Imagine being off-the-grid: millennials’ perceptions of digital-free travel

Abstract

The blurred boundaries between home and away facilitated by the ubiquitous connectivity have resulted in restlessness in private life, even on holiday. Disconnecting from technology on holiday could potentially contribute to travellers’ psychological sustainability. This article aims to theorise the perceptions of millennials towards digital-free travel (DFT). We interviewed 17 millennials and applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) qualitatively to uncover deep insights into their perceptions. Millennials in the research believe that DFT is beneficial for their well-being, but also have concerns regarding social expectations, technology dependence and environmental support. This article firstly contributes towards the psychological sustainability from the perspective of digital well-being in tourism. Second, the qualitative use of UTAUT in a technology disconnection setting is novel. Finally, the study contributes to the empirical understanding of DFT from the aspect of millennials’ perceptions. The study proposes that mental “away” should be aligned with physical “away” by reducing technology use to achieve psychological sustainability on holiday.

Keywords:

• Qualitative
• UTAUT
• millennials
• perception
• digital-free travel
• psychological sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina Floros

Christina Floros is a final year undergraduate student in BA Tourism Management at the Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, University of Greenwich, UK.

Wenjie Cai

Wenjie Cai, PhD, is a senior lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality at the Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, University of Greenwich, UK. Wenjie received his PhD in Tourism from the University of Surrey, UK. His main research interests include tourist behaviours, technology use, social inclusion and intercultural communication.

Brad McKenna

Brad McKenna, PhD, is a lecturer in Information Systems at the University of East Anglia, UK. Brad received his PhD in Information Systems from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests focus on how people use information technology, in particular, virtual worlds, social media, and in tourism contexts.

Dimah Ajeeb

Dimah Ajeeb, PhD Candidate, is a lecturer in Tourism and Urban and Regional Planning at the School of Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster, UK. Her research interests focus on tourism policy, governance, and planning, community-led tourism, architectural and urban design, urban and regional planning, decentralization, multi-level governance, and community-led regeneration.