Vacationers in the countryside: Traveling for tranquility?

Tranquility seeking is growing phenomenon in tourism. While tranquility has been frequently used in tourism motivation literature, it is unclear what it means in tourism and how to recognize it in tourism motivation. The study seeks to explore the forms of tranquility through a lens of motivational framework. Data collecting from Moganshan town, a well-known rural resort in China, revealed that vacationers acknowledged various forms of tranquility in holiday experiences in general. Specifically, the need of tranquil amenities rather than need of tranquil states was dominant trigger of the phenomenon; affective qualities of tranquility were the main source of information that influenced the destination choice. The inclusion of tranquility in tourism extends our understanding of tourism motivation and adds a new subject applicable to tourism.