Travel has long been celebrated as a gateway to growth, learning, and transformation. Simply stepping outside of one’s daily routine, encountering different landscapes and cultures, and experiencing a sense of newness can push individuals to reexamine their values, broaden their perspectives, and adopt new behaviors. But does travel really lead to such change? And if it does, what kind of travel produces lasting impacts—and for whom?This dissertation addresses those questions by exploring the enduring impacts of emotionally significant travel moments – commonly referred to as peak experiences – on travelers’ sense of self and their attitudes toward the environment. While the idea of travel as transformative is deeply embedded in both popular and scholarly discourse, empirical research has only recently begun to examine the long-term psychological and behavioral impacts of such experiences. Much of the existing literature remains focused on short-term outcomes, stated intentions, or anecdotal claims. Moreover, most research to date has centered on travelers themselves, with less attention given to other actors involved in the tourism process, such as facilitators and hosts. Drawing from three distinct qualitative studies, this dissertation investigates how such peak experiences are remembered and integrated over time. In doing so, it responds to existing gaps by incorporating the perspectives of both travelers and facilitators and by emphasizing retrospective reflection on peak experiences that occurred at least one year prior to data collection. The research is grounded in in-depth interviews with three distinct participant groups: 1) American undergraduate students who participated in a short-term study abroad program in Mozambique; 2) experienced international tour leaders reflecting on powerful moments from their guiding careers; and 3) wildlife tourists who experienced immersive in-depth encounters with whales. Collectively, these studies span a range of traveler profiles, cultural contexts, and tourism formats. They offer a multifaceted view of how emotionally charged, immersive travel can catalyze transformation in people’s beliefs, behaviors, and relationships with the natural world. Findings across the three studies show that peak travel experiences can have profound and lasting effects on individuals’ self-perception, emotional awareness, and environmental consciousness. Common themes include increased confidence and agency, a shift toward a more eco-conscious lifestyle, and a strengthened sense of connection – to themselves, others, and to nature. By adopting a retrospective approach and including diverse perspectives, this research advances our understanding of the psychological and behavioral afterlives of peak experiences in travel. It also highlights ethical and practical implications for tourism, education, and conservation practitioners who seek to design and support travel that is not only memorable, but meaningful – and that cultivates lasting change.
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