Transformative Travel Experience Scale

What it measures

The TTES measures both the process and outcomes of transformative travel, grounded in Mezirow's transformative learning theory and the conceptual model of Wolf, Ainsworth, and Crowley (2017). The scale captures four dimensions: Local Residents and Culture reflects travelers' critical reflection on their interactions with and attitudes toward local people and cultures; Self-Assurance captures post-trip feelings of personal growth, confidence, and empowerment; Disorienting Dilemma measures the emotional disorientation and reverse culture shock experienced primarily after returning home; and Joy captures the positive emotions felt during immersion at the destination. Developed using an 11-step procedure combining DeVellis (2016) and Podsakoff, MacKenzie, and Podsakoff (2016), with pilot study (n = 242), EFA (n = 402), and CFA (n = 400) samples drawn from Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

Local Residents and Culture (9 items). Response format: 7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree).

• This trip made me think about ... my abilities to understand people from a different culture.
• This trip made me think about ... the culture of the local residents.
• This trip made me think about ... my interactions with local residents.
• This trip made me think about ... the way I feel about cultures different from mine.
• This trip made me think about ... my opinions of local residents.
• This trip made me think about ... the local residents' point of view.
• This trip made me think about ... how my culture differs from other cultures.
• As a result of this trip, I ... gained new perspectives about the destination's local residents.
• This trip made me think about ... how I react when confronted with cultural differences.

Self-Assurance (5 items). Response format: 7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree).

• As a result of this trip, I am more ... true to myself.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... confident.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... calm.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... self-confident.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... patient.

Disorienting Dilemma (6 items). Response format: 7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree). Note: items reflect post-return disorientation and reverse culture shock rather than in-destination confusion, with the exception of item 6.

• As a result of this trip, I felt ... estranged.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... intolerant.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... irritable.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... frustrated.
• As a result of this trip, I am more ... conflicted.
• During my trip, I felt ... isolated.

Joy (4 items). Response format: 7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree).

• During my trip, I felt ... excited.
• During my trip, I felt ... joyful.
• During my trip, I felt ... enthusiastic.
• During my trip, I felt ... happy.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

An initial pool of 78 items was generated from the literature and expert practitioner review (n = 12), refined through pilot EFA to 44 items, and further reduced to 24 items after the full EFA and CFA. The study found empirical support for the disorienting dilemma occurring at multiple points in time: feeling isolated at the destination acts as a precursor, while stronger disorientation (estrangement, frustration, irritability, intolerance) occurs predominantly after the traveler returns home, extending Mezirow's original model. Participants were screened for genuine transformative experience via three questions including an open-ended trip description. AVE: Local Residents and Culture = .60; Self-Assurance = .55; Disorienting Dilemma = .60; Joy = .69. CR: .93, .86, .90, .90 respectively. Nomological validity confirmed via positive correlations with empathy (r = .29 to .39). Predictive validity confirmed via linear regression (F(1,400) = 42.43, p < .001). CFA fit: CFI = .994, TLI = .993, RMSEA = .019, SRMR = .054.

Citation

Soulard, J., McGehee, N., & Knollenberg, W. (2021). Developing and testing the Transformative Travel Experience Scale (TTES). Journal of Travel Research, 60(5), 923–946.

Keywords