Too Fat to Travel.
Author: Carol Harris
1 Commentries
Abstract:
Obesity is rapidly becoming a significant challenge of the 21st century. 1.6billion people worldwide are overweight, of which 400million are obese (Mylrea, 2009), and this is set to rise, which will inevitably affect the tourism industry. Although relatively vague at present, legislation is predicted to evolve in favour of obesity, but public opinion remains adverse. Nevertheless, it is concluded that obesity will only be an issue for the minority of extreme cases, but this is unlikely to be an issue that will fade throughout the 21st century.
Key Words:
Obesity, Tourism, discrimination, legislation, travel preferences
Obesity is rapidly becoming a significant challenge of the 21st century. With a BMI of over 29.9 (WHO, 2013), 400million people worldwide are considered obese, which the WHO is predicting will rise to 700million, with a further 1.6billion overweight, by 2015 (Mylrea, 2009).
Contrary to the scope of the issue, the published research on how obesity is affecting tourism is very much limited. As Small & Harris (2012) say, in current literature, obesity is considered a "problem" (p.688) to be cured or as a subspecies of people. This paper will aim to bring together theories on social discrimination and disability legislation to discuss how body weight could affect holiday choice, and test the trends found in the literature on a sample of 20 participants to provide an insight into the extent to which body size is restricting holiday-taking, if at all.
This paper was inspired by the news that Samoa Air is to become the first airline to charge passengers based on their overall weight, inclusive of their body weight (Siddique, 2013). However this is not a pioneering concept within the airline industry. For example, South West Airlines has a "customer of size" policy, and although others are less forthcoming, the challenges of transporting the obese are being recognised (Landsel, 2008).
Firstly, legislation should be considered to evaluate the legal limitations that an obese person experiences. In the UK, obesity in itself is not considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (Office for Disability Issues, 2010). However, the recent court hearings in both the UK (McCavish, 2013) and USA (Mylrea, 2009) are showing signs that there is could be a possibility that future legislation and court rulings may evolve in favour of obesity being a discriminable attribute. If so, the effect this will have on the tourism industry is that services will be required to make provisions to accommodate the larger person.
Social discrimination and the effect of culture is also arguably able to restrict the obese person's travel decisions. Negative stereotypes faced by the obese population (Brandon & Pritchard, 2011) have been explained in the literature using social identity theory, so with the body defined as a "socio-cultural entity inscribed with meaning" (Small & Harris, 2012, p.687) prejudice against the obese person is inevitable. Furthermore, the media has significantly contributed to stereotyping in tourism. Promotion as an occurrence for 'beautiful' people through its imagery, Small & Harris (2012, p.688) comment that the "[overweight] body should be tackled and defeated before public exposure especially at the beach". The affect that this may have on tourism choice is speculated to be that the obese person is less likely to opt for certain types of destination or services, such as those with deep-rooted associations to a undesirable unwelcoming stereotype (Andsager & Drzewiecka, 2002) discouraged by the effect of semiotics in the marketing (Voase, 1995), or make choices that will not provoke emotional distress from social discrimination (Small & Harris, 2012, McLannahan & Clifton, 2008).
In spite of this, the results from the survey shows that the effects of body weight on tourism were less significant than expected. Although the data showed that healthy weight respondents had a slightly higher overall level of satisfaction from their previous holiday compared to obese participants, there were no significant variances or correlations in the least preferred, most preferred and previously used mode of travel and distance from home. However, social discrimination was observed to an extent. 95% did not consider obesity a disability, but 52% believed an obese person should not have to pay more for a service if adaption is required, of which only 20% were individuals of healthy weight.
One explanation for the results is that the sample is not obese enough to restrict a person's decisions, particularly in terms of the logistics of travel. While the results of this project do not wholly void the conclusions made from the literature, it would seem that the challenge of obesity for tourism providers and consumers will only be caused by a minority, at least with the present levels of obesity. But with the upward trend of obesity in mind, this is unlikely to be a challenge that will weaken throughout the 21st century. With public opinion holding no sympathy for the obese population while it is still considered a lifestyle choice, specialist services or adaptions are going to be supplied at a premium and economic barriers are likely to develop. However could discrimination be what is required to defer the obesity epidemic?
McLannahan, H. and Clifton, P. (2008) Challenging Obesity - The science behind the issues, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Smith, J, & Harris, C (2011) OBESITY AND TOURISM: Rights and Responsibilities, Annals Of Tourism Research, 39, pp. 686-707
Mylrea, R (2009) A Growing Body of Law: Obesity, Disability, and the Airline Industry, Tulane Journal Of International And Comparative Law, 18, pp. 207-229
Obesity is rapidly becoming a significant challenge of the 21st century. 1.6billion people worldwide are overweight, of which 400million are obese (Mylrea, 2009), and this is set to rise, which will inevitably affect the tourism industry. Although relatively vague at present, legislation is predicted to evolve in favour of obesity, but public opinion remains adverse. Nevertheless, it is concluded that obesity will only be an issue for the minority of extreme cases, but this is unlikely to be an issue that will fade throughout the 21st century.
Key Words:
Obesity, Tourism, discrimination, legislation, travel preferences
Obesity is rapidly becoming a significant challenge of the 21st century. With a BMI of over 29.9 (WHO, 2013), 400million people worldwide are considered obese, which the WHO is predicting will rise to 700million, with a further 1.6billion overweight, by 2015 (Mylrea, 2009).
Contrary to the scope of the issue, the published research on how obesity is affecting tourism is very much limited. As Small & Harris (2012) say, in current literature, obesity is considered a "problem" (p.688) to be cured or as a subspecies of people. This paper will aim to bring together theories on social discrimination and disability legislation to discuss how body weight could affect holiday choice, and test the trends found in the literature on a sample of 20 participants to provide an insight into the extent to which body size is restricting holiday-taking, if at all.
This paper was inspired by the news that Samoa Air is to become the first airline to charge passengers based on their overall weight, inclusive of their body weight (Siddique, 2013). However this is not a pioneering concept within the airline industry. For example, South West Airlines has a "customer of size" policy, and although others are less forthcoming, the challenges of transporting the obese are being recognised (Landsel, 2008).
Firstly, legislation should be considered to evaluate the legal limitations that an obese person experiences. In the UK, obesity in itself is not considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (Office for Disability Issues, 2010). However, the recent court hearings in both the UK (McCavish, 2013) and USA (Mylrea, 2009) are showing signs that there is could be a possibility that future legislation and court rulings may evolve in favour of obesity being a discriminable attribute. If so, the effect this will have on the tourism industry is that services will be required to make provisions to accommodate the larger person.
Social discrimination and the effect of culture is also arguably able to restrict the obese person's travel decisions. Negative stereotypes faced by the obese population (Brandon & Pritchard, 2011) have been explained in the literature using social identity theory, so with the body defined as a "socio-cultural entity inscribed with meaning" (Small & Harris, 2012, p.687) prejudice against the obese person is inevitable. Furthermore, the media has significantly contributed to stereotyping in tourism. Promotion as an occurrence for 'beautiful' people through its imagery, Small & Harris (2012, p.688) comment that the "[overweight] body should be tackled and defeated before public exposure especially at the beach". The affect that this may have on tourism choice is speculated to be that the obese person is less likely to opt for certain types of destination or services, such as those with deep-rooted associations to a undesirable unwelcoming stereotype (Andsager & Drzewiecka, 2002) discouraged by the effect of semiotics in the marketing (Voase, 1995), or make choices that will not provoke emotional distress from social discrimination (Small & Harris, 2012, McLannahan & Clifton, 2008).
In spite of this, the results from the survey shows that the effects of body weight on tourism were less significant than expected. Although the data showed that healthy weight respondents had a slightly higher overall level of satisfaction from their previous holiday compared to obese participants, there were no significant variances or correlations in the least preferred, most preferred and previously used mode of travel and distance from home. However, social discrimination was observed to an extent. 95% did not consider obesity a disability, but 52% believed an obese person should not have to pay more for a service if adaption is required, of which only 20% were individuals of healthy weight.
One explanation for the results is that the sample is not obese enough to restrict a person's decisions, particularly in terms of the logistics of travel. While the results of this project do not wholly void the conclusions made from the literature, it would seem that the challenge of obesity for tourism providers and consumers will only be caused by a minority, at least with the present levels of obesity. But with the upward trend of obesity in mind, this is unlikely to be a challenge that will weaken throughout the 21st century. With public opinion holding no sympathy for the obese population while it is still considered a lifestyle choice, specialist services or adaptions are going to be supplied at a premium and economic barriers are likely to develop. However could discrimination be what is required to defer the obesity epidemic?
McLannahan, H. and Clifton, P. (2008) Challenging Obesity - The science behind the issues, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Smith, J, & Harris, C (2011) OBESITY AND TOURISM: Rights and Responsibilities, Annals Of Tourism Research, 39, pp. 686-707
Mylrea, R (2009) A Growing Body of Law: Obesity, Disability, and the Airline Industry, Tulane Journal Of International And Comparative Law, 18, pp. 207-229