A tourist typology of online and face to face social contact: Destination immersion and tourism encapsulation/decapsulation
Abstract The sense of tourism encapsulation/decapsulation is increasingly determined by the level and type of connectivity enabled by advanced Information Communication Technology (ICT) This study explores tourists' online and face to face social contacts and their effects on travel experiences. A six fold tourist typology is established, namely: Disconnected Immersive Traveller, Digital Detox Traveller, Diversionary Traveller, Dual Zone Traveller, Daily Life Controller and Social Media Addict. A contact immersion nexus is also developed to indicate the attachment tendencies of different tourist types between their home and away zones. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.
Annals of Tourism Research