From 24-26 January 2017, ENTER2017 eTourism Conference Rome in Rome took place, the world’s leading annual conference on eTourism, organised by International Federation for Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)
Dr. Barbara Neuhofer, Head of Experience Design, Innovation and Management in Tourism at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, presented a new study on “(Dis)Connectivity in the Travel Context: Setting an Agenda for Research.”, a collaboration with Prof. Adele Ladkin from Bournemouth University.
The paper sheds light on the topic of (dis)connectivity in relation to tourism experiences, which to date has been mostly overlooked. Whilst lots of research focuses on technology enhanced tourism, the challenges, decisions and practices around connecting or disconnecting are still to be explored. This paper is a first attempt to define a comprehensive agenda for research.
(Dis)Connectivity in the Travel Context: Setting an Agenda for Research
Abstract
Digital technologies have had a great impact on people’s everyday lives and transformed work, leisure and travel contexts. The ubiquitous use of technologies has allowed people to connect everyday life and travel, causing blurring boundaries between once separated domains. A wide body of research has investigated how travel, leisure activities and tourist experiences are enhanced through digital technologies, while the notion of ‘disconnection’ is only starting to receive attention. This paper fills a gap in that it offers a discussion around connectivity and disconnectivity in the travel context and sets an agenda for further research. Methodologically, this study draws upon secondary research and a thematic analysis of a symposium to develop a comprehensive agenda of six areas for research. This paper contributes to (dis)connectivity, tourist experience and work-life balance discourses in the digital age.
Keywords: Digital technology; connectivity; disconnectivity; travel; research agenda;
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Cite this paper as: Neuhofer B., Ladkin A. (2017) (Dis)Connectivity in the Travel Context: Setting an Agenda for Research. In: Schegg R., Stangl B. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2017. Springer,
