Title: Wellness travel motivations in the wake of COVID-19

Authors: Hafizullah Dar; Kirti Kashyap

Addresses: School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 144411, India ' School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 144411, India

Abstract: COVID-19 pandemic has placed human health under unprecedented issues since its outbreak in 2019. During COVID-19, people were restricted to one place, which caused many psychological and other health-related concerns among them. Hence, this study aims to understand wellness tourists' key wellness travel motivations in Rishikesh, India, during the COVID-19 lock-down period and post-pandemic. To conduct this quantitative research work, data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 232 domestic wellness tourists. Exploratory factor analysis was used for the factorial structure of the observed variables, and multiple regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. The study establishes an understanding that Rishikesh offers an anticipated atmosphere to wellness tourists from rejuvenation to d-stress to detoxification and body fitness even in a COVID-19 type crisis. Though India is getting momentum in wellness tourism, its infrastructure and professionalism need improvement to maintain the faith of wellness tourists in the destination image.

Keywords: post COVID-19; spa; spirituality; travel motivations; wellness tourism; yoga; tourism; health; Rishikesh tourism; religious tourism; Indian tourism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2022.121982

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2022 Vol.12 No.1, pp.24 - 43

Received: 08 Aug 2021
Accepted: 15 Dec 2021
Published online: 07 Apr 2022 *

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