Accommodation access for mobility impaired tourists in the Asia Pacific region
Author: Heather Horn
1 Commentries
Keywords: disability, mobility impaired, wheelchair, accommodation, websites, Asia-Pacific
Abstract:
How accessible is accommodation for the mobility impaired? Is the provided accommodation information actually useful? How much of a responsibility do accommodations have to provide facilities for the disabled? These are issues which are covered in this paper.
One of the five main aims for the fourth International Conference on Accessible Tourism (ICAT 2011) which took place in April was to promote accessible tours and encourage travel without barriers worldwide.
The mobility impaired should be encouraged to also travel outside of an organised group but to do so they will need to find suitable accommodation themselves.
Accommodation is one of the main constraints of disabled travellers and in many areas there are still accommodations that have very few facilities for the mobility impaired.
In 2007 Williams et al compared Australian, UK and US hotel accommodation websites. The issue found in all three countries was a lack of useful information available to the disabled. There is a lack of quality to the information rather than quantity; they fail to provide specifics and instead offer only broad statements. Therefore there was a low level of information gratification.
Hence people with disabilities have found that as well as physical barriers they would face at the tourist accommodation, there are also barriers to accessing information.
Accommodation website consumers are not necessarily domestic as the Web is accessed worldwide. According to Yau in 2004, 5-20% of the population worldwide were disabled. It is also known life expectancy is rising worldwide and with old age many people become disabled. Hence there are a lot of potential customers looking for suitable accommodation which advertise facilities for the disabled.
In 2010 Darcy looked at accessible tourism accommodation information preferences. The study took place in Australia; however the issues found are applicable worldwide. The majority of respondents were mobility impaired. When travelling 93% of all respondents said they preferred the use of an accessible room. Half of the respondents also said they'd be willing to travel more often if suitable accommodation is provided for the disabled. If Darcy's sample is taken as representative of the whole population then this could mean increased revenue for the businesses that make the changes that are sought.
Currently it is mostly the larger more expensive establishments that provide disabled facilities. There is therefore perhaps a gap in the market for budget class accommodation for disabled tourists who don't want to pay high prices.
Unreliable sources of information for disabled tourists can include phone and email enquiries and accommodation websites. Almost half of Darcy's respondents 'identified difficulties in obtaining accurate information as the reason for lower levels of travel than they would like' (2010). It can therefore be seen that without the correct information, the mobility impaired tourist cannot make an informed decision.
Although it can be expensive to install disabled facilities, it could be even more so if there are lots of accidents and medical bill and insurance claims are incurred. Therefore there are advantages to barrier free tourism.
It was suggested at the ESCAP 2000 conference that accommodation staff 'would benefit from additional training in sensitivity and awareness regarding travellers with disabilities.'
Staff in accommodation are likely to be trained in customer service but not specifically trained to deal with disabilities. Policies should be put in place so staff can feel more confident and be aware when help is needed.
Staff should perhaps be provided additional training so they are more knowledgeable about disabilities. However is this financially viable for the businesses? Is it really necessary or is having fixed policies sufficient? It is usually only the larger businesses and hotel chains that can afford additional training.
People don't just have to rely on hotel websites; other sources of information are available such as Trip Advisor, or social networking sites. Using a wider range of sources provides more accessible information for the mobility impaired.
Businesses have a legal, and some would say also a social and moral responsibility, to provide for the disabled. Yet does catering for the minority endanger the majority? Disabled facilities are expensive; considering the money spent against the money gained from tourists raises a question. Does the amount of disabled tourists using the facilities bring in the same amount of money for the business as the non-disabled tourists that could have stayed there? How does this affect the accommodation as a business?
Not all small businesses can match the larger accommodations or hotel chains for facilities. Therefore how much choice do the mobility impaired actually have for accommodation when travelling?
References
Darcy, S. (2008). Working Paper No. 10: Accessible Tourism Accommodation Information Preferences. Working paper of the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism-Faculty of Business-University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-gai campus, Lindfield NSW 2070. From http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/researchpapers.html
ESCAP (2000a) Barrier-free tourism for people with disabilities in the ESCAP region, Asia-Pacific Conference on tourism for people with disability, Bali-Indonesia, 24-28 September 2000, Annex 1, pp69-89
Williams, R. Et al (2007) Online accessibility and information of disabled tourists: A three country hotel sector analysis, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 8, No.2, pp 157-171
Abstract:
How accessible is accommodation for the mobility impaired? Is the provided accommodation information actually useful? How much of a responsibility do accommodations have to provide facilities for the disabled? These are issues which are covered in this paper.
One of the five main aims for the fourth International Conference on Accessible Tourism (ICAT 2011) which took place in April was to promote accessible tours and encourage travel without barriers worldwide.
The mobility impaired should be encouraged to also travel outside of an organised group but to do so they will need to find suitable accommodation themselves.
Accommodation is one of the main constraints of disabled travellers and in many areas there are still accommodations that have very few facilities for the mobility impaired.
In 2007 Williams et al compared Australian, UK and US hotel accommodation websites. The issue found in all three countries was a lack of useful information available to the disabled. There is a lack of quality to the information rather than quantity; they fail to provide specifics and instead offer only broad statements. Therefore there was a low level of information gratification.
Hence people with disabilities have found that as well as physical barriers they would face at the tourist accommodation, there are also barriers to accessing information.
Accommodation website consumers are not necessarily domestic as the Web is accessed worldwide. According to Yau in 2004, 5-20% of the population worldwide were disabled. It is also known life expectancy is rising worldwide and with old age many people become disabled. Hence there are a lot of potential customers looking for suitable accommodation which advertise facilities for the disabled.
In 2010 Darcy looked at accessible tourism accommodation information preferences. The study took place in Australia; however the issues found are applicable worldwide. The majority of respondents were mobility impaired. When travelling 93% of all respondents said they preferred the use of an accessible room. Half of the respondents also said they'd be willing to travel more often if suitable accommodation is provided for the disabled. If Darcy's sample is taken as representative of the whole population then this could mean increased revenue for the businesses that make the changes that are sought.
Currently it is mostly the larger more expensive establishments that provide disabled facilities. There is therefore perhaps a gap in the market for budget class accommodation for disabled tourists who don't want to pay high prices.
Unreliable sources of information for disabled tourists can include phone and email enquiries and accommodation websites. Almost half of Darcy's respondents 'identified difficulties in obtaining accurate information as the reason for lower levels of travel than they would like' (2010). It can therefore be seen that without the correct information, the mobility impaired tourist cannot make an informed decision.
Although it can be expensive to install disabled facilities, it could be even more so if there are lots of accidents and medical bill and insurance claims are incurred. Therefore there are advantages to barrier free tourism.
It was suggested at the ESCAP 2000 conference that accommodation staff 'would benefit from additional training in sensitivity and awareness regarding travellers with disabilities.'
Staff in accommodation are likely to be trained in customer service but not specifically trained to deal with disabilities. Policies should be put in place so staff can feel more confident and be aware when help is needed.
Staff should perhaps be provided additional training so they are more knowledgeable about disabilities. However is this financially viable for the businesses? Is it really necessary or is having fixed policies sufficient? It is usually only the larger businesses and hotel chains that can afford additional training.
People don't just have to rely on hotel websites; other sources of information are available such as Trip Advisor, or social networking sites. Using a wider range of sources provides more accessible information for the mobility impaired.
Businesses have a legal, and some would say also a social and moral responsibility, to provide for the disabled. Yet does catering for the minority endanger the majority? Disabled facilities are expensive; considering the money spent against the money gained from tourists raises a question. Does the amount of disabled tourists using the facilities bring in the same amount of money for the business as the non-disabled tourists that could have stayed there? How does this affect the accommodation as a business?
Not all small businesses can match the larger accommodations or hotel chains for facilities. Therefore how much choice do the mobility impaired actually have for accommodation when travelling?
References
Darcy, S. (2008). Working Paper No. 10: Accessible Tourism Accommodation Information Preferences. Working paper of the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism-Faculty of Business-University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-gai campus, Lindfield NSW 2070. From http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/researchpapers.html
ESCAP (2000a) Barrier-free tourism for people with disabilities in the ESCAP region, Asia-Pacific Conference on tourism for people with disability, Bali-Indonesia, 24-28 September 2000, Annex 1, pp69-89
Williams, R. Et al (2007) Online accessibility and information of disabled tourists: A three country hotel sector analysis, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 8, No.2, pp 157-171