Rethinking transformative tourism: transcendence as the reconfiguration of self-world relations

Purpose Transformative tourism research has expanded rapidly, yet “transformation” remains conceptually diffuse and often conflates different depths of experiential change. This article reassesses how transformation has been theorized and advances a transcendent account of higher-order change. Design/methodology/approach A critical conceptual review examined 149 English-language publications indexed in Scopus through 2025. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-inspired screening, bibliometric mapping with bibliometrix, and critical thematic synthesis were combined to identify the field’s knowledge structure, dominant perspectives, and underlying assumptions. Findings The field is empirically diverse but theoretically fragmented. Dominant perspectives frame transformation primarily as change within the existing self through learning, well-being, attachment, behavior, or moral reorientation. The study distinguishes developmental, existential, and transcendent transformation and proposes the Transcendent Tourism Experience Framework. The framework explains transcendence through enabling conditions, disruption, self-decentering, relational horizon expansion, ontological reconfiguration, and participatory reintegration. Research limitations/implications The review is limited to English-language Scopus-indexed publications and a conceptually focused search strategy. Future studies should test the framework through longitudinal, cross-cultural, and process-sensitive designs. Practical implications Tourism organizations can facilitate enabling conditions and post-experience integration, but should not market transformation as a guaranteed outcome. Originality/value The article shifts transformative tourism research from classifying positive outcomes to explaining ontological depth. It theorizes transcendence as the reconfiguration of self-world relations and shows how transcendent awareness may be incorporated through conscious co-existence, adaptive harmony, and, where culturally meaningful, cosmic participation.