Mindful Travel and Tourist Well-Being: Examining the Role of Psychological Restoration in Nature-Based Tourism

Abstract

Nature-based tourism has become an important context for examining the relationship between mindful engagement and tourists' psychological well-being. Despite growing interest in mindfulness in tourism studies, the mechanisms explaining how mindful travel enhances tourists' well-being, particularly through psychological restoration, have yet to be adequately conceptualized and empirically studied. This study aims to examine the relationship between mindful travel, psychological restoration, and tourists' well-being in the context of nature-based tourism. Building on Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Stress Recovery Theory (SRT), a conceptual framework is developed that positions psychological restoration as a mediator of the influence of mindful travel on subjective well-being. A quantitative approach was employed through a structured questionnaire administered to 239 nature-based tourists at selected ecotourism destinations in Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that mindful travel has a positive and significant effect on psychological restoration (β = 0.617; p < 0.001), which in turn improves tourist well-being in the hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions (β = 0.543; p < 0.001). Psychological restoration is confirmed as a significant partial mediator in the relationship between mindful travel and tourist well-being. These results expand the theoretical understanding of restorative experiences in tourism and provide practical implications for destination managers and policymakers in designing mindfulness-oriented nature-based tourism experiences. This research contributes to the literature at the intersection of positive psychology, environmental psychology, and sustainable touris.