Tech-Enabled Travel: Harnessing Innovation Diffusion and UTAUT to Empower Mobility-Impaired Tourists

Abstract

This study examines factors influencing the intention of tourists with mobility disabilities to adopt technological implants, introducing the concept of the impaired cyborg tourist. Grounded in Innovation Diffusion Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the research tests an integrated model incorporating subjective well-being. Data were collected from 221 mobility-impaired tourists via a scenario-based online survey and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results reveal that innovation attributes, autonomy, perceived convenience, and social inclusion, positively impact subjective well-being, which significantly predicts implant adoption intention. UTAUT constructs (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions) also significantly influence adoption intention. The study contributes theoretically by extending technology adoption frameworks into the emerging domain of implantable travel technologies and by integrating affective outcomes into user behavior models. Practically, it offers insights for developers, policymakers, and tourism providers aiming to enhance inclusive, tech-enabled tourism experiences.