Effects of Tourism Activity on the Mitigation of Menopause Symptoms and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

Effects of Tourism Activity on the Mitigation of Menopause Symptoms and Life Satisfaction

In modern society, the average life expectancy is increasing due to the development of science and medical technology. Accordingly, middle age, which can be prepared to spend old age well, is an important period, and the quality of life can vary depending on how women spend menopause. Currently, more than 60% of women in Korea experience menopausal symptoms, and menopausal symptoms due to the lack of acute female hormone estrogen are mainly accompanied by physical and emotional symptoms such as facial redness, sweating and anxiety, fatigue, memory disorder, depression, and sleep disorder. In this way, menopause is a time when not only physical symptoms but also various mental instabilities occur, and it can be seen that effective self-regulation is necessary for mental health. Therefore, studies have also emerged that leisure activities lead to life satisfaction, enriching and healing life, so that women who suffer from menopause can change their middle-aged lives more positively. However, although menopause is an important period that can be directly related to overall life satisfaction, research on the relationship between tourism and leisure activities is still insufficient in previous studies. The purpose of this study is to verify whether middle-aged women experiencing menopause have an effect on menopausal symptom relief and life satisfaction when doing five tourism activities, and whether it can have a moderating effect on menopausal symptom relief depending on the type of travel companion. First of all, in an interview with menopausal women, several researchers established the concept of each type of tourism based on the definitions of cultural tourism, food tourism, wellness tourism, sports tourism, and shopping tourism. In addition, various preceding studies were examined by largely classifying menopausal symptoms into physical and emotional symptoms, and various preceding studies applied to the study of travel partners were examined and then applied to this study. A total of 278 copies of this study were collected through an online survey method for middle-aged women experiencing menopausal symptoms in Korea from May 06 to May 18, 2022. Among them, a total of 276 copies were used in this study, excluding 2 copies of insincere responses. For statistical analysis of the collected data, AMOS 26 programs were used. In order to verify the validity and reliability of the measurement tool, the Cronbach's α coefficient was calculated, and the validity of the measurement tools and the suitability of the research model were examined through confirmatory factor analysis. In order to find out the demographic status of the collected data, basic characteristics were identified through descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage. Structural equation model analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis, and hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the mediating effect. It was found that all five types of tourism activities were significant except for food tourism in the relationship between menopausal symptom relief and life satisfaction. Therefore, this study empirically proved that cultural tourism, wellness tourism, sports tourism, and shopping tourism have a positive effect on menopausal symptom relief and life satisfaction. In addition, it can be seen that the alleviation of menopausal symptoms through tourism activities is promoted by accompanying friends. Companion with friends was found to have a promoting effect on cultural tourism, wellness tourism, and sports tourism among the types of tourism activities. Therefore, people who are experiencing menopausal symptoms should be aware of these areas and relieve menopausal symptoms through accompanying friends when they are engaged in tourism activities to further enhance the promotion effect on positive psychological conditions. As a practical implication, it can be expanded and developed not only for menopausal women but also for emotional and physically unstable people, and based on the research results, it is worth developing as a specific tourism product such as a medical tourism marketer and a project for middle-aged women. However, since the characteristics are different for each menopause period, it is necessary to divide the group based on various menopause symptoms and systematically approach the menopause period (premenopause, perimenipause, and postmenpause).