Peer-reviewed Journal Article (Systematic Literature Review).
https://ejtr.vumk.eu/index.php/about/article/view/2806?
After exploring Tourism and Neurodiversity: A Problematisation and Research Agenda (2023), I wanted to continue building my understanding of the relationship between travel and neurodiversity. While the previous paper highlighted that this area remains significantly under-researched, I wanted to explore the research that currently exists and the common themes already identified.
I chose this paper because it is a systematic literature review, meaning the authors analysed a wide range of existing studies rather than presenting findings from a single research project. I felt this would provide a broader overview of the current state of knowledge and help identify recurring barriers, opportunities and gaps within autism and tourism research.
One of the first things that stood out to me was how limited the existing body of research is. Although awareness of neurodiversity has increased considerably in recent years, the review suggests that relatively few studies have explored the experiences of autistic individuals within tourism and travel.
This reinforced something I had already begun to notice through my previous reading. Neurodiversity is becoming increasingly recognised across education, employment and healthcare, yet tourism appears to be developing much more slowly.
The paper also highlighted that many existing studies focus on children and family holidays rather than independent travel or autistic adults. This immediately made me wonder whether there is an opportunity to explore independence, navigation and solo travel in greater depth.
Travel environments present multiple barriers.
Throughout the review, a recurring theme was that travel often involves environments that can be difficult for autistic individuals to navigate.
Examples included: