The Hidden Side of Travel: Epilepsy and Tourism

McIntosh, A

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2019.102856

McIntosh, A

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Permanent link

http://hdl.handle.net/10292/14442

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Abstract

Previous tourism research has examined the barriers and travel experiences of people with physical/mobility and sensory impairments. This paper advances tourism knowledge by revealing the travel experiences of people with the invisible and stigmatising condition of epilepsy. The study employed a phenomenological approach to explore whether, and how, the hidden neurological condition affects the travel experience. Analysis of the data revealed three main themes relating to the experience of travel for individuals with epilepsy: seizure episodes; invisibility of the condition; and managing anxiety. The paper illuminates the hidden side of travel for people with epilepsy and its social stigma, and problematises the socially constructed nature of travel as mostly visible, an escape from normality, independent and authentic.

Keywords

Accessible tourism; Epilepsy; Seizures; Invisible disability

Date

December 29, 2019

Source

Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 81, March 2020, 102856

Item Type

Journal Article

Publisher

Elsevier Masson

DOI

10.1016/j.annals.2019.102856

Publisher's Version

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160738319302130

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in (see Citation). Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. The definitive version was published in (see Citation). The original publication is available at (see Publisher's Version).