Inherent complexity: Disability, accessible tourism and accommodation information preferences

Studies have identified constraints with the way that accessible accommodation information is documented and marketed. Yet, no research has investigated the criteria that people with disabilities determine as ‘important’ to selecting accommodation and their preference for presenting this information. This paper presents the results of a survey (n = 566) to determine the relative importance of room selection criteria through the development of a 55-item Hotel Accessibility Scale. Four information formats were then presented to ascertain the preferences of the respondents. The results suggest that while sociodemographic variables offered some insight into criteria selection, the most significant explanation for criteria selection and information preferences were the dimensions of disability and level of support needs. The preferred format of accessible accommodation information provision was based on a combination of textual, floorplan and digital photography. The management implications suggest that detailed information provision using this format has benefits for accommodation stock yield and social sustainability.

[1]  P. Chisnall Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method , 2007, Journal of Advertising Research.

[2]  G. Shaw Disability legislation and the empowerment of tourists with disabilities in the United Kingdom , 2006 .

[3]  Simon Darcy,et al.  Marginalised participation: physical disability, high support needs and tourism , 2002 .

[4]  R. J. Callan,et al.  Attributional Analysis of Customers' Hotel Selection Criteria by U.K. Grading Scheme Categories , 1998 .

[5]  A. J. Veal Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide , 1997 .

[6]  M. Murray,et al.  The disabled traveller: tourism and disability in Australia. , 1990 .

[7]  Russell Williams,et al.  Meeting the on‐line needs of disabled tourists: an assessment of UK‐based hotel websites , 2006 .

[8]  Patrick T.I. Lam,et al.  Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: perceptions of people with disabilities. , 2003 .

[9]  Bob McKercher,et al.  Understanding the complex interplay between tourism, disability and environmental contexts , 2007, Disability and rehabilitation.

[10]  T. Dixon,et al.  Heritage property, tourism and the UK Disability Discrimination Act , 2004 .

[11]  S. Cole,et al.  Accessibility and attitudinal barriers encountered by Chinese travellers with physical disabilities , 2007 .

[12]  G. Chard International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health , 2004 .

[13]  O. Husain UICC Technical Report Series , 1980 .

[14]  T. E. Muller,et al.  The Socially Aware Baby Boomer: Gaining a Lifestyle-Based Understanding of the New Wave of Ecotourists , 2002 .

[15]  N. Watson,et al.  The social model of disability: An outdated ideology? , 2001 .

[16]  Aliza Fleischer,et al.  Tourism constraints among Israeli seniors. , 2002 .

[17]  Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque,et al.  The role of expectations in the consumer satisfaction formation process: Empirical evidence in the travel agency sector , 2006 .

[18]  Hein Ruys,et al.  Profiling the Senior Traveler: An Australian Perspective , 2002 .

[19]  M. O'Neill,et al.  Disability Tourism Dollars in Western Australia Hotels , 2000 .

[20]  Carol P Harvey,et al.  Understanding and Managing Diversity: Readings, Cases, and Exercises , 2001 .

[21]  J. J. Burnett,et al.  Assessing the Travel-Related Behaviors of the Mobility-Disabled Consumer , 2001 .

[22]  J. Horne Benchmark Games: the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games , 2009 .

[23]  Julie Pallant,et al.  SPSS survival manual : a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS for Windows , 2001, Behaviour Change.

[24]  T. Coles,et al.  Tourism, Power and Space , 2006 .

[25]  B. Mckercher,et al.  TRAVELING WITH A DISABILITY More than an Access Issue , 2004 .

[26]  Ling-Feng Hsieh,et al.  A service quality measurement architecture for hot spring hotels in Taiwan , 2008 .

[27]  M. Thyne,et al.  An investigation into customer satisfaction levels in the budget accommodation sector in Scotland: a case study of backpacker tourists and the Scottish Youth Hostels Association , 2006 .

[28]  Simon Darcy,et al.  A Whole-of-Life Approach to Tourism: The Case for Accessible Tourism Experiences , 2009 .

[29]  T. E. Muller,et al.  Targeting the CANZUS baby boomer explorer and adventurer segments , 2000 .

[30]  W. DeSarbo,et al.  Response Determinants in Satisfaction Judgments , 1988 .

[31]  Shane Pegg,et al.  Travelers and tourists with disabilities: a matter of priorities and loyalties. , 2005 .

[32]  T. Coles,et al.  Disability, holiday making and the tourism industry in the UK: a preliminary survey , 2004 .

[33]  Charletta F. Gutierrez,et al.  Disability-Accessibility of Airlines' Web Sites for US Reservations Online , 2005 .

[34]  C. Aitchison Exclusive discourses: leisure studies and disability , 2009 .

[35]  Chris Sidoti,et al.  Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission , 2000 .

[36]  J. Gnoth Tourism motivation and expectation formation , 1997 .

[37]  Margaret J. Daniels,et al.  “Travel Tales”: an interpretive analysis of constraints and negotiations to pleasure travel as experienced by persons with physical disabilities , 2005 .

[38]  W. Kim,et al.  Evaluation of Hotels to Accommodate Disabled Visitors , 2005 .

[39]  Aviad A. Israeli,et al.  A Preliminary Investigation of the Importance of Site Accessibility Factors for Disabled Tourists , 2002 .

[40]  C. Guilding,et al.  Eco-resorts vs. mainstream accommodation providers: an investigation of the viability of benchmarking environmental performance , 2005 .

[41]  B. Prideaux,et al.  Implications of population ageing for the development of tourism products and destinations , 2009 .

[42]  Simon Darcy,et al.  PERSONAL AND SOCIETAL ATTITUDES TO DISABILITY , 2005 .

[43]  Graham Miller,et al.  The Disability Discrimination Act: Time for the Stick? , 2002 .

[44]  Simon Darcy,et al.  Disability citizenship: an Australian human rights analysis of the cultural industries , 2009 .

[45]  S. Darcy Setting a research agenda for accessible tourism. , 2006 .

[46]  K. Depauw,et al.  Disability and Sport , 1995 .

[47]  Shu Tian Cole,et al.  Accessibility and attitudinal barriers encountered by travelers with physical disabilities. , 2005 .

[48]  Eleni Michopoulou,et al.  Enabling access to tourism through information schemes , 2008 .