‘Diversity is a fact; inclusion is an ACT’. The future of Autism Inclusivity in Tourism
Author: Deyana Anadolova
1 Commentries
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to reveal how accessibility is improving for people with ASD when travelling to a destination. The following paper will concentrate firstly on understanding the challenges and the barriers, in order to progress in discovering possible solutions moving forward to inclusivity.
Keywords – Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Accessible Tourism, Challenges, Future Solutions
Main Body
The main challenge for persons with ASD, in contrast with other physical disabilities, is that they do not exhibit any physical features that differentiate them from others. Instead, communication, social interaction, motor skills and behaviour differences can contrast between other individuals of the same age. When a person with ASD is travelling to a new place/destination many challenges arise such as the unusual environment consisting of the high volumes of crowds, queuing, and security checks, creating severe discomfort and distress. Additionally, people with ASD characteristically can be hypersensitive to stimuli, concerning the shape, texture, smell, or sound of a place. Furthermore, the repetitive behaviour and the consistency of a routine for individuals with ASD often impose a challenge when travelling outside to an unknown place and the struggle with communication and social interaction creates difficulties for individuals to express their emotions and feelings, turning the holiday into a negative experience (Neo and Flaherty, 2019). It is important to emphasise that although non-visible disability cannot be seen, it does not mean it does not exist.
Accessible tourism incorporates designing products and services to enable mobility, hearing, vision and cognitive dimensions of access, in order for an individual to function independently with dignity and equity. Especially, with the population of people with a disability growing due to longer life expectancy and the growth of non-communicable diseases, it is imperative to assess the strategies going forward and take active actions towards inclusion and accessibility in tourism.
Tourism and travel are a stimulus for positive psychology due to imposing the state of rejuvenation and relaxation from leisure activities when at a destination and is a way of developing relationships between families and relatives with ASD. However, the concept of positive tourism can be seen as socially constructed and observing only specific stereotypical marginalised groups, who do not possess a disability and are socially accepted within society. This illustrates that other groups such as people with ASD, become socially excluded and deprived of participating in a holiday experience, signifying the importance of advanced solutions and future development that will aid this particular group when travelling.
The solutions proposed aimed to conquer the supposed challenges and barriers individuals with ASD face when going on holiday. ICT incorporation supports individuals significantly as it reduces the stress of in-person interactions when communicating and the predictability of technology, therefore reducing the risk of meltdowns and distress. Interactive visual videos provided by airlines and organisations on specific tasks such as packing reduces stress significantly as it allows for pre-planning and for people with ASD to visualise and repeat their holiday routine, resulting in a smoother and more peaceful journey (Cena et al., 2023).
An additional method that has proven effective is the utilisation of Virtue Reality, creating virtue reality of real-life scenarios, allowing for space and a sense of control over new out-of-ordinary routine situations. Questionnaires before travelling allow for precise preparations for travel agents to arrange specific activities tailored to the specific needs of an individual. The incorporation of personalised tourist guides specifically for people with ASD, in the form of apps allows the most current information of interest to enable informed decisions and control hypersensitivity to various stimuli at certain destinations. Finally, the use of autistic-friendly websites to enhance the usability and accessibility for people with autism is a solution, to gain easy access to information concerning holiday and travel activities (Te?au et al., 2019).
In conclusion, tourism is a catalyst for achieving inclusion and positive well-being. There has been a spike in interest in providing autistic-friendly services to support individuals to have a positive holiday experience and be comfortable and prepared when faced with an unknown environment. However, there is still a lot to be done within the tourism industry such as increased awareness and more interest in companies to create more accessible services and products, in order for larger participation and heightened experiences to occur.
Cena, F., Mauro, N. and Rapp, A. (2023) “How do sensory features of places impact on spatial exploration of people with autism? A user study,” Information Technology & Tourism [Preprint]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-023-00244-1. [accessed 25 Apr 2023].
Neo, W.X. & Flaherty, G.T. 2018. Autism spectrum disorder and international travel. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health 7(1): 1-3.
Tec?u, A.S. et al. (2019) ‘Responsible tourism—integrating families with disabled children in tourist destinations’, Sustainability, 11(16), p. 4420. Available from: doi:10.3390/su11164420. [accessed 18 May 2023]
The aim of this paper is to reveal how accessibility is improving for people with ASD when travelling to a destination. The following paper will concentrate firstly on understanding the challenges and the barriers, in order to progress in discovering possible solutions moving forward to inclusivity.
Keywords – Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Accessible Tourism, Challenges, Future Solutions
Main Body
The main challenge for persons with ASD, in contrast with other physical disabilities, is that they do not exhibit any physical features that differentiate them from others. Instead, communication, social interaction, motor skills and behaviour differences can contrast between other individuals of the same age. When a person with ASD is travelling to a new place/destination many challenges arise such as the unusual environment consisting of the high volumes of crowds, queuing, and security checks, creating severe discomfort and distress. Additionally, people with ASD characteristically can be hypersensitive to stimuli, concerning the shape, texture, smell, or sound of a place. Furthermore, the repetitive behaviour and the consistency of a routine for individuals with ASD often impose a challenge when travelling outside to an unknown place and the struggle with communication and social interaction creates difficulties for individuals to express their emotions and feelings, turning the holiday into a negative experience (Neo and Flaherty, 2019). It is important to emphasise that although non-visible disability cannot be seen, it does not mean it does not exist.
Accessible tourism incorporates designing products and services to enable mobility, hearing, vision and cognitive dimensions of access, in order for an individual to function independently with dignity and equity. Especially, with the population of people with a disability growing due to longer life expectancy and the growth of non-communicable diseases, it is imperative to assess the strategies going forward and take active actions towards inclusion and accessibility in tourism.
Tourism and travel are a stimulus for positive psychology due to imposing the state of rejuvenation and relaxation from leisure activities when at a destination and is a way of developing relationships between families and relatives with ASD. However, the concept of positive tourism can be seen as socially constructed and observing only specific stereotypical marginalised groups, who do not possess a disability and are socially accepted within society. This illustrates that other groups such as people with ASD, become socially excluded and deprived of participating in a holiday experience, signifying the importance of advanced solutions and future development that will aid this particular group when travelling.
The solutions proposed aimed to conquer the supposed challenges and barriers individuals with ASD face when going on holiday. ICT incorporation supports individuals significantly as it reduces the stress of in-person interactions when communicating and the predictability of technology, therefore reducing the risk of meltdowns and distress. Interactive visual videos provided by airlines and organisations on specific tasks such as packing reduces stress significantly as it allows for pre-planning and for people with ASD to visualise and repeat their holiday routine, resulting in a smoother and more peaceful journey (Cena et al., 2023).
An additional method that has proven effective is the utilisation of Virtue Reality, creating virtue reality of real-life scenarios, allowing for space and a sense of control over new out-of-ordinary routine situations. Questionnaires before travelling allow for precise preparations for travel agents to arrange specific activities tailored to the specific needs of an individual. The incorporation of personalised tourist guides specifically for people with ASD, in the form of apps allows the most current information of interest to enable informed decisions and control hypersensitivity to various stimuli at certain destinations. Finally, the use of autistic-friendly websites to enhance the usability and accessibility for people with autism is a solution, to gain easy access to information concerning holiday and travel activities (Te?au et al., 2019).
In conclusion, tourism is a catalyst for achieving inclusion and positive well-being. There has been a spike in interest in providing autistic-friendly services to support individuals to have a positive holiday experience and be comfortable and prepared when faced with an unknown environment. However, there is still a lot to be done within the tourism industry such as increased awareness and more interest in companies to create more accessible services and products, in order for larger participation and heightened experiences to occur.
Cena, F., Mauro, N. and Rapp, A. (2023) “How do sensory features of places impact on spatial exploration of people with autism? A user study,” Information Technology & Tourism [Preprint]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-023-00244-1. [accessed 25 Apr 2023].
Neo, W.X. & Flaherty, G.T. 2018. Autism spectrum disorder and international travel. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health 7(1): 1-3.
Tec?u, A.S. et al. (2019) ‘Responsible tourism—integrating families with disabled children in tourist destinations’, Sustainability, 11(16), p. 4420. Available from: doi:10.3390/su11164420. [accessed 18 May 2023]