Should I Stay or Can I Go? Accessible Tourism and Mountain Huts in Gran Paradiso National Park

Abstract

Within the tourism sector, sustainability has been studied widely at different levels and with different lenses. In the last few years, many research activities have been carried out to assess the social dimension of tourism. Under this perspective, scholars have focused on the accessibility of the tourism and hospitality sectors. This study represents the first-ever attempt to assess how tourists’ physical handicaps or special needs are considered in a very specific kind of accommodation facility: the mountain hut. To do so, semi-structured interviews were conducted with mountain hut managers about four mountain huts—29% of all the mountain huts located in Gran Paradiso National Park, the first established Italian protected area. The results underline both strong and critical points. Considering that many mountain huts are located in severe environments (e.g., medium-high altitudes and reachable only on foot), they have limitations in hosting visitors with physical constraints, who, on the other hand, normally do not attend this kind of facility. By contrast, all of the mountain hut managers were able to satisfy visitors with special food needs, for example, vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, showing their capability to cope with new forms of tourism demands and expectations.

Selected Aspects of Tourist Activity Among People Suffering from Celiac Disease

“…Making tourism more accessible also means eliminating barriers for people with special food needs (Cañulaf & Rodríguez, 2015). Beltramo, Duglio & Cappelletti (2022) analysed accessibility in mountain shelters in Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy and found that all shelter managers had adapted their facilities to accommodate guests with special dietary requirements who now constitute a significant part of their customers, thus demonstrating their ability to change operational processes, habits and behaviours in response to new market requirements.…”

The Role of Gastronomic Experience in Tourist Revisit Intention: An Empirical Study in the Historical City Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…The scholarly literature on accessibility in tourist attractions examines various facets of the issue. Some researchers have concentrated on highlighting the challenges that persons with disabilities have when traveling, both when going to tourist attractions and other places (Beltramo et al, 2022;Hennig et al, 2015;McIntosh, 2020). In particular, accessibility how important it is for persons with disabilities to choose buildings that are accessible and, most importantly, accommodate their needs (Darcy, 2006).…”