An Investigation of the Challenges Faced by the Disabled Population and the Implications for Accessible Tourism: Evidence from a Mediterranean Destination

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the challenges and deficits faced by people with disabilities and the implications for the development of accessible tourism in the case of North Cyprus. Although this destination market represents a significant portion of tourism in the Mediterranean, it is still poorly understood. In this study, 250 questionnaires were distributed to people with disabilities. Linear regressions, ANOVA, and t-tests were used for data analysis. The results show that 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. In particular, this includes providing information for disabled tourists, improving the existing inadequate access to various venues, equipping transportation modes and refreshment facilities for the disabled population, and ensuring adequate access to public places. Last but not least, a cultural orientation approach that educates residents to respect and accept the rights of the disabled population must be adopted. This study provides insights into the needs of people with disabilities and formulates guidelines for adapting and developing this market for destinations that depend on tourism.

For Accessible Tourism Experience: Exploring The Blog Sphere of People with Disabilities

“…Travel constraints have always been a part of tourism studies, but recently they have become a more concrete concept with potential applications for studying the requirements of PwDs (Kamyabi & Alipour, 2022). However, the travel constraints studies attained a significant level of theoretical sophistication.…”

“…The term accessible tourism has recently been transformed to the term "inclusive tourism" which is defined by Scheyvens and Biddulph (2018) as "transformative tourism in which marginalized groups are engaged in ethical production or consumption of tourism and the sharing of its benefits". Destinations should enhance the concept of accessible tourism, remove all the barriers that face people with disabilities, and offer a high-quality tourist experience (Kamyabi & Alipour, 2022). Tourism experiences are considered happy memories that are made immediately after the trip (Kim, 2018).…”

Critical Elements of Disability Models as Determinants of Travel Intention of People With Disabilities Towards Natural and Cultural Destinations

“…A social perspective of disability was first developed in the 1960s and 1970s by disability rights activists; however, Mike Oliver introduced the concept of the social model of disability in the early 1980s (Lawson and Beckett, 2021), since then, it has been considered as a theoretical framework that emerged as a response to the dominant medical model of disability (Kamyabi and Alipour, 2022). Importantly, the social model of disability has offered a paradigm shift in understanding disability by recognizing the influence of environmental and social drivers in creating barriers and exclusionary practices that constrain the participation and full inclusion of PWDS in various aspects of their life, including education, employment, health care, transportation, social interactions, leisure, travel and tourism.…”

“…Across the travel and tourism sector as well as other social life activities, this model highlights the need for severe societal changes to remove these barriers (Shen et al, 2023). Thus, recent research in the travel and tourism field that has applied some dimensions of the social model of disability has helped improve our understanding of disability by identifying critical elements that hinder the provision of equal opportunities, participation, inclusion and rights for disabled individuals (Zajadacz, 2015, Kamyabi andAlipour, 2022). Some of these barriers and exclusionary practices discussed in existing literature are: socio-economic and demographic variables, accessibility and mobility, accessibility and transportation, accessibility and information, tourism products and services, discrimination and travel motivation and intentions.…”

“…As a consequence of this increasing interest, a large number of studies from demand and supply approaches have been conducted to better understand and address the needs and preferences as well as the key barriers and challenges regularly faced by PWDS in the travel and tourism-related activities (Aguilar-Carrasco et al, 2023;Darcy et al, 2020;Wall-Reinius et al, 2023). Thus, valuable findings from previous studies have promoted improvements in critical elements such as information, promotion of accessible tourism destinations, transportation, infrastructure, training for tourism-related human resources, accommodation, accessible tourist attractions, accessible services and products, and marketing strategies (Kamyabi and Alipour, 2022;Lee et al, 2012;McKercher and Darcy, 2018;Prasongthan, 2018), mainly in developed countries.…”