It’s becoming okay to admit psychological problems. Those who step forward are thanked and applauded. And as a society we’re more open and emotional generally, the stiff upper lip has softened. Even a British Army recruitment campaign has told candidates it’s fine to cry and to pray. What was seen as a weakness or just plain self-indulgent, is now better understood and acceptable. Employers have to be sensitive to staff needs and not assume that feelings are left at the door.

One explanation is necessity. We’ve become exposed to unprecedented pressures: high living costs, uncertain employment, an expectation of ‘success’ and ambition, 24/7 demands and opportunities, a relentless digital conversation filled with people living perfect lives, or at least, lives that are more exciting and better than ours. We’ve had to start admitting that negative emotions are part of the deal of human experience, we all struggle at one stage or another. We’re angry, we’re frightened, worried, jealous, unfulfilled, upset, despairing; there has to be a release.

The reality, however, is that while we may have more Emotional Intelligence, the stigma continues. We can admit to crying and other forms of emotional outburst, but we need to cry at the right times and in the right places. We need to be seen to be dealing with our out-of-control emotions and mental health issues in the right way and not embarrass or burden others. We are strictly individuals, atomised, cynical, hard-minded when it comes to other people’s motivations, staring into our phones in the street. We don’t connect at a level where public emotions lead to understanding and sympathy, no matter what might be said about our more self-aware society. Gender and particular cultural backgrounds add further layers of constraint.

We need those right times and right places, where people can confront their problems. Japan is an example of a culture-bound tightly by expectations of appropriate behaviour, one that has needed to start to create moments for emotional release. ‘Crying Rooms’ in hotels provide weepy movies and tissues as a means of stress relief and relaxation. This is also why we are seeing a change in the nature of holidays. The fastest growing market segment, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, is pilgrimage. There are now 330 million pilgrims travelling each year. In our research we explored the way in which this is also increasingly secular, unrelated to firm religious beliefs. Pilgrims are looking for self-reflection. While in Christianity, for example, the purpose of pilgrimage was related to that of penance, to atone for sins, this has turned into a more individualistic relationship with a deity or general search for peace and fulfilment, a way to better cope with negative emotions and experiences.

There’s a need for what we’ve described as a ‘therapeutic servicescape’, meaning-filled places of relaxation and exploration, among like-minded people, where emotions can be reflected upon and talked about without that sense of bumping up against the stigma of what’s inappropriate and uncomfortable.

A LOURDES SERVICESCAPE

Lourdes, in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains in France, has been a major destination for Catholic pilgrims for more than 160 years, ever since 1858 when the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to a local girl. Since that time, an estimated 200 million visitors have gone to the town, to the grotto where the spring water is said to have healing powers. Lourdes has more than 200 hotels (second only in France to Paris) as well as a hundred restaurants and two hundred souvenir shops.

When we first started talking to Lourdes pilgrims, trying to better understand their motivations and how these might be changing, we expected to hear criticisms of this juxtaposition: the sacred site, the natural beauty of the area, alongside a sprawl of opportunistic commercial businesses. But this was not the case.

Many of the pilgrims we spoke with were in Lourdes as a result of personal struggles: grief, anxiety, harrowing things in their lives. Religion, although important to many, was not always the core focus. Lourdes was an opportunity to ‘break down’ in a safe place away from the judgement of modern day society. There was the space to build up their sense of peace, of a stronger self, and establish the kinds of coping mechanism they could return with. Only having a relationship in and with a sacred place and ritual was, therefore, less important. The marketplace of Lourdes was a firm part of the therapeutic process: the simple secular pursuits of going to a cafe, having a coffee or glass of wine, shopping, talking to like-minded people. The bustling commercial element was seen as being both a necessary and enabling part of the experience. They needed somewhere to stay, they wanted to buy souvenirs of their visit, and it presented normal opportunities for meeting people and being part of the wider Lourdes experience.

Creating a safe place for emotional release in the 21st century involves a combination of the sacred, symbolic, as well as the natural environment and a marketplace with all the services and facilities of modern tourism. In Lourdes, we uncovered three key features that help produce a setting where particular emotions are permitted and released: a space that’s designed to stimulate particular emotions; like-minded beliefs that provide a sense of safety, security and acceptance of the behaviour and emotions of others; and an escape from the dominant cultural feeling rules. Together these conditions led to emotional release and emotional wellbeing.

OUR NEW HOLIDAYS

According to data research group Euromonitor International, the ‘wellness’ industry is due to be worth £632 billion by 2021. Therapeutic servicescapes will be part of this, and a new and growing opportunity for businesses looking to help people deal with toxic emotions and find a basis for serenity and happiness. To find the right positioning and meet the evolving needs, they will need to find the right balance between the essential elements. Religious landscapes and sites are a starting point, but as our research has found, there’s an expectation and need for an associated marketplace. However, the development needs to be approached in sensitive ways.

There will be a drive to build more sites for hospitality in areas of natural beauty as destinations for secular, reflective pilgrimages; good for local economies in areas relatively untouched by commerce, but accompanied by threats to the natural environment, and the site itself. Stonehenge and the Ise Shinto Shrine in Japan, are examples of once open sites that have needed to be protected from visitors. In 2017, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board decided to prevent tourists from climbing Mount Uluru (what was known as Ayers Rock) because of health risks (many people had died climbing the mountain in the intense heat) but also due to the strong spiritual significance of the site. Good management and responsible business will be essential to the growth of a new sector that goes some way to balancing the excesses of modern living.

Dr Leighanne Higgins is a Senior Lecturer in the Marketing Department.

The original paper Therapeutic Servicescapes and Market Mediated Performances of Emotional Suffering was written with Dr Kathy Hamilton from the University of Strathclyde. l.higgins@lancaster.ac.uk