Exploring environmental value in religious tourism: The impact of templestay on well-being and environmentally responsible behavior

Abstract

Templestay programs offer participants the opportunity to experience the daily lives of Buddhist practitioners in temples set in natural surroundings. However, research on the experiential and physical aspects of templestays and their effects remains limited. Drawing on the evolution of religious tourism, which appeals to individuals regardless of their religious backgrounds, this study seeks to address this gap by exploring the effects of mindfulness during templestays on attention restoration, well-being, and environmentally responsible behavior. A total of 539 responses were collected from recent templestays participants. The results indicate that mindfulness during templestays positively impacts restorativeness, which in turn enhances both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being among participants. Furthermore, well-being was found to positively influence ethical and philanthropic environmentally responsible behaviors. Moreover, connectedness to nature moderates the relationship between eudaimonic well-being and philanthropic environmentally responsible behavior. This study expands the experiential value of templestays to include environmental aspects.