Digital Detox Tourism: Why disconnect? : What are the motives of Dutch tourists to undertake a digital detox holiday?

Abstract: Digital detox technologies such as smartphones, tablets, and PDAs, have grown and developed at an extraordinary rate to become an essential part of everyday life. While ICT is a driving force in the contemporary tourism industry, some travel agencies and hotels have recently detected a niche market for those people who want to ‘escape’ from the digital life by offering ‘digital detox travel packages’, i.e. travel to remote areas that are highly disconnected of ICTs. While the current literature has investigated the tourists’ experience of a forced disconnection, it has yet not sufficiently investigated what the rationales are for the tourists choosing to undertake a digital detox holiday. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate and understand the motives of tourists to undertake a digital detox holiday. To get an understanding of the motives to undertake a digital detox holiday, in-depth interviews among Dutch tourists have been conducted. The results of the study show that especially sociological, psychological and physic health factors motivated tourists to undertake a digital detox holiday.