Working women on the edge: investigating the association between stress, restoration motivation and wellness travel

Purpose This study explores determinants influencing working women’s perceptions and motivations to engage in wellness tourism, specifically visits to health resorts. It is grounded in protection motivation theory (PMT) and attention restoration theory (ART). Design/methodology/approach The study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design and followed a Qual-QUAN approach. Study 1 involved qualitative responses through an open-ended survey from 35 Indian working women between the ages of 18 and 40 years. Study 2 employed a quantitative approach and tested the hypothesised relationships using partial least squares (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 323 working women. Findings The qualitative study developed two new constructs: physical health-seeking attitude and mental health-seeking attitude. The quantitative findings support cognitive-affective distress as a significant determinant of restoration motivation that further affects working women’s intentions to participate in wellness tourism. Health-seeking attitude (mental and physical) and restorative needs are found to be significant determinants of travel decisions. Practical implications Wellness tourism providers can enhance offerings by tailoring services to the psychological and health-related motivations of working women. Understanding these determinants enables stakeholders to meet the demands of this growing segment in a better way. Originality/value This study enriches the limited literature on women-centric wellness tourism by combining PMT and ART frameworks and introducing some novel constructs. It offers a deeper theoretical and practical understanding of working women’s wellness travel.