Accessibility in Inclusive Tourism? Hotels Distributed through Online Channels

Abstract

There is a lack of comprehensive international studies on accommodations for people with disabilities; only small, local-level studies exist. This study aims to show the status of the tourist accommodation sector through the online distribution channel in terms of accessibility to offer more inclusive tourism. A descriptive analysis has been carried out with more than 31,000 hotels from the online travel agency Booking.com, in the 100 most touristic cities in the world. For the first time, an accurate picture of adaptation in the hotel sector for people with disabilities is presented. Results show that the adapted hotel infrastructures by countries are uneven. The main adaptations are those that help to avoid mobility barriers, and in contrast, hotels offer very few adaptations for sensory disabilities such as visual disabilities. Moreover, this study shows that, worldwide, countries with the highest income per capita, such as the United States of America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, have the highest degree of hotel adaptation.

Digital Inclusivity: Advancing Accessible Tourism via Sustainable E-Commerce and Marketing Strategies

“…Accommodating PwD can greatly benefit the tourism industry [33] in true business and social terms. This category of tourists typically chooses to travel during the off-peak season and shows a more consistent travel pattern compared to the general population [34]. Moreover, this particular segment of consumers possesses a remarkable sense of loyalty, which arises from the difficulty they encounter in finding destinations that meet their specific needs [34].…”

“…This category of tourists typically chooses to travel during the off-peak season and shows a more consistent travel pattern compared to the general population [34]. Moreover, this particular segment of consumers possesses a remarkable sense of loyalty, which arises from the difficulty they encounter in finding destinations that meet their specific needs [34]. Usually travelling in groups, they often make multiple trips to the destination and tend to spend more in certain regions [35].…”

The Readiness of Accommodation Facilities to Provide Accessible Tourist Experiences in Cairo, Egypt

“…Besides, PwDs are loyal travelers who often prefer to return to places where they find ease and comfort (Hossam et al, 2022). Moreover, they prefer low season traveling rather than seasonal travel, they travel mostly accompanied or in groups, and they tend to have high average of expenditures (Martin-Fuentes at al., 2021). In response to the significance of this market, Egypt has taken several steps towards incorporating accessible tourism in its tourism sustainable development strategy.…”

Tactile Tourism

“…This is not least related to the fact that many place-related attractions play an important role as symbols of the value of a place and for which touch is a central aspect of the experience. Previous tourism studies that have touched upon tactile experiences have primarily focused on the development of Virtual Reality in tourism (Cheong, 1995;Alyahya & McLean, 2021) and accessibility for persons with disabilities (Martin-Fuentes et al, 2021;Cerdan Chiscano et al, 2021). Here we can see a lack of tourism research regarding a more explicit focus on our other senses and their importance for creating satisfaction for tourists and attracting and drawing visitors to a specific place while they are travelling as tourists.…”