Certainly, there are quite a few who have heard regarding healing by music or art, but what regarding healing by travel? An interdisciplinary research paper from Edith Cowan University (ECU) proposes changing the way we view tourism not only as a leisure experience, but as an industry that can provide real and tangible health benefits to the individual.
A collaboration between ECU’s Precision Health and the College of Business and Law has discovered the positive effect of going on vacation for those with mental health issues. Lead researcher Dr. John Wayne said his multidisciplinary research team of experts in tourism, public health and marketing looked at how tourism can benefit people with dementia. Dr. Wayne noted that, “Medical experts can recommend treatments for dementia such as music therapy, exercise, cognitive stimulation, memory therapy, and sensory stimulation.” It is worth noting, that you can practice these activities while on vacation. The researcher added that this research is considered one of the first studies that discusses, in theory, how these tourist experiences can work as a therapeutic intervention for dementia.
Then the researcher raised a question regarding the possibility of considering a tourist vacation as a pleasure or a treatment, to resume his talk that the nature of the diverse tourist activity makes it able, in cooperation with other medicines, to contribute to the treatment of dementia. To mention but not limited to, being in new environments and living experiences we haven’t had offer a new type of therapy called cognitive and sensory stimulation therapy. “Exercise has been linked to mental health, and travel often includes physical activity, such as walking,” Dr. Wen said.
We turn to another benefit of travel, which may open the way for you, dear reader, to be surprised, which is eating family-style meals, which are scientifically considered to positively affect the eating behavior of dementia patients. Where travel is often closely related to family trips. And do not forget the main benefits of a tourist vacation represented in fresh air and sunlight, as they play a vital role in increasing vitamin D and serotonin levels. Thus, all these factors working together makes it easy to see how dementia patients can benefit from tourism as a treatment intervention.
Dr. Wayne also did not forget the impact of Corona on travel recently, which raised questions regarding the value of travel, in addition to lifestyle and economic factors. He added that tourism enhances mental and physical health. Therefore, especially following the Corona virus, it is the right moment to determine the place of tourism between public health, it is an activity for healthy and unhealthy tourists alike. Dr. Wayne expressed his hope to begin a new line of collaborative research to study how tourism can enhance the lives of people with various conditions. So we are trying to do something new to connect tourism and health sciences. In this regard, there needs to be more empirical research and evidence to know if tourism can become a medical intervention for various psychiatric conditions such as dementia or depression.
In conclusion, we must rethink the role that tourism currently plays in society, that is, it is not limited to travel and enjoyment only. It also includes therapeutic aspects for many mental and physical diseases.

Translated and Edited by: Wafaa Hany Omar
original text