h i g h l i g h t s 50% of tourists have some desire for mobile disconnection.Tourists have dilemmas regarding mobile connectivity. Digital engagement has a small effect on desire for mobile disconnection. Developers of digital solutions should not assume the tourist is 'always connected'. a b s t r a c tMobile technology is playing an increasing role in the tourist experience and a growing body of tourism research has focused on this area. There is often an implicit assumption that tourists embrace mobile connectivity and relatively little research has explored the tourist experience of disconnection, whether purposeful or imposed by technological limitations. This study explores the desire for digital (dis) connection during camping tourism. Data compiled using interviews and a survey revealed that the tourist is not 'always connected' and up to 50% have some desire to disconnect. There is ambiguity about mobile technology use in tourism with dilemmas regarding the value of connectivity versus the desire to 'get away from it all'. The analysis found digital engagement had a small effect on desire for disconnection however, patterns were not marked. The findings have implications for mobile technology solutions in tourism.

This paper explores the attitude-behaviour gap from an identity perspective in order to better understand why tourists act sustainably at "home" but not when "away". The majority of tourism-related CO 2 emissions stems from transport. Behavioural change is a possible way to reduce those emissions. However, research indicates that instigating behavioural change within tourism is problematic, because of the attitude-behaviour gap. Studies suggest that understanding the role of identity and tourism mobility could explain this gap; this paper researches that idea, using a narrative approach to explore the travel life histories of 24 participants, with a second interview to examine how interviewees viewed their tourism activity in the light of environmental debates and concerns. Data were analysed using thematic and narrative-based dialogic/performance approaches. The paper reveals how a need for personal identity can influence travel behaviour and that identity plays a significant role in travel decisions, sometimes overriding cost and environmental issues. The power of social identity is explored, noting increasingly powerful global VFR networks, along with the search for future selves, the need for personal differentiation and issues of multiple identities. Suggestions are made for ways to use identity research into policies seeking to achieve behavioural change.

Mobile connectivity enables the adoption of new ways to connect with social networks which are changing how we might, and could, seek support. In the tourism domain we increasingly blend online and offline presence to engage with social networks in the spatial location, at a distance and across time. This paper explores the forms of community that exist in physical tourism contexts, contexts not previously analysed through a community lens, and explores how mobile technology is creating connections within and beyond existing social networks. It examines how sustainable tourism can be enhanced by mobile connectivity through new spaceÀtime practices and using ephemeral interpersonal relationships to harness niche groups to create bottom-up social systems interested in sharing experiences, ideas and resources. Special attention is given to the concept of gelling socialities which proposes a less ridged network structure, and to the need to understand the increasingly liquid social dynamics of mobile social interactions. The paper adds to the theories surrounding community, social ties and tourism's value to society. It draws on data from in-depth interviews undertaken while designing and testing a collaborative travel app. It contributes to growing research into the new technologies increasingly available for sustainable tourism marketing and implementation.

Late modernity in developed nations is characterized by changing social and psychological conditions, including individualization, processes of competition and loneliness. Remaining socially connected is becoming increasingly important. In this situation, travel provides meaning through physical encounters, inclusion in traveller Gemeinschaft based on shared norms, beliefs and interests, and social status in societies increasingly defined by mobilities. As relationships are forged and found in mobility, travel is no longer an option, rather a necessity for sociality, identity construction, affirmation or alteration. Social contexts and the underlying motivations for tourism have changed fundamentally in late modernity: nontourism has become a threat to self-conceptions. By integrating social and psychological perspectives, this paper expands and deepens existing travel and mobilities discussions to advance the understanding of tourism as a mechanism of social connectedness, and points to implications for future tourism research.