Digital-Free Tourism Holiday as a New Approach for Tourism Well-Being: Tourists’ Attributional Approach

Abstract

Digital-free tourism (DFT) has recently attracted tourism service providers’ attention for its benefits in terms of enhancing tourists’ experiences and well-being at destinations. DFT refers to tourists who are likely to voluntarily avoid digital devices and the Internet on holiday, or travel to destinations without network signals. DFT has advantages for tourists in increasing well-being, mental health, and social networking during their journeys. DFT also has a benefit for tourism marketers in that they can consider it as a new tourism approach. However, there is a lack of studies into tourists’ locus of control (LOC) while experiencing DFT holidays. LOC refers to how individuals assign the responsibility of event outcomes—whether they assign it to themselves (internal LOC) or they say it is beyond their control (external LOC). Therefore, the current study contributes to investigating tourists’ LOC impacts while experiencing DFT holidays. The study relies on semi-structured interviews with millennial tourists who have experienced DFT holidays. The study findings reveal that millennial tourists with an internal LOC (vs. external) are more likely to perceive the DFT advantages (vs. obstacles) during and after the DFT holidays. However, millennial tourists with external LOC incrementally change their attitudes and perceive the DFT holiday benefits through their self-efficacy enhancement. The findings propose managerial strategies for developing effective DFT holidays for millennial tourists regarding their LOC.

Digital Disconnection as an Opportunity for the Tourism Business: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Academic interest in this topic is increasing and new complementary products and services are becoming popular in the tourism market. The main characteristics of these holidays are limited Internet access, the creation of technologyfree spaces such as cafes and bars, "digital detox programs" in order to improve work and personal life, a healthy lifestyle and contact with the "real world" [6] using new concepts with commercial appeal such as "e-lienation" [55] or "technology dead zones" in rural settings [6,56,57].…”

Tourism Scholars' Confusion About the Locus of Causality and Locus of Control Theories

“…In comparison, an external locus of personal traits (ELOPT) refers to service providers' ability to control individuals' knowledge, experiences, and mental and physical abilities. Individuals with an external locus of personal traits are easily convinced by service providers' campaigns (Hassan et al, 2022;McCanne & Lotsof, 1987).…”

Sustainability of Leisure Tourism Events from a Destination Social Responsibility Perspective: Do Attribution Theory Dimensions Matter?

“…Attribution theory provides insights into the actions of leisure travelers. Tourists frequently use this hypothesis to explain the reasons behind their experiences of a place, such as why something excellent or unpleasant happened [ 31 ]. One of the most critical aspects of understanding visitor behavior towards CSR programs is the controllability and characteristics of the theory of attribution of stability [ 32 ].…”

“…The attribution of the stability dimension shows how tourists relate to their experiences [ 31 ]. These temporal or situational aspects provide stability and continuity in their experiences and the success of a CSR activity.…”

“…Tourists rate the stability of a destination based explicitly on their perception of their level of stability about these parameters. They are more likely to attribute their positive experience to these characteristics related to stability if they believe the destination has a high level of stability [ 31 ]. They may blame these elements for their unpleasant experience if they believe there is a low level of stability.…”