Traces of post-travel blues in young Muslim women after their first international travel experience

Purpose This study aims to make the phenomenon of “Post-Travel Blues” visible within a qualitative framework by examining the emotional transitions experienced by young Turkish Muslim women during the process of returning home after their first international travel experience. Design/methodology/approach The research was designed as a qualitative study. Participants were selected through purposive criterion sampling and consisted of young Turkish Muslim female university students living in Istanbul who reported emotional fluctuations after returning from their first international travel experience. Data were collected through online semi-structured interviews conducted between September and November 2025. The narratives obtained from 15 participants were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurring patterns of meaning, emotional expressions and thematic structures related to post-travel blues. Findings The narratives obtained from the interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in the identification of five thematic patterns: “emotional detachment after the experience,” “the gap of meaning in the return to daily life,” “the expansion of self-perception through travel,” “the disruption of interpersonal synchrony,” and “reconstructed expectations and cognitive dissonance.” Practical implications The practical implications of this study indicate that young Muslim women may experience emotional detachment, a gap of meaning and difficulties in reconnecting with their social environment after their first international travel experience. Therefore, universities, youth centers, local authorities and civil society organizations may develop short-term and structured post-return guidance models. Such support should not be designed as a form of clinical treatment but as a mechanism that helps participants make sense of their emotions, connect their experiences abroad with everyday life and strengthen social communication. Travel businesses may also build long-term loyalty by offering post-travel digital guidance and experience-based support. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by examining post-travel blues through a narrative-based qualitative approach and by focusing specifically on the experiences of young Muslim women after their first international travel experiences. By conceptualizing post-travel blues as a multidimensional psychosocial transition involving identity continuity, social resonance and meaning reconstruction, the research extends existing discussions beyond traditional notions of reverse culture shock and offers a culturally contextualized perspective.