THE INFLUENCE OF MINDFULNESS ON MEMORABLE TOURISM EXPERIENCES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

This paper analyzes the mutual effects of mindfulness and memorable tourism experiences (MTE) and their consequences. We adopt an innovative approach in which mindfulness is considered an antecedent of MTE. This approach allows us to develop and test a theoretical model using the structural equation modeling technique. That model tests an MTE scale and its consequents, such as personal transformations, subjective well-being, behavioral intentions, place attachment and memory. An electronic questionnaire about MTE in the previous two years was completed by 1,187 respondents. The results indicate that mindfulness negatively impacts MTE, although the literature has shown that mindfulness and travel experiences are positively related. It also confirms that MTEs arouse personal transformations for tourists in terms of learning, abilities, and behaviors. Managers willing to design memorable experiences must provide innovative experiences that can evoke emotions and generate personal transformations.