When life falls apart, we seek the sublime: how negative events shape the preferences for awe-inducing attractions

While prior research has established awe as a consequential tourism experience, the antecedent conditions driving tourists to actively seek awe-inducing attractions remain understood. This research addresses this gap by examining how negative events shape preferences for awe-inducing attractions. Grounded in meaning maintenance theory and terror management theory, three experiments demonstrate that negative (vs. neutral) events shape preferences for awe-inducing (vs. mass) attractions (Study1-Study3) by stimulating meaning seeking (Study2-Study3). Crucially, as mortality anxiety increases, the effects of negative events on meaning making and preferences for awe-inducing attractions are attenuated (Study3). The above results rule out confounding factors and alternative explanations. By identifying negative events as a need-driven antecedent, this research extends awe research from its well-documented outcomes to its motivational origins and the application of the meaning maintenance theory and terror management theory in tourism settings. These findings also offer actionable implications for the positioning and marketing of awe-inducing attractions.