Fehrest, Fatemeh, Panchal, Jenny, Pabel, Anja, and Murphy, Laurie (2025) The Funny Side of Tourism: Exploring Children's Engagement with Humour-Driven Interpretation. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27 (4). e70072.

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Abstract

Engaging young visitors is crucial for a meaningful tourism experience. This study focuses on humour as a positive psychology practice, to explore how it enhances children's engagement with tourism interpretation. Using constructivist grounded theory, the research employed participant observation of tours operated for children in Iran. Children aged 9-12 years were specifically targeted. Results revealed that children responded most positively to silly, witty, and clever humour, with smiling and laughter being the predominant reactions. Nature-themed humour proved most effective in fostering social, emotional, and cognitive engagement. The study also identified five ways that humour influences children's engagement: promoting social interaction, enhancing enjoyment, sparking curiosity, alleviating fatigue, and encouraging active participation. These findings extend existing frameworks on humour in tourism to include child-specific reactions and preferences, contributing to both theoretical and practical applications. The research provides valuable insights into effectively incorporating humour into interpretive programmes designed for child-focused tourism experiences.

Item ID:	87647
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1522-1970
Keywords:	Humour, children tourism, engagement, tourism interpretation
Copyright Information:	© 2025 The Author(s). International Journal of Tourism Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2025 00:51
FoR Codes:	35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3508 Tourism > 350806 Tourist behaviour and visitor experience @ 60% 35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3508 Tourism > 350803 Tourism management @ 40%
SEO Codes:	11 COMMERCIAL SERVICES AND TOURISM > 1104 Tourism services > 110499 Tourism services not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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