Summary:
This study deals with the major issue of people with disabilities facing accessibility barriers to the tourism market, focusing mainly on the hotel sector in Greece. While the current global market situation has improved over the last few years, most of the tourist providers in Greece are behind global standards and they are not taking advantage effectively or even at all the significant market of people with disabilities. Taking commercial advantage of this market, in addition to increased profitability, can boost quality indicators, raise social awareness and provide a competitive edge at a global level.
Initially we introduce a theoretical overview of the basic concepts of disability, accessibility and accessibility in tourism, reporting the size of the market for accessible tourism and its economic value worldwide. In addition, we present the perceptions of people with disabilities regarding accessible tourism as well as the views in the wider tourism industry.
Based on the above, we decided to carry out a detailed survey analyzing demand in accessible services and infrastructures in Greece. We used a sample of 105 people with disabilities, who are members of Pan-Hellenic or local associations for the disabled. The main questions of the survey cover the importance of certain prerequisites that influence the choice of travel destination, the importance of accessible hotel infrastructure, whether the provision of accessible services or assistance encourages people with disabilities to travel again, whether they are willing to pay additional charges for accessible services, or choosing a more expensive hotel thinking it will be more accessible, the satisfaction levels regarding accommodation accessibility, the likelihood of returning to the same destination and finally their views on various issues concerning accessibility in Greece. These questions have been examined in conjunction with demographics in order to correlate gender, age, marital status, monthly income and type of disability with choosing the appropriate answer. It should be stressed that the questionnaires replied were self-referencing questionnaires and that sample collection lasted from 9 November to 5 December 2017.
The main conclusions drawn from this study are as follows:
• Personalized services are of the utmost importance when it comes to customers with disabilities. The hotel industry must provide the appropriate infrastructure and qualified staff, paying particular
attention to visually impaired people as they present a completely different behavior than those with mobility problems.
• High-income disabled people are more likely to look for accessible accommodation. They are willing to invest in new accessible travel experiences and if accessible services or accessible hotels are available, they would definitely pay more for them. On the contrary, their view of accessibility in Greece is negative, describing it as an almost inhospitable country for people with disabilities that obstructs them from making their wishes come true.
• Participants, based only on their type of disability, consider that the main shortcomings of the tourism industry in Greece are the lack of or misleading information provided by hotels regarding accessible rooms or services, the misapplication and false operation of accessible infrastructures and services, combined with poorly trained and unskilled staff, while strict rules and policies applied by hotels put barriers to accessibility for all.
The key conclusion of this study is that Greek society as a whole is not aware of how to serve tourists with disabilities. This should be a cause for concern amongst government officials and all tourism players, and implementing policies that lift barriers and encourage tourism for all should be a high priority.
Keywords: Accessibility, People with Disabilities, Tourism, Hotel Industry, Gender, Marital Status, Age Group, Monthly Income.
Keywords:
Accessibility, People with Disabilities, Tourism, Hotel Industry, Gender, Marital Status, Age Group, Monthly Income.
