A journey with animals : make the zoo our spirit shelter

Abstract

Tourism is being considered as a potential supplementary approach for mainstream mental healthcare. Despite extensive research into the positive psychological outcomes of various tourism activities, there has been a lack of investigation into the impact of animal-based tourism on mental health and its underlying mechanism. Moreover, previous research fails to collect data base on randomized controlled trails (RCTs), which are necessary for the practical application of tourism as a supplement to mainstream mental healthcare. To address these research gaps, the current study aims to: (1) investigate the immediate and enduring effects of animal-based tourism on mental health; (2) explore the dynamic processes through which mental health is promoted during animal-based tourism; and (3) identify the underlying psychotherapeutic mechanisms of animal-based tourism by establishing and testing theoretical frameworks. Two studies were designed to achieve these objectives. Study I adopted a mixed-method approach, combining structural equation modeling (SEM) and in-depth interviews to examine how animal-based tourism impacted mental health through a series of dynamic processes during the journey. Study II employed a randomized controlled trial along with a longitudinal approach to investigate the immediate and long-lasting causal effects of animal-based tourism on mental health. Additionally, a two-criteria analytical model by van de Leur et al. (2024) was used to identify the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of animal-based tourism on mental health. The quantitative data in Study I revealed that human-animal interactions during such tourism experiences indirectly relate to tourists’ self-efficacy, self-esteem, and depression emotions, mediated by the human-animal relationship. Meanwhile, qualitative findings in Study I indicated that different types of human-animal interactive activities uniquely affected mental health in the context of tourism. The results of Study II suggested that animal-based tourism had immediate and enduring effects on self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Notably, the long-lasting effect on anxiety was moderated by the type of human-animal interaction. Findings from the two-criteria analytical model indicated that social support mediated the psychotherapeutic impact of animal-based tourism, and this mediating effect was also moderated by the type of human-animal interaction. This study expands the understanding of the psychological impact of animal-based tourism, an area that has not been thoroughly explored in relation to mental health. It integrates tourism studies with mental health research by investigating the immediate and enduring effects of animal-based tourism on mental health outcomes such as self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. The study also pioneers the exploration of the dynamic processes and underlying psychotherapeutic mechanisms of animal-based tourism, filling a critical gap in existing literature. By establishing and testing theoretical frameworks through empirical research, this study provides a new lens for understanding the potential of tourism as a supplementary approach to mainstream mental healthcare.