UNDERSTANDING SELECTIVE DIGITALISATION IN LANGKAWI'S WELLNESS TOURISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/JTHEM.1145001Keywords:
Digital Fatigue, Digital Infrastructure, Digital Readiness, Selective Digitalisation, Wellness TourismAbstract
This study seeks to answer about wellness tourism in Langkawi: which parts of the visitor experience require digital support, and where might that support become intrusive? We interviewed 13 informants with background of tourism and wellness businesses, telecommunications, government agencies, the local Langkawi community and tourists. The transcripts were managed in NVivo and examined thematically. Findings indicatied those participants described stable connectivity, booking, payment and communication as necessary for routine operations. Their support became more cautious when technology entered the wellness activity itself. Operators preferred systems that staff could manage, and several accounts placed privacy, calm and direct interaction ahead of automation. Respondents also discussed readiness in terms of user ability, cooperation between organisations and continued planning; network availability was only one component. We describe this position as selective digitalisation. The term refers to choosing technology for an identified service task while limiting it where it adds work or disturbs the experience. The Langkawi case indicates that an island destination can be digitally prepared without making technology continually visible to the tourist. It also links smart-tourism research with work on digital disconnection by showing how connection and restraint can occur at different stages of the same trip.
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