Original scientific paper
The role of mindfulness in tourism: Tourism businesses' perceptions of mindfulness in Dubai, UAE
Chris Dutt
orcid.org/0000-0003-0219-0277
; The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Dubai, UAE
Ivan Ninov
; The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Dubai, UAE
Abstract
Mindfulness is the ability of an individual to actively process information surrounding them with the aim of using that information to draw distinctive or novel conclusions. By facilitating mindfulness, businesses can benefit from having a stronger competitive advantage, increased loyalty, and provide a more meaningful experience to their customers. Mindfulness is a state of awareness that can be encouraged in individuals regardless of their mental state or demographic characteristics; almost a universal tool to enhance individuals' memories and well-being. Mindfulness literature relating to tourism is brief and often has considered individual sites from a quantitative perspective. In efforts to reduce this gap, a qualitative study was conducted, interviewing tourism business managers throughout Dubai to obtain their insights. The emerging themes facilitated the generation of a model providing an alternative perspective to Moscardo's (1996) model by placing the impetus of creating mindfulness on the individual and the provision of personal interactions. The model additionally stressed the importance of stimulating mindful tourists, in order to allow businesses to benefit from a combination of hard, financial, benefits and soft, experiential, benefits. Such insights can provide tourism-related businesses with a competitive advantage which will not only improve the businesses' financials, but also improve customers' perceptions, memories, and interest in the business.
Keywords
mindfulness; mindlessness; tourism; businesses; Dubai
Hrčak ID:
154834
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2016.
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