Tourist destinations offering tech-free tourism are gaining popularity with travellers looking for a true detox from the digital world. With more than two billion people worldwide owning mobile smart phones, we are finding ourselves virtually on-call 24 hours a day. The average user is constantly checking their devices, up to 85 times a day.
According to Professor Philip Pearce from James Cook University, “There is recognition in the industry of the ‘new escapism’ where people not only want to stay away from the physical home environment but disconnect from the digital world of routine work and social life.”
When we fully ‘switch off’ off from digital communication, we allow ourselves to both physically and mentally get away.
Who remembers when you could travel to places such as the Colosseum in Rome or the Grand Canyon in the United States and actually just go to ‘see’ them? To gaze at the spectacle, to soak up the atmosphere, just to be present in the moment. These days when travelling, we generally have our smartphones out capturing the moments and sights on our screens, to upload to our social media accounts.
We may think that we are relaxing on our holiday, sitting on a beach or beside a pool at a resort, but for many of us the lure of checking our emails or social media accounts is too hard to ignore. Rather than engaging with our travel companions, we pick up our devices and interact digitally with friends and family instead.
As more and more people realise the importance of spending time disconnected from their devices, the new digital detox holiday trend is gaining popularity. Digital ‘black hole’ resorts, offline escape retreats, and dead zone holiday options are entering the travel language. Many resorts are not just urging, but insisting on guests leaving their devices at home or at the very least, in their rooms and not be seen engaging with any technology whatsoever in public areas.
Would you consider a technology-free holiday?
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