Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations Increase Tourists’ Well-Being?
1
Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
2
Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism, UMIT, 6060 Hall, Austria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1707; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101707
Received: 26 March 2019
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Revised: 13 May 2019
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Accepted: 14 May 2019
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Published: 15 May 2019
Physical activities have been proven to have an impact on general well-being in everyday life; however, literature lacks an analysis of the effects of physical activities in vacation settings. Thus, the study aimed at assessing the impacts of physical activity on well-being during vacation by taking a longitudinal approach. We utilized a pre-post within-subject design (n = 101) by testing vacationers prior to, during, and after their vacation in an alpine environment. Therefore, a series of eight linear mixed model analyses of co-variance was performed. The results suggested that the duration of a vacation and the amount of physical activity have a positive impact on the components of well-being, which was expressed by changes in the activation, elation, excitement, and calmness subscales of the Mood Survey Scale. Demographic patterns did not reveal any influences. Physical activity might be a marker for well-being, which influences people’s everyday life and leisure time behavior by motivating them to engage in more physical activity. This research extends the existing literature by (1) proving the effects of vacations on well-being, (2) pointing out the effects of demographic predeterminations, and (3) gathering in-depth knowledge about the role of physical activity in changes to well-being.
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Keywords:
sports tourism; health tourism; physical activity; vacation; well-being; alternative tourism; tourism strategies
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MDPI and ACS Style
Schlemmer, P.; Blank, C.; Schnitzer, M. Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations Increase Tourists’ Well-Being? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101707
AMA Style
Schlemmer P, Blank C, Schnitzer M. Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations Increase Tourists’ Well-Being? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(10):1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101707
Chicago/Turabian StyleSchlemmer, Philipp, Cornelia Blank, and Martin Schnitzer. 2019. "Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations Increase Tourists’ Well-Being?" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 10: 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101707
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