Examining Tourism and its contributions to human flourishing and well-being
Multiple knowledge platforms have thus far emerged in tourism studies, yet one important knowledge platform remains under developed. A humanist body of knowledge is needed that explains what enables host communities to flourish, what encourages workers in tourism to thrive, and what characterizes optimal tourist experiences. The aim of building this knowledge platform is to establish conditions for human flourishing and well-being in tourism contexts and to outline strategies for building greater well-being of tourism stakeholders. In this way, Professor Filep is working towards developing
positive tourism, principally grounded in well-being theories from positive psychology (the study of what makes life worth living). Within this new research domain, Professor Filep has published internationally in peer reviewed academic journals and books in the tourism and leisure field.
Professor Filep’s major works are books published by Routledge: Tourists, Tourism and the Good Life (Pearce, Filep and Ross, 2011), Tourist Experience and Fulfilment: Insights from Positive Psychology (Filep and Pearce, 2013) and the recently commissioned Positive Tourism (Filep, Laing and Csikszentmihalyi, forthcoming in 2016). Filep is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (JHTM) and Tourism Review. He regularly serves as a reviewer for leading leisure, tourism and hospitality journals.
