Not Just Who Suffers, But Who Recovers: Gendered and Cross-cutting Inequalities of in Healing Tourism Recovery

• In Event: Student Forum Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Roundtable 11: Aging, Care, and the Life Course

Abstract

Recent work links tourism to mental health, but evidence remains mixed on who benefits and under what social conditions. This study examines how healing tourism, defined as travel oriented toward mental relief, affects psychological well-being in China, with a particular focus on whether such associations are socially patterned by gender and marital status. Drawing on a multi-pathway theoretical lens (attention restoration, self-determination, and social support) as conceptual scaffolding, this research analyzes longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (2016–2020) using hierarchical linear models. We find that tourism participation is associated with higher mental health, and this association is stronger among women than among men. Moreover, married women, who face persistent caregiving expectations, show the largest tourism-linked gains, suggesting that short, accessible forms of leisure may operate as situational relief within gendered care regimes. This pattern is consistent with brief, context-dependent reprieve rather than a uniform remedy. This study contributes to social support theory by reframing healing tourism as a context-dependent psychosocial resource and by demonstrating that apparent benefits are stratified along gendered and marital lines. The findings hold relevance for gender-sensitive and equity-oriented health and tourism policy.

Authors

• Yingzhu Pu, Trinity College, Dublin

• Yourong Yao, Nanyang Technological University