Assessing the Travel-Related Behaviors of the Mobility-Disabled Consumer

Abstract

Few consumer groups have greater potential and are more ignored than the disabled. Consisting of 50 million individuals in the United States, with discretionary income of over $200 billion, this largest of all minority groups has been viewed by many tourist businesses as a source of confusion, requiring extra expenditures on ramps, specially fitted rooms, and the loss of prime parking. This article offers new insights into the possibilities associated with the disabled, including general trends and need sets. Also included are the results of a survey of a cross section of mobility-disabled consumers. Four hypotheses relating severity of disability with destination decision criteria were tested. Results indicate that disability relates to environmental criteria, accessible criteria, and activities criteria. The findings indicate that segmenting the disabled by level of severity is a valuable process and that those with more severe disabilities travel differently and for different reasons. Managerial implications are discussed.

Accessible tourism and sustainability: a discussion and case study

“…Yet, for the most part, disability is still treated as a single dimensional construct. Much of the early research in this area found little differentiation between the dimensions of access, except for a few notable exceptions (Woodside & Etzel, 1980;Murray & Sproats, 1990;Darcy, 1998;Burnett and Bender-Baker, 2001). Disability is a multidimensional construct, with each dimension having its own access requirements that are significantly different to each other (Darcy, 1998;2010).…”

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

“…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.…”

Addressing transport barriers to work in low income neighbourhoods: A review of evidence and practice

“…These include young people, older people, those from black and minority ethnic communities and the disabled (see, for example, Banister and Bowling, 2004;Burnett and Baker, 2001;Davey, 2007;Delbosc and Currie, 2011;Giuliano, 2003;Hodgson and Turner, 2003;Jones et al, 2000;Schmöcker et al, 2008). In general such research is not explicitly framed around either access to work or low incomes per se, but given the nature of the groups certainly the latter often acts as an underlying factor.…”