Rise through coping with service failures in tourism

Service failure, a common stressor experienced by tourists during their travels, can have a far-reaching impact beyond the travel domain. This research investigates how tourists cope with service failure during their travels and its influence on their ability to rise through challenges and achieve personal growth. Through semi-structured interviews and four scenario-based experiments, we found that problem-focused coping generates a stronger sense of pride and a weaker sense of shame compared to emotion-focused strategies, fostering self-confidence and personal growth in tourists. Additionally, supportive companion reactions reinforce the positive effects of problem-focused coping, while non-supportive reactions may weaken it. The findings offer important theoretical insights, with implications for the tourism industry to develop effective recovery strategies and provide meaningful travel experiences.