For Accessible Tourism Experience: Exploring The Blog Sphere of People with Disabilities

Abstract

Despite the continuous development of the tourism industry, the participation of people with disabilities (PwDs) remains a major challenge. Tourism constraints, whose three categories include: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural, make delivering accessible tourism experiences more difficult. Regardless of the growing interest in travel blogs in recent years, blogging about travel experiences through the blog sphere still need more research in tourism literature. Travel bloggers are now seen as a trustworthy source of information to be considered during the process of traveler’s decision-making. The authors of accessible travel blogs share their experiences, stories, and accessible travel tips and write reviews on accessible destinations from the perspective of tourists with disabilities. The primary objective of this study is to examine the different constraints that are experienced by disability travel bloggers using the approach developed by Daniels et al. (2005). The second objective is to explore the negotiation strategies proposed by these travel bloggers to overcome travel constraints and to proof disabled travelers that accessible travel is possible. The results of the narrative analysis of 17 travel blogs showed that among many constraints shared by disabled travel bloggers, structural constraints were the most difficult to challenge and placed as the major concern.