Air crews’ mindfulness experiences: destination memories

Abstract

Purpose Airlines play a significant role in the international tourism system, yet research on airlines, notably air crew, is scant. Given the frequency with which air crew travel to destinations, understanding of their memories and experiences can have significant insights for destination marketing and management. Destination marketers could look at using air crew as marketing mediums or as potential customers. This study aims to understand the memories and experiences of air crew in destinations and the factors that influence them. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods survey was designed and distributed to 236 air crew of a Middle Eastern airline to explore what they remembered of destinations they visited what helped and hindered their ability to remember. The survey also assessed participants self-reported degree of mindfulness. Findings Results suggested that air crew determined themselves as mindful and had strong memories of the destination. Several notable hindrances were reported relating to their job; fatigue, short layovers and number of flights. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the study is the relatively limited depth with which participants described their experiences. The results from the study add insight to tourism businesses and governments for considering air crew or leveraging air crew as marketing mediums. The generalisability and applicability of mindfulness in other contexts have been offered. Originality/value Little research has explored the experiences or memories of air crew nor the relation of mindfulness to service providers. This research is among the first to address this gap to add theoretical and practical insight to this area.