Introduction

More than just a modern-day burgeoning industry, tourism has, through the ages, remained an important social and cultural phenomenon. Generally, tourism is seen as involving temporary displacement from one’s normal environment, usually for leisure purposes and has a capacity to impact or influence the character of all those involved (Leiper, 2003). While the range of motivations for and the potential benefits of leaving one’s normal environment to experience tourism may be the same for tourists with or without disabilities, such a voluntary ‘displacement’ from their normal environment for those with reduced mobility might be quite different from the experience of non-disabled tourists, with potential constraints or barriers to participation affecting them disproportionately. As outlined in the introduction to the book, it is the socially constructed tourism environment that can turn a person’s impairment into a disabling environment and hostile social attitudes. People with reduced mobility often encounter architectural, transportation, attitudinal or other kinds of constraints or barriers (Daniels et al., 2005; Darcy, 1998; Smith, 1987; Turco et al., 1998). As such, it is not surprising that the impact of any displacement within the tourism experiences may be amplified in relation to the type and degree of reduced mobility.

During a programme of doctoral research, the tourism experiences of 16 people with reduced mobility were examined. The primary focus was on the significance or meaning that they attached to their personal experience of leisure tourism with its potential benefits and constraints, real or perceived, and whether physical, psychological, cognitive, economic, social or structural in nature. Although this research revolved around the experiences of residents of Quebec, Canada it should be possible to apply the findings to other provinces or countries as well as to sectors of the population with other types of disabilities. It would also become applicable for an ever-increasing number of people who might experience reduced abilities as the general population continues to age.