The Satisfaction Study of People with Disabilities Regarding the Restaurant with Barrier-Free Environment in Taiwan Tourism Area

Abstract

The number of people with disabilities (PWDs) is expected to increase over years due to the increase of human lifespan and accidents. However, the PWDs as a result of some social factors, such as environment inaccessibility, insufficient job opportunity, inadequate education aids, etc. are excluded from participating their leisure activities or dining out in the society. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the design of barrier-free environment of restaurants in Taiwan famous tourism areas via the restaurant customer satisfaction of PWDs regarding the barrier-free facility and service quality. The results show that the qualified percentage of barrier-free physical environment design is only 44%, and PWDs are not satisfied with the barrier-free physical environment including the space allotted in parking lots, restroom accessibility for PWDs, as well as the slipperiness of floors. The regression analysis shows the barrier-free physical environment and service quality aspect with respect to post-purchase intentions reach statistical significance indicating the environment design for the PWDs is critical to the restaurant management especially in a tourism area.