Accessible tourism - current state in Slovakia

Abstract

The number of people with disabilities in the world is growing every year. When traveling, they encounter various barriers. The article focuses on Slovakia, a country in which accessible tourism has not yet been examined. It is the result of extensive research carried out in the years 2016 to 2020. The scientific goal of the article is to examine the tourism demand and the degree of adjustment of the tourism supply for visitors with physical disabilities in Slovakia and to find out the connection between the accessibility of the tourism facilities and the destinations attendance. Article emphasizes the need to improve the country's accessibility in tourism for visitors with disabilities. Research is based on the theoretical research methods, exploratory statistics, and correlation analysis to evaluate the accessibility of the supply in all self-governing regions in Slovakia. It analyzes the demand of the visitors with disabilities based on the results of a qualitative survey carried out by the method of sociological questioning using the standardized interview technique with the representatives of associations for people with disabilities (19). The results of the research show that people with disabilities want to travel and urge the lack of accessibility of tourism attractions and facilities and on the various types of barriers. The research sample consists of 11,281 tourism supply facilities in Slovakia. The results of the research points to an insufficient rate of accessibility of the country (19.7%) * This research was supported by the grant project VEGA 1/0368/20 -Sharing economy -an opportunity for sustainable and competitive development of tourism in destinations in Slovakia.

Analysis of the Accessibility Improvement Index in Urban Areas through Heritage Buildings Used as Museums—Case Studies in the Region of Murcia (Spain)

“…Our findings align with the rising interest in accessible tourism [79], emphasising how accommodating the needs of the People with Disabilities (PwD) community can lead to significant economic benefits. Therefore, this study aligns with previous ones [76,80,[84][85][86] as a tool to promote accessible tourism.…”

“…enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments" [79]. Its relevance is evident in studies on accessibility in various tourism resources, such as hotels [80,81], commercial and leisure environments [82,83], or museums and monuments [64,76,79,[84][85][86]. Countries where a large percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from tourism could increase their economy through accessible tourism by developing initiatives such as the MEDRA Project [86].…”

An Evaluation Tool for Physical Accessibility of Cultural Heritage Buildings

“…Accessible tourism thus emerges from what several authors call the economic model of disability [1,2]. Recent studies highlight the interest in accessibility in tourism [36,[54][55][56][57][58].…”