Towards a Strengths-Based Personal Informatics Framework for Transformative Tourism Experiences: A Phenomenological Study on Serious Leisure Practitioners

Personal technology plays an integral role in shaping people’s quality of life which includes leisure and tourism experiences. A number of personal informatics tools can support people in performing their activities by collecting biometric and environmental data; however, little is known regarding the use of psychological data to enrich leisure and tourism experiences. To address this research gap, this study aims to propose a conceptual framework that fosters memorable and meaningful leisure experiences (MMEs) based on theories from serious leisure and positive psychology. In particular, this study probes into the MMEs of serious leisure practitioners who put their efforts and resources into pursuing intrinsically rewarding leisure activities. Excelling at these activities, which may draw upon participants’ character strengths, yields sustained fulfillment which fosters personal transformation. The idiosyncratic nature of MMEs demands a phenomenological inquiry that involves in-depth interviews concerning the character strengths used and their development trajectories. Using theory triangulation from both positive psychology and serious leisure allows researchers to gain a holistic view of participants’ well-being. Character strengths were found to be the integral factors that contribute to MMEs at different stages of leisure activities. The result identified three aspects of strengths used: strengths well spent, reflection and introspection, and anticipation of the future self, which informs the development of a strengths-based personal informatics framework for leisure and tourism.

Women Runners in China: Constraints Negotiation Process of Serious Leisure

The constraint negotiation process is a prominent part of serious leisure, and leisure-oriented women runners in China may behave differently in this process. An adjusted model was proposed to examine the constraint negotiation process of serious leisure for women runners. An online questionnaire was conducted that contained 239 valid samples measuring the participation, intrinsic motivation, constraints and negotiation of women runners. The structure of variables was confirmed based on the good results of reliability and validity test. Then the structural equation modeling results showed that constraints had a negative impact and negotiation had a positive impact on participation. Negotiation acts on constraints to reduce their negative perception. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation has a significant positive effect on negotiation. There are high intrinsic motivation and fewer constraints reporting for women runners under high negotiation in serious leisure. The results provide additional explanation for the serious leisure participation of women runners. Future research should integrate women’s life experiences to better understand the behavior revealed in this study.

Leisure Cycling Entrepreneurialism in Johannesburg, South Africa

It is estimated that by 2050 as many as five billion bicycles could be in use globally. Reasons for this growth vary, with utility cycling strong in Europe and Asia; while in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand cycling is a sport and leisure activity, with cycling deemed the ‘new golf’. Within this context, there is a rise in community or local bike shops (or LBS) which sell bicycles, related equipment and services. This qualitative study explored LBSs in greater Johannesburg, focusing on who the entrepreneurs are, how they service their clients, and what links the sector has to serious leisure. It was found that the owners demonstrated high levels of serious leisure cycling engagement and passion for the sport. A sense of being part of a bigger cycling community strongly influenced their entrepreneurial practices. This included how they ran their businesses, the employees they hired, as well as how they viewed cycling in general. The research also yielded insights into operational and sectoral realities, trends and challenges. Generally, it was found that the local bike shops in greater Johannesburg are key players in the supply, growth and development of sport and leisure cycling, thereby making a positive contribution to the cycling community. This is important in the light of the COVID-19 challenges experienced by the sport and leisure sector, as a loss of these shops will likely have a negative impact on cycling in Johannesburg.

Structural Relationships among Strategic Experiential Modules, Motivation, Serious Leisure, Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Bicycle Tourism

It seems that people’s quality of life can be positively influenced through bicycle tourism. Bicycle tourism can be an effective measure to enhance serious leisure, tourism satisfaction, and quality of life. To verify this empirically, a survey was conducted of bicycle tourists who visited Qinghai Lake in China during an international road bike race. The purpose of the present research is to prove the association between latent variables related to bicycle tourism through statistical analysis. For this, hypothetical relationships based on tourism motivation, serious leisure, tourism satisfaction, and quality of life were presented as research models. As a result of empirical analysis, it was analyzed that friends and nature had an effect on serious leisure among the motivation of bicycle tourism. In addition, it was found that the level of serious leisure for bicycle tourism exerted a positive influence on the satisfaction and quality of life. This suggests that bicycle tourism can improve the quality of life during travel to Qinghai lake by bicycle and revealed the crucial role in relationships is serious leisure.

Blurring the Boundaries between Leisure and Work: Professionals as Devotees in the Mind-Sport Bridge

Bridge is a partnership card game that has increasingly professionalized in recent years, particularly at ‘elite’ level. ‘Elite’ bridge players participate in a unique leisure world which hitherto has been understood as a form of serious leisure. However, due to professionalization there is the possibility to work as a professional bridge player thus blurring the boundaries between leisure and work. The paper is based on the lived experiences of professional bridge players and how they understand the, often ongoing, transition from playing bridge as a hobby to playing bridge for a job. Being a professional bridge player raises issues about moral evaluations of work, a work ethic and concerns over what a ‘proper job’ is. This paper explores these dynamics in relation to Stebbins concept of ‘devotee work’ and ideas of liminality, unpacking the tensions and ambiguities involved through the perspective of 52 elite bridge players. Findings from the qualitative interviews illustrate how playing bridge professionally is often experienced as being hugely positive, because of being paid to do something one is devoted to, but ambivalences and anxieties also emerge. In addition, the paper draws on the reflections of one author who is a bridge player and blurs the boundaries between work and leisure through the academic study of bridge. The findings show the contested nature of bridge as a profession set within broader notions of work, with positive and negative perceptions of the blurring of work-leisure boundaries.