Microdosing Tourism
What if you could microdose a holiday?
Meet the Griffith University PhD researcher exploring the impact of a 10-minute virtual escape on workplace wellbeing.
Imagine walking through a World Heritage-listed forest you’ve always wanted to visit, or lying on a beach in your dream island getaway. Then, 10 minutes later, you take off your headset and jump back into your next report.
Hard to imagine? It sure beats another green tea, right? This could be part of our future reality.
Emerging Griffith Institute for Tourism researcher Minh Nhan is exploring if short, immersive virtual tourism experiences can bring the restorative benefits of travel into our everyday working lives.
A regular dose of travel, without leaving your desk
Short bursts of virtual travel in the workplace has potential wellbeing benefits, currently being explored by Minh Nhan
A love of travel and a fascination with VR led Griffith PhD student Minh Nhan to his thesis research on this intriguing concept - virtual tourism microdosing.
“Travel has a unique way of helping us recharge, learn new things and come back feeling different.” - Minh Nhan
For Minh, the question was, rather than using virtual reality for a long, one-off experience, what if short, immersive virtual tourism experiences could give people regular opportunities to switch off, recharge and reconnect with nature?
“What if we could bring some of those positive experiences to people who can't travel frequently due to time, money, or other constraints? That curiosity led me to my research.”
It is a twist on the usual virtual tourism story - and one that could have implications well beyond tourism.
Could tourism become part of workplace wellbeing?
The research is still underway, so evidence of impact is emerging rather than fully established. But Minh sees potential. He hopes to better understand how virtual tourism can be designed and applied as a workplace wellbeing approach.
“It creates opportunities for the tourism industry to position and develop virtual tourism as a wellbeing focused product.” - Minh Nhan
Minh is examining this using a range of research approaches and methods. His research explores full-time workers' experiences and wellbeing as they engage with a series of immersive virtual reality tourism experiences over time. He notes, even small changes could matter.
“Since work is such a central part of our lives, even small improvements in how people feel at work could have a real impact on individuals, organisations and society.” - Minh Nhan
Why call it microdosing?
Short bursts of virtual tourism, experienced regularly at work, to support wellbeing.
The concept offers a different way to think about virtual tourism - not necessarily as a replacement for physical travel, but as a potential complement to everyday wellbeing.
It’s a low-barrier, non-pharmacological approach to bringing the well-being benefits of tourism into daily life, while also helping to reduce common challenges associated with VR experiences, such as cybersickness.
For Minh, the research contributes to a broader conversation about tourism, quality of life and wellbeing - particularly for people who have limited time, resources or ability to travel regularly.
It connects tourism with the health and wellbeing paradigm, while exploring what emerging technology might make possible.
“What excites me is that this is still a relatively new area, with many opportunities to work closely with industry to explore new applications.” PhD researcher Minh Nhan.
Meet Minh Nhan
Griffith University Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Carolyn Evans with Minh Nhan, who placed in a recent PhD Thesis presentation final.
When Minh first experienced VR, he was struck by its ability to create a powerful emotional response.
“I was surprised by how immersive it felt, how real and how something digital could create such a strong emotional response.” - PhD Researcher Minh Nhan
Minh grew up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, before moving to Australia to study at Griffith University. After completing a Bachelor of International Tourism and Hotel Management, followed by a Bachelor of Business (Honours), his interest in tourism, wellbeing and virtual reality began to take shape.
His honours research provided the starting point, and his PhD has taken the idea further - developing virtual tourism microdosing and exploring where it could lead.
Minh is undertaking his PhD in the Department of Tourism and Marketing at Griffith University under the supervision of Associate Professor Anna Kralj and Professor Brent Moyle - members of the Griffith Institute for Tourism - and Associate Professor Sebastian Filep as an external supervisor.
View Minh’s virtual tourism microdosing article here.
Collaborate with us
Curiosity starts with questions.
Minh is just one example of the curious, boundary-pushing research being explored by Griffith Institute for Tourism’s emerging researchers.
Are you interested in partnering with us to bring to life a new or existing concept?
We offer a range of services and collaboration opportunities, utilising the expertise of our research team.
View on our Griffith Institute for Tourism website
Griffith Institute for Tourism is part of the Griffith Business School, Griffith University.
We work with a range of government bodies and organisations to explore the evolving tourism industry.
Connect with our team on LinkedIn
Minh Nhan, PhD Candidate, Department of Tourism and Marketing, Griffith University (minh.nhan@griffithuni.edu.au)
Professor Sarah Gardiner, Director, Griffith Institute for Tourism
Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney, Deputy Director, Griffith Institute for Tourism
Daniel Gschwind, Professor of Practice, Griffith Institute for Tourism
Contact us now via our Research Support Officer, Sophia Wang gift@griffith.edu.au