4 Spirituality Studies 11-2 Fall 2025 1 Introduction In an era marked by constant distractions and ascending pressures, the pursuit of mental clarity and emotional equilibrium has garnered unprecedented attention. In our rapidly evolving world, where the dissonance of modern life often drowns out our inner voices, the concept of mindfulness has emerged as an inspiration to achieve higher levels of well-being along with self-awareness. Mindfulness, deeply rooted in ancient contemplative traditions, has captured the interest of researchers, practitioners, and the general public, including individuals seeking inner peace and well-being. Mindfulness can assist people in becoming aware of their surroundings and their body’s physical sensations as well as their thoughts, feelings, and emotions (Kabat-Zinn 2014). Further conceptualizations of mindfulness include a condition in which specific awareness characteristics exist, a dispositional or trait-like general propensity to pay attention in these ways, and a set of abilities that grow with practice and training (Baer 2019). Some authors suggest that consciousness is an essential attribute of mindfulness and strongly correlates with well-being (Brown and Ryan 2003). Thus, mindfulness has been seen as having the potential to cultivate a profound sense of awareness and psychological resilience (Lu et al. 2023). The applications of mindfulness have been extended to different contexts, and tourism researchers are showing a growing interest in exploring its benefits. The potential relationship between mindfulness and tourism well-being has been highlighted by some studies (Câmara et al. 2020; Iacob et al. 2023). A recent study suggests that mindfulness positively influences memorable tourism experiences (Tyagi et al. 2023). Similarly, Chen et al. (2017) indicated a positive relationship between mindfulness and tourism experiences. Also, Chan (2018) revealed that mindfulness could promote sustainable behaviors in a tourism context. The tourism literature presents studies linking travel and tourist experiences to positive psychological outcomes and well-being (Filep and Laing 2019). For instance, it has been reported that people are happier during their holiday than at home (Filep et al. 2017), and holidays are perceived as an escape from daily tasks at work (Pearce 2009). This study will consider the theoretical foundations of positive psychology, an area of research that emerged as an opposite perspective of human suffering, by shifting the focus to human flourishing and developing positive emotions and qualities (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000). Although positive psychology covers different concepts, for this study’s purposes, well-being, happiness, and satisfaction with life will be considered and studied separately. When applied to tourism, mindfulness can profoundly impact tourists’ well-being in different ways. The existing literature findings show that tourist well-being is influenced by interaction with the environment, which is present in tourism experiences. For instance, experiences in wildlife tourism have been linked to well-being (Shang and Luo 2022). Some researchers have noted that well-being is a common factor that motivates people to pursue spiritual travel (Gill et al. 2019). A conceptual paper on meditation retreats highlights the significance of well-being as a key driver for spiritual travel (Norman and Pokorny 2017). The spiritual aspect of travel encompasses people, locations, connections, and feelings. It is impacted by cultural background, individual objectives, driving forces, expectations, prior knowledge of the destination, and locals (Tiberghien et al. 2020). Norman (2011) suggests that spiritual tourism involves a self-conscious project to improve one’s perception of well-being. Similarly, Moufakkir and Selmi (2018) suggest that people increasingly turn to spirituality to improve themselves. Spirituality could be a venue for people to get in contact with themselves and increase general well-being. Religious studies have widely discussed the relationship between spirituality and well-being (Fredrickson 2002; Koenig et al. 1988; Steger and Frazier 2005). However, in tourism, just a few studies analyzed the theoretical linkages between tourism and spirituality, focusing specifically on the niche of spiritual tourism (Buzinde 2020). This niche has been receiving an increasing demand, as it combines the biophysical, spiritual, and rational to enhance subjective well-being (Cheer et al. 2017). Nevertheless, none of the studies found in the literature analyzed the potential relationship between
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