Accessibility and attitudinal barriers encountered by Chinese travellers with physical disabilities

Abstract

The China travel industry is growing rapidly and is expected to grow even more in the next 15 years. Another segment of the population that is increasing is individuals with physical disabilities. China has enacted several laws to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities and to make travel more accessible. Although individuals with physical disabilities travel less than those without disabilities, the potential market is expanding. If travellers with physical disabilities encounter few barriers during their travels, they may travel even more in the future. This study examined four tourism industry sectors in China in terms of the accessibility and attitudinal barriers that participants with physical disabilities encountered. The four sectors were transportation, accommodations, eating-drinking establishments and attractions. Furthermore, comparisons were conducted on the participants' functioning level, income and types of mobility assistive devices they used. Results suggested that participants' functioning level was an appropriate indicator of the amount of barriers they encountered while travelling. Conversely, the amount of barriers encountered by the participants was not predicated by their income or the type of devices they used.

Tourism constraints for Spanish tourists with disabilities: Scale development and validation

“…The participants of this study perceive the attitudes of tourists with disabilities, or the attitudes of tourism staff and other tourists towards them differently to the socio-spatial constraints. Attitudinal barriers have also been treated as a separate factor in the previous literature (Bi et al, 2007). This is not surprising because attitudes are related to mental states or dispositions, while socio-spatial constraints tend to be related to the destinations' characteristics.…”

“…Although studies on disabilities and tourism generally centre on people with physical disabilities (Burnett and Baker, 2001;Daniels et al, 2005;Bi et al, 2007;Blichfeldt and Nicolaisen, 2011;Hua et al, 2013), other studies focus on sensory impairment (Poria et al, 2009;Yau et al, 2004). Daniels et al (2005) analysed travel constraints and the negotiation strategies of people with physical disabilities, while Hua et al (2013) identified constraints that this sub-segment must face when experiencing sport tourism.…”

“…As a result, the accessible tourism market segment is growing rapidly, in fact more than other market segments. However, few studies focus on this potential market segment and disabilities are often neglected within tourism research (Bi et al, 2007;Daniels et al, 2005;Darcy et al, 2010).…”

“…Travel constraints are factors that can inhibit or influence travel satisfaction, motivation, and needs. Although constraints were traditionally studied within a leisure context and became a growing research area in the 1990s (McGuire, 1984;Jackson, 1988;Hawkins et al;1999;Jackson et al, 1993;Crawford et al, 1991;Samdahl and Jekubovich, 1997), they have only recently begun to be addressed within tourism studies (Bi et al, 2007;Blichfeldt and Nicolaisen, 2011;Daniels et al, 2005;Lee et al, 2012).…”

“…The concept of constraints has gained increasing attention in studies on tourism and people with disabilities (Lee et al, 2012;Bi et al, 2007;Burns et al, 2009;Daniels et al, 2005;Figueiredo et al, 2012), since identifying and surmounting such constraints is essential to ensure equal tourism opportunities. However, few studies aim at developing measurement scales (Hung and Petrick, 2010) and none of these scales has yet addressed the market for people with disabilities.…”