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It is important to design accessible destinations for disabled tourists. However, to attract this market segment, it is also important to efficiently communicate online the accessibility provided. This paper aims to analyse the online communication of physical accessibility conditions designed for disabled tourists, to discuss the existence or non-existence of a design–communication gap in tourist destinations.

The authors analysed the physical accessibility of a selection of touristic spots in Porto, Portugal. The online communication regarding the physical accessibility of these spots’ informative websites was also analysed. Subsequently, a content analysis of these same websites was conducted to ascertain whether accessibility conditions for disabled tourists are disclosed in line with the physical and online facilities observed.

The destination websites’ online contents targeting disabled tourists are generic and do not inform about all the accessible facilities provided by the touristic spots analysed.

The authors found a gap between the accessible destination design and its communication in destination websites. This situation creates a barrier for people with physical disabilities and it is particularly concerning, considering that this market segment seeks for information in online sources to plan trips and does not find on the internet all the information about the accessible facilities provided. This fact may hinder the positioning of destinations as inclusive places and impair accessible tourism competitiveness. A better online communication of the accessible destination design is recommended.

为残疾游客设计出无障碍旅游地是非常重要的。然而, 为了吸引这部分游客市场, 有效地在线宣传提供的无障碍条件也是非常重要的。本论文分析为残疾游客提供的无障碍设施的在线宣传, 以讨论旅游地是否存在设计-宣传差异。

本论文分析了葡萄牙波尔图城市游客景点的无障碍设施。本论文还分析了这些景点网站对于无障碍设施的描述。本论文采用文本分析方法, 对这些网站内容进行分析, 验证是否为残疾游客提供的无障碍设施如网上宣传介绍一直。

研究结果表明, 景点网站针对残疾游客的内容太过笼统, 并没有介绍景区提供的全部无障碍设施。

本论文展示了无障碍旅游地设计与其网站宣传之间的差异。这将对残疾人造成障碍, 尤其是那些通过在线信息来确立旅游计划的游客, 他们无法在网络上找到全部关于提供的无障碍设施的信息。这将阻碍景点定位为全包容性旅游目的地, 影响其无障碍旅游竞争力。本论文推荐无障碍景点设计应该有一个更好的在线宣传。

Tourism destinations are facing intense and increasing competition worldwide, while consumers are ever more demanding, requiring not only service quality but also socially responsible and sustainable destinations. In this context, developing accessible tourism at a destination may help gain competitiveness in an underserved, typically most loyal market. Developing accessible tourism may also create a culture of social responsibility. This would enhance a shared, human and involving vision of the destination amongst stakeholders, including tourists who increasingly value socially responsible positions of economic actors in the tourism industry. The development of this approach is shown for Lousã, a small tourism destination focusing on accessible tourism as a core of its development strategy, a strategy developed through a stakeholder participatory approach. In this chapter, we present a study that helped develop the strategic positioning of Lousã, combining qualitative and quantitative methods and integrating visions of several relevant stakeholders.

Despite a growing interest in accessible tourism, delivering high-quality tourism experiences to people with disabilities (PwD) remains a major challenge. Beyond a number of acknowledged barriers (e.g. cultural, architectural, relational), the main issue is the lack of coordination amongst the many actors participating in the co-creation of tourism experiences. This paper intends to advance available knowledge on this issue by conceptually suggesting a solution that draws on the concepts of the tourism experience and digital ecosystems.

This paper is developed as a conceptual contribution, drawing also on an illustrative example that considers a tourist with mobility disability as the focal actor.

The results indicate that a digital ecosystem could contribute to making tourism locations more accessible by enabling information sharing and coordination amongst all actors that co-create the tourism experiences. Moreover, the analysis underlines that tourism locations should be designed to be useable by all people, drawing on the principles of the universal design.

This paper describes a path to fostering accessible tourism, drawing on local authorities, particularly municipalities and universities. The suggested solution would benefit from future empirical analyses to assess its strengths and weaknesses.

By drawing on the concept of digital ecosystems, this paper is amongst the first studies to suggest a path to making tourism locations more accessible to all tourists (with or without disabilities) based on technology.

The purpose of this paper is to develop accessible tourism in two areas of Greece and Turkey. The areas of Drama in Greece and Mersin in Turkey have cooperated in the frame of MEDRA project to assess their potential and set up a plan for developing accessible tourism.

The choice of the two areas was not random. Mersin currently enjoys continuous development, as one of Turkey’s biggest ports and a free trade zone. Drama is a developing area in agricultural manufacturing and high-tech sectors with a rich physical environment which aspires to develop a healthy alternative tourism industry.

The findings include, amongst others, the identification of needs of tourists with disabilities, and the relevant historical evolution, legislative framework, international good practices, policy-improvement proposals, accessibility assessment in Mersin and Drama, and suggestions for developing accessible infrastructure together with the training of stakeholders.

Greece although made a lot of progress regarding the issues of disability and accessibility still is not on the same level as many European countries, while Turkey has a lot to learn in order to deal with accessibility from a holistic point of view.

Both countries owe a large percentage of their national income, to the tourist industry and seek ways to gain advantages in this highly competitive sector.

The successful implementation of the MEDRA project constitutes an example worthy of a wider application in the development of accessible tourism, not only in the two countries but also to countries with similar characteristics.

Accessible tourism is evolving as a field of academic research and industry practice, set within a dynamic social context. The field is interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary. The purpose of this paper is to examine key concepts and global initiatives that will shape accessible tourism futures.

Three of the authors have extensive academic experience in the area and the fourth author is the Managing Director of the pre-eminent European Network for Accessible Tourism. In taking a limited Delphi approach to canvassing key areas likely to shape accessible tourism futures, the following concepts and policy initiatives were examined: motivations, dreams and aspirations of people with disability; demography; UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; destination competitiveness; universal design (UD); and the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

A discussion of each of the above areas was placed in context to accessible tourism futures and to contextualise the papers that were selected for the special issue. The latter part of the paper outlines the contribution of each empirical paper to the issue discussing the approach, findings and implications. Stakeholder collaboration was identified as the key common theme of the papers and the factor for developing accessible tourism solutions, recognising the value of the market and capitalising on it. A collaborative approach is required to recognise the complementary nature of the different paradigms; to re-shape and transform the future of the accessible tourism industry. To assist in the development of accessible tourism futures, UD principles should provide a foundation to enhance the future competitiveness of tourism destinations and organisations.

The paper’s examination of the concepts and global policy considerations provides a strong academic and practitioner foundation for considering accessible tourism futures. In doing so, accessible tourism futures are shown to be affected by key concepts related to core tourism considerations and major policy initiatives on accessibility and sustainability. Yet, accessible tourism futures also have the potential to create their own momentum and contribute unique learnings on the diversity of tourism markets that will shape tourism concepts and global policy initiatives in their own right.

‘Tourism for all’ is a way to consider tourism activities and services inclusive, involving all people, guests and residents, in the same activities and creating the dialogue, peace and human development.

This tourism is able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in two ways: first, it implements human rights, respecting the possibilities of everyone and second, it activates the process of development from the local to global impacts for sustainable development, thus eradicating the poor in the local level.

These are ambitious goals; on the one hand they are certainly difficult to achieve, but on the other hand they are necessary to implement in order to make tourism a more and more sustainable economic activity, given its international spread. Certain sustainable development is ambiguous ground but in the tourism activities it is very pressing for the negative impacts of the classical tourism model.

These assumptions are useful to analyze the costs and benefits of inclusive tourism, thanks to the pyramid of accessibility. This study will in fact make it possible to determine, on the basis of the resources present in the territory, the opportunities and limits of this type of tourism.

In European destinations, above all, in Italy, the openness to inclusive tourism can constitute a new cycle of tourism product such as to activate that interest and curiosity that drives tourists to visit the destination. This chapter describes at first the criteria for the planning of tourism for all, and finally, in the second part, it will deal with the international policies for the realization of tourism for all.

The traditional model of tourist destination is characterized by tourist attractions and related infrastructure, often avoiding the local people. The resort or tourist villages are born to entertain tourists, but they did not involve local people. Nowadays the tourism and the resorts are changing, and so a lot of destinations are involving a new idea of tourism with the accomplishment of the local people that can support the persons with specials needs to live an independent travel as inhabitans.

It is therefore necessary to look for new models in tourism that can create a dialogue, peace and fruitful encounter between guests and the local community. This involvement, in fact, can be activated directly or indirectly – with or without the presence of the local community in all activities of tours – but always in accordance with the need of each other. Tourism for all is a new idea but is the future of tourism for different reasons: the first is that the needs of people, especially those with differences or disabilities, are increased in all parts of the world and they required the solution immediately and tailor-made; the second consists in the hypothesis that if guests can have more economic and especially technological potential, they can support and transfer their know-how to all those who suffer from that particular disorder, providing this benefit; and the third gives sustainability using the appropriate resources to enhance tourist activities.

In this new vision, the World Tourism Organization has attributed to tourism for all a broader vision than accessible tourism alone, combining sustainable and social tourism in a single form of tourism, including every person regardless of gender or other forms of diversity.

In the innovative strategy of inclusive tourism, it should be pointed out that destinations will have to develop plans and appropriate policies for sustainability and accessibility. This form of tourism, which certainly has social aims, could also be conflicting if, for example, accessibility makes use of very invasive technologies or not too much in line with the efficiency and protection of the environment. Tourism for all, therefore, becomes an ambitious project to be implemented at the local level to create a model, so valid to the global level.

This paper aims to contribute to the event legacy discourse by exploring the nexus between event legacy literature and destination competitiveness by focusing on disability sport events or parasport and addressing an identified gap in the research literature.

This is achieved through conducting a systematic review of disability sport events literature; performing an audit of international disability sport events; developing a typology of disability sport events; and outlining a research agenda drawing upon these previous steps. The typology is then placed in context to the destination competitiveness framework to provide direction for both host organizing committees and tourism destination managers. The research framework reflects the complexity of disability sport events with specific reference to the social impact of disability sport events for destinations.

Despite calls for increased research into accessible tourism and events, the potential social legacy for communities and destinations from disability sport or parasport events remains absent from most sport, event and tourism literature. The findings and resultant typology from this study provide an interdisciplinary approach to value add to the disability sport event and destination management sectors. The combined understanding of both sectors creates an opportunity to leverage further events through marketing accessibility as a competitive advantage, seizing opportunity for international and national disability events, and the subsequent event accessible tourism and general accessible tourism that improved destination accessibility provides a host city or precinct.

The disability sport event typology and a research agenda that supports future research are outcomes of this research.

These insights are beneficial to both researchers and practitioners interested in leveraging the opportunities from disability sport events to support sustainable destination development and competiveness that reflect the needs of a population with diverse access needs, including our ageing population, those with temporary disability and parents with young children.

This research lays the groundwork to support the desired social legacy for future host communities. From a theoretical perspective, given the paucity of research on disability sport, the typology offers a means to evaluate and monitor the impacts of various types of events from the perspectives of sustainable development, tourism, accessibility, community engagement and public policy. The addition of understanding destination competitiveness and the underlying criteria for accessible destination development provides opportunities to further leverage disability sport event beyond the event itself for ongoing accessible events, tourism and disability employment opportunities.

The aim of this article is to examine Cyprus, an island highly dependent on tourism, by bringing together the aspects of accessibility as a holistic approach to sustainable tourism development and exploiting the potential for mitigating seasonality problems. Accessible tourism has remarkable potential as an emerging market in providing for the holistic development of destinations. Additionally, it can act as a market that can provide year-round demand through activities for people with disabilities (PwD). Seasonality is a significant issue, especially in small island destinations (SIDs) as there is a prevailing mass tourism mindset with a limited tourism season.

In total, 15 semi-structured interviews took place with tourism practitioners, the tourism industry's main stakeholders, and representatives of disability associations in Cyprus.

The study results suggest that a destination developed to satisfy the needs of PwD is beneficial in many aspects. Additionally, the increasing market of PwD offers an opportunity to address the problem of seasonality. However, this requires the development of a sustainable framework for tourism, including those facilities and activities that can satisfy the needs of PwD and provide opportunities for extended traveling throughout the year.

The study deals with an original topic of discussion since it examines accessibility in sustainable development and the effect on seasonality in SIDs.

By embracing the entire community of travellers, despite their capacity, tourism destinations that have the opportunity to appeal to the art of inclusive tourism policies in the Center of Portugal, are analyzed, showing the importance for a tourist destination to adapt these policies to the notoriety of the destination brand.

This paper offers a practical viewpoint based on the state-of-the-art of public policies relating to inclusive and accessible tourism in the Center of Portugal and their impacts on the destination branding.

Taking into account the territorial specificity of the Center of Portugal, the asymmetries of development and cohesion, Tourism Center of Portugal (TCP) has sought to develop projects and actions in partnership with the different actors in the territory that promote territorial cohesion, integrated and sustainable development and the attractiveness of the inland region.

All the projects developed to support accessible and inclusive tourism, in which TCP is an active part, create a network of tourist services to become destinations more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

Inclusive and accessible tourism is little explored by DMOs. In this paper, the case of the Center of Portugal region is presented, highlighting a series of unprecedented initiatives that are being developed, aiming to provide the destination with unique points of differentiation.

This viewpoint note aims to discuss the challenges and the suggestions of using assistive technologies to improve the accessibility for travellers with disabilities and their companions at heritage cities.

The viewpoint note used the narrative approach which conceptualised accessible tourism, challenges and solutions of using assistive technologies for improving the heritage cities visit experience of travellers with disabilities.

The viewpoint note discussed three challenges (physical, informational and attitudinal) and three approaches of accessible platform, navigation system, and accessible and interactive heritage interpretation solutions for accessible heritage cities.

The viewpoint note presents the expert opinion of authors who investigated the accessibility issue in heritage cities. The first author of this note is a person with disabilities who has been living and studying about experience of travellers with disabilities at many heritage cities. The other author is an expert in heritage tourism.