Destination emotions, loneliness, and reasons to travel: predictors and moderators of tourism well-being

This study aims to determine predictors and moderators of tourism well-being among destination emotions (DES) (total, joy, love, and positive surprise), loneliness (UCLA) (total, affinities, and isolation) and reasons to travel. Regression and moderation analyses were carried out; factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory) to validate the emotions destination scale were performed. Marital status, family as a reason to travel, love (DES), positive surprise (DES), and affinities (UCLA) explain tourism well-being variance. Of the motivations for traveling, only family and work proved to moderate the relationship between DES and its subscales and tourism well-being. Traveling in Portugal or abroad was a moderator in the relationship between DES and its subscales and tourism well-being. The relationship between destination emotions and tourism well-being is stronger when people do not travel for family or work; this relationship is also stronger when people travel within Portugal than when traveling outside Portugal.