Dementia, Travel, and Tourism: A Scoping Review

TL;DR

This review explores the challenges and opportunities for people with dementia and their carers in travel and tourism, highlighting a need for more dementia-friendly environments.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive synthesis of existing literature on dementia and tourism, identifying gaps in knowledge and support.

Findings

Barriers to travel for people with dementia include limited knowledge and financial constraints among tourism businesses.

Most studies focus on local travel, with a lack of research on national or international tourism experiences.

Tourism sites are often willing to adapt but face financial barriers to becoming dementia-friendly.

Abstract

Background: Little is known about travelling and tourism for people living with or caring for someone with dementia. The aim of this scoping review was to synthesise the existing evidence on dementia, travel and tourism, the experiences of people with dementia and their carers, and how venues and businesses are dementia friendly. Methods: The review protocol was prospectively registered on PROSPERO [ID: CRD42023397637]. Four databases were searched for relevant literature in February 2024. Studies were included if they were published in English, Danish, or German, without any restrictions on publication date. Titles and abstracts, and full texts, were reviewed by two different research team members, and any disagreements were resolved in discussion with the wider team. Results: From 1,523 screened records, 13 papers were included. Evidence showed wide-ranging barriers for people with dementia and their carers to travel, often limiting the travel to local well-known places with adequate facilities or decisions on whether to travel solo as a carer. Seven studies focused on attitudes of businesses and tourist attractions and their implementations of dementia-friendliness. There was a notable lack of knowledge about dementia, and whilst most sites were willing to adapt existing attractions to include people with dementia, a lack of financial resources was the main barrier consistently referred to. Conclusion: Little remains known about the experiences of people living with dementia and their carers surrounding tourism and local, national, and international travel, and how different tourism organisations provide dementia-friendly support. With a focus on supporting people with dementia to remain as independent as possible, research needs to explore the population’s experiences, and how tourism destinations and modes of travel and transport could improve to be dementia-friendly and inclusive.

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