Healing Journeys and the Role of Critical Factors in Shaping Wellness Tourism Experiences in Karnataka, India

Abstract

Wellness tourism is one of the fastest-growing parts of the global tourism industry. This growth is fuelled by the rising demand for holistic health, stress relief, and
transformative experiences. India, known as the birthplace of yoga and Ayurveda, plays a significant role in this area. However, there is limited research on the
wellness tourism experience in Karnataka. This paper looks at how four key factors, authenticity, cultural immersion, holistic healing offerings, and natural/spiritual
environment, shape tourist experience, well-being, and behaviour.The research uses the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. In this model, the key
factors are seen as external influences, the tourist experience is the organismic state, and revisit intention and loyalty are the behavioural responses. A structured
questionnaire was given to 442 wellness tourists in Karnataka, and the data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).
The analysis confirmed that the measurement model is reliable and valid. It showed that all four key factors significantly improved the tourist experience.
Additionally, the tourist experience positively influenced both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being outcomes, which in turn predicted revisit intention and loyalty
to the destination. Mediation analysis confirmed that the tourist experience is a vital link connecting the key factors to behavioural outcomes.
These findings add to the theory by expanding the S-O-R model to wellness tourism and incorporating hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions of well-being into
outcome measures. Practically, the results suggest ways for Karnataka to enhance its status as a wellness destination. This can be achieved by maintaining
authenticity, diversifying healing options, improving cultural immersion, and protecting its natural and spiritual environments.