French versus Canadian Tourism: Response to the Disabled

Both France and Canada rank as highly developed tourist destinations. This study compares the underexplored area of the needs of tourists who are disabled in France (n = 25) and Canada (n = 24). The authors examine Canada’s and France’s accommodation to both domestic and international tourists who have disabilities, giving the study a unique perspective in comparing and contrasting results to the same questions across similar populations in two countries. The results indicate that neither country’s tourism industry has developed an effective policy to accommodate tourists who have disabilities indicated by significant barriers existing that exclude segments of the disabled population. This article takes the words of those with disabilities to recommend steps necessary to improve the tourism opportunities with this population.

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