This article provides further contributions to cultural understandings of disability and accessible tourism coming from France and Canada. The study used a qualitative approach of in-depth interviewing and drew the sample from predominantly people with disability and agency directors. The French sample comprised 23 people with disability and 2 agency directors, whereas the Canadian sample included 20 people with disability and 4 agency directors. The findings examined the commonalities and contrasts between the barriers experienced, which were divided into physical, financial, attitudinal and communication. Recommendations are provided to improve the accessibility of both the French and Canadian responses to the group.
Freeman, I., & Selmi, N. (2010). French versus Canadian Tourism: Response to the Disabled. Journal of Travel Research, 49(4), 471-485. doi: 10.1177/0047287509349268
Abstract Copyright © 2012 by SAGE Publications
"Both France and Canada rank as highly developed tourist destinations. This study compares the underexplored area of the needs of tourists who are disabled in France (n = 25) and Canada (n = 24). The authors examine Canada’s and France’s accommodation to both domestic and international tourists who have disabilities, giving the study a unique perspective in comparing and contrasting results to the same questions across similar populations in two countries. The results indicate that neither country’s tourism industry has developed an effective policy to accommodate tourists who have disabilities indicated by significant barriers existing that exclude segments of the disabled population. This article takes the words of those with disabilities to recommend steps necessary to improve the tourism opportunities with this population".
Given previous inclusions on the blog with respect to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, it would be interesting to research whether the initiatives introduced by the Vancouver Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (VANOC) have had a lasting legacy on accessible tourism. A series of physical infrastructure, disability awareness training, information, promotion and marketing strategies were implemented to improve the accessibility of the games experience for athletes, spectators, volunteers and employees alike. Photo 1 shows some of the accessible facility infrastructure built for the Vancouver Games. Disability awareness training was part of the volunteer training that was discussed by the volunteers as part of a research project investigating the volunteer management practices of Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (Dickson, Edwards and Darcy, 2010).
Photo 1: Accessible Ski Facilities
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| Source: VANOC 2010 - A Barrier Free Experience Presentation |
References
Coward, D. & Konstantinidis, L. (2010) Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter games - a barrier free experience. VANOC, Vancouver.
Dickson, T., Edwards, D., Darcy, S., Benson, A., & Blackman, D. (2010, Feb 19). Olympic and Paralympic Legacies: the 2010 Volunteers’ Story. Paper presented at the Third International Sport Business Symposium - Economics and Management of the Olympic Games, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Freeman, I., & Selmi, N. (2010). French versus Canadian Tourism: Response to the Disabled. Journal of Travel Research, 49(4), 471-485. doi: 10.1177/0047287509349268
However, what you really don't say Jim is whether any of the tours are inclusive of people with disability? People with mobility, vision, hearing or cognitive disabilities require organisations who are inclusive in not only their practices but also in the types of vehicles they use, the alternative formats for interpretation and the itineraries that they run. I hope you will reply to this post.
ReplyDeleteMost Tour Agencies offer special accommodations to those with disabilities. We want everyone to have the opportunity to experience that wonderful guided tours that Imagine Tours & Travel offers.
ReplyDelete