A multi-disciplinary paper from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Western Australia proposes seeing tourism as more than just a recreational activity but an industry that benefits mental health. They call it travel therapy.
According to the Economic Times' health news section, the university's Center for Precision Health and School of Business and Law found that traveling could do so much positive for those suffering from a mental disorder. They propose that travel therapy could work as an intervention for dementia and other conditions.
Vacation Can Benefit People's Mental Health and Well-Being
Dr. Jun Wen, the lead researcher of the study, collaborated with a team of tourism, public health, and marketing experts to see how traveling could help people's mental health.
He said that medical experts usually recommend music therapy, exercise, cognitive stimulation, reminiscence therapy, sensory stimulation, and adapting to the mealtime and environment of a dementia patient as treatment. But all of these are found when someone is on vacation.
The study titled "Tourism as a Dementia Treatment Based on Positive Psychology," published in the journal Tourism Management, is one of the first to discuss the concept of travel therapy as an intervention for dementia.
Dr. Wen pointed out that the varied nature of tourism means that the patient could have many opportunities to incorporate treatments for those with mental disorders, such as dementia. For instance, exercise has always been linked to better well-being and traveling often involves physical activity like walking.
Moreover, mealtimes are often different while on vacation as they are more patterned to involve others, and therefore are more social with multiple people and family-style meals that could positively influence the eating behavior of a dementia patient.
There is also fresh air and increased exposure to sunshine, which means the patient will also get more vitamin D and serotonin levels. Everything comes together while on vacation and makes it easy to see how patients with dementia may benefit from tourism as an intervention for similar conditions.
Tourism's Value Beyond Lifestyle
In a similar report from Neuroscience News, Dr. Wen said that the impact of COVID-19 on traveling with all the lockdowns and quarantine that have happened in the past few years, many questions were raised about the value of tourism beyond lifestyle and economic factors.
Traveling and tourism have been found to boost a person's physical and psychological well-being. So, many thought it would be just right to identify tourism's importance in promoting public health for healthy individuals and, most importantly, vulnerable groups.
Dr. Wen and his team hope that their new research from different fields could begin to examine how tourism can enhance the lives of people with various conditions. They are trying to bring tourism and health science as one. However, more empirical research is needed to see if tourism can become one of the medical interventions for different mental disorders, like dementia and depression.
"So, tourism is not just about traveling and having fun; we need to rethink the role tourism plays in modern society," Dr. Wen said.
RELATED ARTICLE: 7 Ways Traveling Can Be Good For Your Mental Health
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