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Abstract

While researchers are in agreement about the positive relationship between spiritual activities (SAs) and mental health (MH) among the general population, the relationship between spiritual tourism (ST) and MH, particularly among young adults, is yet to be adequately investigated. As such, this research was conducted to determine the contribution of ST towards the MH of the younger generation. The respondents are undergraduate students located in Vietnam’s industrial province of Binh Duong. The findings, from the quantitative research approach, indicate that young people perceive ST mainly as a means for visiting places of worship, with little consideration for the MH benefits associated to the natural settings, or spiritual promotion activities such as yoga or meditation. Nonetheless, the majority of the participants concur that ST contributes towards the realisation of inner peace, relief from the pressures of daily life, character development, an enhanced perception of cultural and historical values, as well as the attainment of a mind-body-spirit balance. The outcomes from this study also suggest that the perception of religion-inclined participants, with regards to ST and its role in society, is somewhat distinct from other participants, and that gender is not a determining factor, when it comes to viewpoints regarding ST issues. The comprehensive assessment of perceptions and experiences of young people (YP) regarding ST, derived through this survey, can be useful not only to tourism industry stakeholders, society, and academics, but also to healthcare practitioners.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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