National happiness can be a tourism magnet - study

BTN News
Thursday, 23 June 2016

Melbourne, Australia's Swinburne University of Technology researchers say a nation’s perceived happiness can be an asset that attracts tourists.


Finance lecturer dr Reza Tajaddini and Economics lecturers drs Hassan Gholipour and Jeremy Nguyen, say their research was the first to investigate the relationship between happiness and inbound tourism.


The researchers say their work has implications for tourism marketing and shows the benefit of emphasising the happiness characteristics of destinations, alongside traditional cultural and heritage attractions.


“In recent years, many countries have launched tourism campaigns focusing on happiness in their countries,” said  Tajaddini. “Sometimes a holiday isn't just getting to see more sunshine, it's about getting to see more sunny smiles.”


Fiji tourism authorities once employed a global campaign ‘Fiji-where happiness finds you’ and in recent years Bhutan, Thailand and Costa Rica also have used happiness campaigns to promote their tourism industries.


To define happiness, the research team used a large, multi-country database from the World Values Survey, a global research project that has explored international values and beliefs for more than three decades.


The researchers measured tourism revenue to 63 countries, taking into account heritage sites and natural attractions. They found that perceived political stability and an absence of violence influenced travellers' decisions.


They also studied tourism arrivals and matched this data with happiness data, to show that a nation’s happiness may be an asset capable of attracting international visitors, in addition to its traditional tourism assets.

“Happier countries may be able to attain economic benefits by recognising population happiness as an intangible asset that can be managed and marketed, sharing local people’s happiness with international visitors,” said Gholipour.


Nguyen said the results suggest that international tourists prefer to travel to, and spend more time in, happier countries.


“If national happiness is viewed as an intangible asset that affects tourism positively, then recent interests in national happiness and wellbeing by political leaders and economists have clear implications for the management of this asset for which tourism industries are a stakeholder,” added Nguyen.

National happiness can be a tourism magnet - study

BTN News
Thursday, 23 June 2016

Melbourne, Australia's Swinburne University of Technology researchers say a nation’s perceived happiness can be an asset that attracts tourists.


Finance lecturer dr Reza Tajaddini and Economics lecturers drs Hassan Gholipour and Jeremy Nguyen, say their research was the first to investigate the relationship between happiness and inbound tourism.


The researchers say their work has implications for tourism marketing and shows the benefit of emphasising the happiness characteristics of destinations, alongside traditional cultural and heritage attractions.


“In recent years, many countries have launched tourism campaigns focusing on happiness in their countries,” said  Tajaddini. “Sometimes a holiday isn't just getting to see more sunshine, it's about getting to see more sunny smiles.”


Fiji tourism authorities once employed a global campaign ‘Fiji-where happiness finds you’ and in recent years Bhutan, Thailand and Costa Rica also have used happiness campaigns to promote their tourism industries.


To define happiness, the research team used a large, multi-country database from the World Values Survey, a global research project that has explored international values and beliefs for more than three decades.


The researchers measured tourism revenue to 63 countries, taking into account heritage sites and natural attractions. They found that perceived political stability and an absence of violence influenced travellers' decisions.


They also studied tourism arrivals and matched this data with happiness data, to show that a nation’s happiness may be an asset capable of attracting international visitors, in addition to its traditional tourism assets.

“Happier countries may be able to attain economic benefits by recognising population happiness as an intangible asset that can be managed and marketed, sharing local people’s happiness with international visitors,” said Gholipour.


Nguyen said the results suggest that international tourists prefer to travel to, and spend more time in, happier countries.


“If national happiness is viewed as an intangible asset that affects tourism positively, then recent interests in national happiness and wellbeing by political leaders and economists have clear implications for the management of this asset for which tourism industries are a stakeholder,” added Nguyen.