Articulating a developmental transformation through forest-based tourism: a process perspective
基于九位深度受访者的叙事，区分了森林旅游中的瞬间顿悟与长期转变过程，提出享乐与实现幸福感互动模型，揭示反复森林体验如何重塑世界观。
Forest-based tourism is widely recognized for fostering participant transformation and well-being, as supported by extensive empirical research. However, existing frameworks for understanding transformation often lack a process-oriented perspective and fail to account for the unique characteristics of forest-specific transformations. Responding to calls for hermeneutic phenomenological approaches in tourism studies, this study analyses narratives from nine interviewees who experienced profound transformations through forest travel. The findings distinguish transformative experiences – fleeting moments of self-discovery – from transformation, a gradual process of change cultivated by repeated engagement with forest-based travel. We propose a model that highlights the interplay between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, where immersion in nature elicits positive affect, prompting deeper reflection that fosters long-term transformation. This contributes to ongoing debates in tourism literature: is transformation an epiphany or a progressive evolution? Our process-oriented perspective underscores how repeated interactions with forests cultivate meaning and reshape participants’ worldviews over time. By illuminating the mechanisms underlying nature-based transformation, this study offers insights into the experiential dimension of forest tourism and its potential to foster sustained well-being.