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Accessibility in Inclusive Tourism? Hotels Distributed through Online Channels

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Martin-Fuentes

    (Business Management Department, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain)

  • Sara Mostafa-Shaalan

    (Business Management Department, University of Lleida, 25001 Lleida, Spain)

  • Juan Pedro Mellinas

    (Business Management Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30201 Cartagena, Spain)

Abstract

There is a lack of comprehensive international studies on accommodations for people with disabilities; only small, local-level studies exist. This study aims to show the status of the tourist accommodation sector through the online distribution channel in terms of accessibility to offer more inclusive tourism. A descriptive analysis has been carried out with more than 31,000 hotels from the online travel agency Booking.com, in the 100 most touristic cities in the world. For the first time, an accurate picture of adaptation in the hotel sector for people with disabilities is presented. Results show that the adapted hotel infrastructures by countries are uneven. The main adaptations are those that help to avoid mobility barriers, and in contrast, hotels offer very few adaptations for sensory disabilities such as visual disabilities. Moreover, this study shows that, worldwide, countries with the highest income per capita, such as the United States of America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, have the highest degree of hotel adaptation.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Martin-Fuentes & Sara Mostafa-Shaalan & Juan Pedro Mellinas, 2021. "Accessibility in Inclusive Tourism? Hotels Distributed through Online Channels," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-12, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:34-:d:534810
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mellinas, Juan Pedro & Martínez María-Dolores, Soledad-María & Bernal García, Juan Jesús, 2015. "Booking.com: The unexpected scoring system," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 72-74.
    2. Kay Smith, Melanie & Diekmann, Anya, 2017. "Tourism and wellbeing," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 1-13.
    3. Nicolau, Juan Luis & Mellinas, Juan Pedro & Martín-Fuentes, Eva, 2020. "The halo effect: A longitudinal approach," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Darcy, Simon, 2010. "Inherent complexity: Disability, accessible tourism and accommodation information preferences," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 816-826.
    5. Mellinas, Juan Pedro & Martínez María-Dolores, Soledad-María & Bernal García, Juan Jesús, 2016. "Effects of the Booking.com scoring system," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 80-83.
    6. Abrate, Graziano & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2016. "Strategic and tactical price decisions in hotel revenue management," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 123-132.
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    Cited by:

    1. Giannis Theofanous & Alkis Thrassou & Naziyet Uzunboylu, 2024. "Digital Inclusivity: Advancing Accessible Tourism via Sustainable E-Commerce and Marketing Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Sandro Serpa & Carlos Miguel Ferreira, 2022. "Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainably Developed Society," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-4, April.

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