addition. The hydrogenated geminally substituted TCN monomer still has far better transparency at 157 nm than norbornane. The second approach involved copolymerizing the norbornene monomers with carbon monoxide. The third approach involved free-radical polymerization of norbornene monomers with tetrafluoroethylene and/or other electron-deficient comonomers. All these approaches provided new materials with encouraging absorbance at 157 nm. The lithographic performance of some of these polymers is discussed