Introduction/Objective: The tourism industry is designing products and services for those users who consciously wish to reduce or renounce technology during their trips and can make it a reality. This has led to the emergence of a new trend called Digital Free Tourism (DFT) or digital disconnection tourism, conceived as an improvement of the tourist’s own relationships, social life and wellbeing. The main objective of this research is to present a research path for the academic world and to provide an analysis focused on the DFT offer in the Spanish market, as it is one of the countries with most international tourists worldwide.

Methodology: To this end, a methodology of content searches in bibliographic databases is used.

Results: The results and findings are limited and there are no connections in destinations that bring together DFT elements, which may represent an emerging market niche and the economic opportunity to generate a network of DFT tourism services.

Conclusions: The implications of this work can be useful for managers and administrators in the tourism sector for the generation of synergies and strategic alliances and be a prologue for new studies and lines of research.

---

Keywords:
Business,
digital economy,
tourism trends,
Digital Free Tourism,
detox.

05_RSN_13(28)_22013_Digital

Anrijs, S., Bombeke, K., Durnez, W., Van Damme, K., Vanhaelewyn, B., Conradie, P., Smets, E., Cornelis, J., De Raedt, W., Ponnet, K., & De Marez, L. (2018). MobileDNA: Relating physiological stress measurements to smartphone usage to assess the effect of a digital detox. En Communications in Computer and Information Science (vol. 851). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92279-9_48

Ayeh, J. K. (2018). Distracted gaze: Problematic use of mobile technologies in vacation contexts. Tourism Management Perspectives, 26(January), 31-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2018.01.002

Brereton, P., Kitchenham, B. A., Budgen, D., Turner, M., & Khalil, M. (2007). Lessons from applying the systematic literature review process within the software engineering domain. Journal of Systems and Software, 80(4), 571-583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2006.07.009

Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Waizenegger, L. (2020). Turning it off: Emotions in digital-free travel. Journal of Travel Research, 59(5), 909-927. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287519868314

Custers, B. (2022). New digital rights: Imagining additional fundamental rights for the digital era. Computer Law & Security Review, 44, 105636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105636

Díaz-Meneses, G., & Estupiñán-Ojeda, M. (2022). The outbreak of digital detox motives and their public health implications for holiday destinations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031548

Dickinson, J. E., Hibbert, J. F., & Filimonau, V. (2016). Mobile technology and the tourist experience: (Dis)connection at the campsite. Tourism Management, 57, 193-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.06.005

Duran-Sanchez, A., Álvarez García, J., Del Río-Rama, M. d. l. C., & Ratten, V. (2019). Trends and changes in the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research: A bibliometric review. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 25(7), 1494-1514. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2019-0249

Egger, I., Lei, S., & Wassler, P. (2020). Digital free tourism-An exploratory study of tourist motivations. Tourism Management, 104098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104098.

European Best Destination. (2020). Web corporativa. https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/european-best-destinations-2020/

Ernszt, I., & Marton, Z. (2021). An emerging trend of slow tourism: Perceptions of Hungarian citizens. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 19(2), 295-307. https://doi.org/10.7906/indecs.19.2.8

Fan, D. X. F., Buhalis, D., & Lin, B. (2019). A tourist typology of online and face-to-face social contact: Destination immersion and tourism encapsulation/decapsulation. Annals of Tourism Research, 78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.102757

Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2019). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ perceptions of digital-free travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 751-766. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1675676

Gaafar Ali Sayed Mohamed, H. (2021). Digital Detox Tourism at The Egyptian Destination: Attitudes and Motivators. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 20(2), 88-107. https://doi.org/10.21608/JAAUTH.2021.62562.1130

Guyard, C., & Kaun, A. (2018). Workfulness: Governing the disobedient brain. Journal of Cultural Economy, 11(6), 535-548. https://doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2018.1481877

Hassan, T. H., Salem, A. E., & Saleh, M. I. (2022). Digital-Free tourism holiday as a new approach for tourism well-being: Tourists’ attributional approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), 5974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105974

Hoving, K. (2017). Digital Detox Tourism: Why disconnect? What are the motives of Dutch tourists to undertake a digital detox holiday? https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1119076/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1982). Toward a social psychological theory of tourism motivation: A rejoinder. Annals of Tourism Research, 9(2), 256-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(82)90049-4

Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Instituto Nacional de Estadística. https://www.ine.es/

Jiang, Y., & Balaji, M. S. (2021). Getting unwired: What drives travellers to take a digital detox holiday? Tourism Recreation Research, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2021.1889801

King, D. L., Billieux, J., Mueller, K., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2022). Clinical interventions for technology-based problems. En Mental health in a digital world (pp. 435-457). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822201-0.00016-2

Kirillova, K., & Wang, D. (2016). Smartphone (dis)connectedness and vacation recovery. Annals of Tourism Research, 61, 157-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.10.005

Kuntsman, A., & Miyake, E. (2019). The paradox and continuum of digital disengagement: Denaturalising digital sociality and technological connectivity. Media, Culture & Society, 41(6), 901-913. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719853732

Law, R., Ye, H., & Chan, I. C. C. (2022). A critical review of smart hospitality and tourism research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 34(2), 623-641. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-08-2021-0986

Lehto, X. Y., & Lehto, M. R. (2019). Vacation as a Public Health Resource: Toward a Wellness-Centered Tourism Design Approach. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 43(7), 935-960. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348019849684

Li, J., Pearce, P. L., & Low, D. (2018). Media representation of digital-free tourism: A critical discourse analysis. Tourism Management, 69, 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.06.027

Li, J., Pearce, P. L., & Oktadiana, H. (2020). Can digital-free tourism build character strengths? Annals of Tourism Research, 85(September), 103037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103037

Liu, Y., & Hu, H. (2021). Digital-free tourism intention: A technostress perspective. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(23), 3271-3274. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1883560

McKenna, B., Waizenegger, L., & Cai, W. (2020). The influence of personal and professional commitments on digitally disconnected experiences. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 590, 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62803-1_24

Mehmet, E. (2014). Digital detox for the holidays: Are we addicted? Proceedings of European Academic Conference on Business Tourism & Apply Sciences in Europe & America 2014. International Conference on Tourism Transport & Technology ICTTT, 1-3 August 2014. United Kingdom, The Brunel University.

Melton, J., Verhulsdonck, G., Shah, V., & Dunn, P. (2019). Intentional Non-Use of the Internet in a Digital World: A Textual Analysis of Disconnection Narratives. IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, July, 65-66. https://doi.org/10.1109/ProComm.2019.00016

Montesdeoca Suárez, A. (2022). El eterno debate sobre la desconexión digital en las relaciones laborales. Publicación Politica.eu 77-106. http://hdl.handle.net/10553/114143

Ozdemir, M. A. (2021). Research trends on digital detox holidays: A bibliometric analysis, 2012-2020. Tourism & Management Studies, 17(3), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.2021.170302

Palos-Sánchez, P., Folgado-Fernández, J. A. & Rojas-Sánchez, M. (2022). Virtual Reality Technology: Analysis based on text and opinion mining. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering (MBE), 19(8), 7856-7885. https://doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2022367

Paris, C. M., Berger, E. A., & Rubin, S., Casson, M. (2015). Disconnected and unplugged: Experiences of technology induced anxieties and tensions while traveling. En I. Tussyadiah, & A. Inversini (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_58

Pawlowska-Legwand. (2020). Disconnect from the digital world to reconnect with the real life: An analysis of the potential for development of unplugged tourism on the example of Poland [Review of Disconnect from the digital world to reconnect with the real life: An analysis of the potential for development of unplugged tourism on the example of Poland, por Matoga]. Tourism planning and development. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2020.1842487

Pearce, P. L., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Tourism in technology dead zones: Documenting Experiential dimensions. International Journal of Tourism Sciences, 12(2), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15980634.2012.11434656

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. En Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. (pp. xiv, 800). Oxford University Press.

Schmuck, D. (2020). Does digital detox work? Exploring the role of digital detox applications for problematic smartphone use and well-being of young adults using multigroup analysis. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 23(8), 526-532. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0578

Stankov, U., & Gretzel, U. (2021). Digital well-being in the tourism domain: Mapping new roles and responsibilities. Information Technology & Tourism, 23(1), 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-021-00197-3

Syvertsen, T. (2022). Offline tourism: Digital and screen ambivalence in Norwegian mountain huts with no internet access. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2022.2070540

Syvertsen, T. & Enli, G. (2020). Digital detox: Media resistance and the promise of authenticity. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 26(5-6), 1269-1283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856519847325

Thomas, V., Azmitia, M., & Whittaker, S. (2016). Unplugged: Exploring the costs and benefits of constant connection. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 540-548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.078.

Ugur, N. G., & Koc, T. (2015). Time for digital detox: Misuse of mobile technology and phubbing. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 1022-1031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.491

Vanden Abeele, M. M. P., Halfmann, A., & Lee, E. W. J. (2022). Drug, demon, or donut? Theorizing the relationship between social media use, digital well-being and digital disconnection. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45, 101295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.007

Wilcockson, T. D. W., Osborne, A. M., & Ellis D. A. (2019). Digital detox: The effect of smartphone abstinence on mood, anxiety, and craving. Addictive Behaviors, 99, 106013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.06.002

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) El turismo puede proteger y promover el patrimonio religioso. UNWTO. https://www.unwto.org/es/archive/press-release/2014-12-11/el-turismo-puede-proteger-y-promover-el-patrimonio-religioso

Dimensions

PlumX