Experiences of love in diaspora tourism

Abstract

The paper reports on a study which explored how a sense of love is experienced in diaspora tourist experiences. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the Sierra Leonean community in London, England, accessing the feelings and meanings of the tourists. Following thematic analysis, it was revealed that the emotion of love manifested itself as a tourist motivator, as on-site experience emotion and as an outcome of the visiting experience. The paper adds to the body of knowledge on diaspora tourism and positive tourism, tourism and positive psychology. The article reveals the non-economic value of diaspora tourism with regards to developing countries.