Accessible Tourism Concepts/Issues

Inclusion, disability, the ageing population and tourism are increasingly important areas of study due to their implications for both tourism demand and supply. This book therefore sets out to explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues in the study of accessible tourism. Accessible tourism is an evolving area of academic study and industry practice. As with other areas of tourism, the field is multidisciplinary, with influences from geography, disability studies, economics, public policy, psychology, social psychology, organisational management, postmodern cultural studies, marketing, architecture and medicine, to name a few.

In drawing together the 19 chapters and 25 contributors to this volume the editors have woven a broader social constructionist approach to understanding the dimensions of the accessible tourism phenomena. The rationale for this is a belief that disability is a social construct, which is characterised by varying cultural responses over different time periods. Within the tourism field, tourists with disabilities have a variety of motivations, desired experiences and support requirements. The heterogeneous nature of tourists with disabilities means that if managers are to pursue an enabling, inclusive approach to the provision of tourism products and services, they must approach tourists with disabilities in the same way that they would approach any other consumer group. They should be aware of the group characteristics through understanding the socially constructed nature of the accessible tourism phenomena, but tailor the individual’s experiences by discussing their needs directly with them.

This chapter therefore presents an introduction to the book by examining the key concepts underlying the chapters to be presented. These concepts include:

• Defining tourism and the tourism system.

• Human rights.

• Social model, disability and embodiment.

• Disability/ageing nexus.

• Market segment.

• Enabling environments.

• Universal design.

• Defining accessible tourism.