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Kamyabi, M.; Alipour, H. Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22617 (accessed on 17 May 2024).
Kamyabi M, Alipour H. Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22617. Accessed May 17, 2024.
Kamyabi, Marjan, Habib Alipour. "Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22617 (accessed May 17, 2024).
Kamyabi, M., & Alipour, H. (2022, May 05). Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22617
Kamyabi, Marjan and Habib Alipour. "Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population." Encyclopedia. Web. 05 May, 2022.
Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su14084702

Despite the destination’s great potential in terms of attractions and recreational facilities, there are measurable deficits in accessible tourism. If tourism operators want to take advantage of the rising tide of accessible tourism to attract more tourists and have a competitive advantage in this growing niche market, they should improve infrastructure facilities to meet the needs of disabled tourists.

tourism disability accessibility accessible tourism

1. Introduction

Travel and tourism are considered basic human rights that can improve the quality of life and create better living conditions for all people [1][2]. The U.K. Disability Discrimination Act defines a person living with a disability as follows: “A person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially and permanently affects his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” [3].
Accessible tourism (hereafter ‘AT’) is a growing and thriving niche market worldwide that is accessible to all people regardless of disability, including people with mobility, hearing, vision, cognitive, or mental impairments; older people; and those with temporary disabilities. The scope of accessibility encompasses public and private tourist sites, facilities, transportation, services venues, and public spaces in urban and rural areas [3][4][5]. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) report that more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, and it is expected that by 2050, there will be 940 million people living with a disability in cities [6]. Researchers aim to examine the challenges and opportunities of accessible tourism for people with disabilities (hereafter ‘PWD’) in the case of North Cyprus, which is highly dependent on tourism. In addition, it is important to recognize the type of disability because each form demands specific needs. Researchers examine people with mainly physical disabilities. The first explores the concepts and issues underlying AT, focusing on disability and the dimensions of accessible tourism in North Cyprus and similar destinations. Second, recognizing that the strategic provision of the necessary infrastructure, facilities, products and services is the right approach to exploit this market and uphold the rights of travellers with disabilities, researchers suggest that achieving this goal requires that destination development and urban planning policies be merged, so that the needs of PWD can be embedded in common policies at the local, regional, and national levels [7]. However, the main problem is that despite rhetoric to promote and develop AT, the participation and involvement of PWD in AT policies and tourism activities are very limited. Researchers aim to address this issue by investigating the views of PWD and exploring the factors that impede the realization of AT in the case of North Cyprus. Researchers assumes that destinations that do not provide accessible tourism facilities fail to do so for two reasons. First, they do not provide facilities for their own people with disabilities. Second, they do not respect the rights of persons with disabilities. Therefore, they fail to take advantage of this niche market. Furthermore, these failures contradict the ethos of sustainable tourism, as accessible tourism should be “part of the social, environmental and economic requirements of the triple bottom line (TBL) accounting that is so central to the implementation of sustainable tourism” [8].

2. Destinations and Accessible Tourism

Under the umbrella of inclusive tourism (i.e., an ideal that aspires to equal access and inclusion for all [9]), two aspects must be considered: first, the cooperation among stakeholders to facilitate AT, and second, the different forms of disability and their specific needs when planning for this market. In this regard, Nyanjom et al. (2018, p. 676) argue that “inclusive tourism goes beyond access issues and defines the term as an ideal that includes the participation of all stakeholder groups, including PWD, in policy, planning and governance of the development of accessible tourism” [9].
In the context of the tourism industry, PWD are a market to reckon with and require a different approach in terms of needs and desires. For persons with disabilities, travelling can be a challenge; however, this challenge is not only a burden for disabled travellers but also a daunting responsibility for the destinations. Tourist destinations have not invested in AT because it poses a challenge to both the public and private sectors in terms of physical, social, and environmental capitalisation. It has also been overlooked in the context of sustainable tourism. For tourism destinations to become attractive locations for disabled people, there is a need for a new strategy and commitment, which has been ignored. Hansen et al. (2021, p. 2) state that:
“Tourism stakeholders fail to provide accessible services to people with disabilities through an apparent lack of education and awareness. Seemingly, by being wheelchair accessible, destinations assume they are accessible to all disabilities, when in fact this is a particularly complex demographic. However, this issue runs deeper in society with architects, designers and planners tending to reduce disability to medical and stereotypical notions, thereby disregarding the diversity and complexity of disability” [10].
Facilitating accessibility for the local disabled population and tourists (domestic and international) is a highly complex task. It is logical for destinations to focus on both segments. Wiesel et al. (2019, p. 2) assert that “the needs of disabled people (i.e., tourists and residents) is likely to create new urban geographies, especially in the complex, fast evolving metropolitan regions, which bear serious scholarly consideration” [11]. In the end, destinations need to fulfil the needs of the domestic disabled population and foreign tourists. Destinations should implement normative principles inspired by the human rights of disabled people, take advantage of this appreciable market, and diversify the tourism sector.

3. People with Disabilities

The concept of accessible tourism focuses on people with disabilities, regardless of the type of disability, as long as the challenge of access diminishes the quality of the travelling experience [12]. The main challenge is how destinations can achieve the same quality experience for PWD, on par with non-disabled tourists. Darcy and Buhalis (2010, p. 816) argue, “It has been noted that tourism experiences for PWD are more than access issues. Yet, for PWD a foundation of any tourism experience is having accessible destinations and locating appropriate accommodation from which to base oneself while travelling” [13]. In addition, according to Yau (2004) and Akinci (2013), “it is a fundamental right for people with disabilities to use tourist services equally, hygienically, comfortably, honorably and actively”. They believe that “accessible tourism is not a process of assimilation, but a process of integration and that government should approach this process efficiently in order to benefit from this particular market“. They reiterated that “efforts must be made at the local, national, and global levels to remove the barriers (e.g., physical, behavioral, social, and environmental) that limit people with disabilities. The tourism sector need to embrace this from of tourism to fulfill the human rights of PWD and benefit economically.” [14][15][16].
The major part of the literature on accessible tourism has focused on the economic dimension [3][15][17]. However, a holistic approach to the needs and concerns of the local disabled population, with implications for tourists with disabilities, has not been developed in a comprehensive manner [9].
Thus, several gaps remain to be addressed regarding this topic. The main gap concerning AT in North Cyprus and similar destinations, including developing countries, is the lack of a measurement tool to assess the constraints and limitations of information; such a tool could be calibrated to the factors that influence PWD to clarify obstacles to travelling and accessing tourist attractions. Filling this gap may become a pathway in the case of North Cyprus and similar destinations. The second gap, which is not less important than the main gap, is the lack of case-specific and adequate infrastructure to serve the needs of disabled tourists [18][19]. On the other hand, innovating infrastructure and technology with a situational focus may increase the likelihood of better results and greater benefits for PWD. The third gap is cultural and attitudinal and is manifested in an overall apathetic attitude and the complacency of tourism operators and policy makers toward PWD [20][21].
Destinations need to take the first step towards eradicating access disparities between individuals with disabilities and their non-disabled counterparts. This is not only an ethical responsibility; it is also the right approach to obtain a business dividend from this niche market. 

References

  1. Skarstad, K. Human rights through the lens of disability. Neth. Q. Hum. Rights 2018, 36, 24–42.
  2. UNWTO Briefing Note—Tourism and COVID-19, Issue 3. Understanding Domestic Tourism and Seizing Its Opportunities. 2020. Available online: https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/9789284422111 (accessed on 22 July 2021).
  3. Ozturk, Y.; Yayli, A.; Yesiltas, M. Is the Turkish tourism industry ready for a disabled customer’s market? The views of hotel and travel agency managers. Tour Manag. 2008, 29, 382–389.
  4. Domínguez Vila, T.; Darcy, S.; Alén González, E. Competing for the disability tourism market—A comparative exploration of the factors of accessible tourism competitiveness in Spain and Australia. Tour Manag. 2015, 47, 261–272.
  5. Patterson, I.; Darcy, S.; Mönninghoff, M. Attitudes and experiences of tourism operators in Northern Australia towards people with disabilities. World Leis. J. 2012, 54, 215–229.
  6. Black, L.-A.; Mcconkey, R.; Roberts, P.; Ferguson, P. Developing a person-centred support service for families caring for children with severe learning disabilities in rural and urban areas. J. Intellect. Disabil. 2010, 14, 111–131.
  7. Pineda, V.S.; Corburn, J. Disability, Urban Health Equity, and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Promoting Cities for All. J. Urban Health 2020, 97, 336–341.
  8. Azevedo, G.A.; Sampaio, R.R.; Filho, A.S.N.; Moret, M.A.; Murari, T.B. Sustainable urban mobility analysis for elderly and disabled people in São Paulo. Sci. Rep. 2021, 11, 791.
  9. Carneiro, M.J.; Crompton, J.L. The Influence of Involvement, Familiarity, and Constraints on the Search for Information about Destinations. J. Travel Res. 2009, 49, 451–470.
  10. Hudson, S.; Gilbert, D. Tourism constraints: The neglected dimension in consumer behaviour research. J. Travel Tour. Mark. 2000, 8, 69–78.
  11. Nyaupane, G.P.; Andereck, K.L. Understanding Travel Constraints: Application and Extension of a Leisure Constraints Model. J. Travel Res. 2007, 46, 433–439.
  12. Priporas, C.-V.; Vassiliadis, C.A.; Bellou, V.; Andronikidis, A. Exploring the Constraint Profile of Winter Sports Resort Tourist Segments. J. Travel Res. 2014, 54, 659–671.
  13. Nyanjom, J.; Boxall, K.; Slaven, J. Towards inclusive tourism? Stakeholder collaboration in the development of accessible tourism. Tour. Geogr. 2018, 20, 675–697.
  14. Yau, M.K.-S.; McKercher, B.; Packer, T.L. Traveling with a disability—More than an Access Issue. Ann. Tour. Res. 2004, 31, 946–960.
  15. Hansen, M.; Fyall, A.; Macpherson, R.; Horley, J. The role of occupational therapy in accessible tourism. Ann. Tour. Res. 2021, 90, 103145.
  16. Wiesel, I.; Whitzman, C.; Gleeson, B.; Bigby, C. The National Disability Insurance Scheme in an Urban Context: Opportunities and Challenges for Australian Cities. Urban Policy Res. 2017, 37, 1–12.
  17. Gillovic, B.; McIntosh, A. Accessibility and inclusive tourism development: Current state and future agenda. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9722.
  18. Darcy, S.; Buhalis, D. Introduction: From Disabled Tourists to Accessible Tourism. In Accessible Tourism; Channel View Publications: Bristol, UK, 2010; pp. 1–20.
  19. Akinci, Z. Management of accessible tourism and its market in Turkey. Int. J. Bus. Manag. Stud. 2013, 2, 413–426.
  20. Alén, E.; Domínguez, T.; Losada, N. New Opportunities for the Tourism Market: Senior Tourism and Accessible Tourism. In Visions for Global Tourism Industry: Creating and Sustaining Competitive Strategies; IntechOpen: London, UK, 2012; pp. 139–166.
  21. Bowtell, J. Assessing the value and market attractiveness of the accessible tourism industry in Europe: A focus on major travel and leisure companies. J. Tour. Futures 2015, 1, 203–222.
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Subjects: Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Marjan Kamyabi
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Habib Alipour
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Update Date: 06 May 2022
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