This volume presents an international selection of invited contributions on policy and best practice in accessible tourism, reflecting current practices across a range of destinations and business settings. It brings together global expertise in planning, design and management to inform and stimulate providers of travel, transport, accommodation, leisure and tourism services to serve guests with disabilities, seniors and the wider markets that require good accessibility. Accessible tourism is not only about providing access to people with disabilities but also addresses the creation of universally designed environments, services and information that can support people who may have temporary disabilities, families with young children, the ever-increasing ageing population, as well as creating safer work places for employees. The book gives ample evidence that accessible tourism organisations and destinations can expand their target markets as well as improve the quality of their service offering, leading to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty and expansion of business.

This book addresses a growing demand to hear the authentic voices and understand the lived tourist experiences of people with disability. The latest volume in The Tourist Experience series challenges what is arguably an exclusionary, marginalising, discriminatory, and ableist (tourism) world.

The contribution of tourism to create an inclusive society requires the adoption of new approaches and strategies that promote the accessibility of tourism destinations, allowing all people, regardless of their health condition, to enjoy tourism experiences. To accomplish this objective, it is of utmost relevance to promote the active involvement of all stakeholders of the tourism system (demand, supply, government entities, and educational institutions) in the creation of accessible and adapted tourism products. However, the scarce literature in this area suggests that the people working in the tourism industry are not usually aware of several needs and travel constraints of persons with disabilities and that the information delivered by traditional information sources to this market is frequently inadequate, inaccurate, or incomplete. Therefore, the information and communication technologies (ICTs) may have a crucial role to overcome the several travel constraints that these people face to plan and carry out a tourism trip as well as to enable supply agents to develop accessible tourism products. Despite this, although in recent years research regarding accessible tourism has increased, the number of studies on the contributions of ICTs for the development of accessible research is scarce. ICT Tools and Applications for Accessible Tourism provides theoretical and practical contributions for accessible tourism in the growing tourism market for social responsibility issues and as an excellent business opportunity. Chapters within this critical reference source cover the academic discussion of global accessible tourism, increased knowledge of disabilities, ICTs that can be used, and emerging technologies. This book is intended for all practitioners in the tourism industry along with IT specialists, government officials, policymakers, marketers, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in the latest tools, technologies, and research on accessible tourism.

Inclusion, disability, an ageing population and tourism are increasingly important areas of study due to their implications for both tourism demand and supply. This book therefore sets out to explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues in the study of accessible tourism. In drawing together the contributions to this volume the editors have applied broader social constructionist approaches to understanding the accessible tourism phenomena. Accessible tourism, as with any area of academic study is an evolving field of academic research and industry practice. As with other areas of tourism, the field is multidisciplinary, and is influenced by various disciplines including geography, disability studies, economics, public policy, psychology and marketing. "As one would expect from two scholars at the height of their academic abilities, Dimitrios Buhalis and Simon Darcy have delivered a timely and much needed contribution to the under-served area of accessible tourism. Harnessing the best conceptual developments on the topic, Accessible Tourism is a scholarly yet hugely readable collection and readily communicates the various contributors' passion for and command of their subject. This collection is a must have text for anyone engaged in the theory, practice and policy of accessible tourism and will be essential reading on undergraduate and postgraduate courses across a range of disciplines and fields. I cannot speak highly enough of this endeavour and I'm sure it will take accessible tourism and universal design debates into the mainstream of academic enquiry and industry practice." Professor Nigel Morgan, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, Wales

This Conference Proceedings of the National Seminar entitled “Multidisciplinary Research and Practice” compiled by Dr. M. Kanika Priya records various research papers written by eminent scholars, professors and students. The articles range from English literature to Tamil literature, Arts, Humanities, Social Science, Education, Performing Arts, Information and Communication Technology, Engineering, Technology and Science, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Research, Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Business, Management, Commerce and Accounting, Teacher Education, Higher Education, Primary and Secondary Education, Law, Science (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, Botany), Agriculture and Computer Science. Researchers and faculty members from various disciplines have contributed their research papers. This book contains articles in Three languages, namely: English, Tamil and Hindi. As a editor Dr. M. Kanika Priya has taken up the tedious job of checking the validity and correctness of the research work in bringing out this conference proceedings in a beautiful manner. In its present shape and size, this anthology will, hopefully, find a place on the library shelves and enlighten the academics all round the world.

This book explores the growing demand for accessible tourism experiences and demonstrates how the perspective of digital ecosystems can play a vital role in creating more inclusive destinations. Through a combination of conceptual arguments and real-world case studies, the book sheds light on the practical aspects of accessible tourism. Statistics reveal that over one billion people have severe or moderate disabilities, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced accessibility in tourism. However, both industry practices and academic research in this field are still lagging behind. The book highlights the challenge of establishing coordination among various stakeholders, including transport operators, hospitality firms, and public authorities, which has hindered the design and implementation of inclusive tourism experiences. By harnessing the power of new technologies, the book illustrates how digital ecosystems can effectively facilitate accessible tourism. It examines the demand for such experiences and demonstrates how embracing a digital ecosystem perspective can contribute to the development of more accessible tourism destinations. In addition to its theoretical insights, the book delves into several practical case studies that showcase successful examples of accessible tourism.

Although destination management is regarded as the supreme discipline in tourism management, little attention is paid to destination development, especially from a geographical perspective. This book analyses destination development and proposes key strategies for a positive destination development in the future in regard to sustainability, accessibility and economic prosperity. International scholars from a range of disciplines explore current issues in destination development and propose solutions that can help policy-makers prepare for future challenges. This book includes case studies from all around the globe to illustrate the diversity of destination development. This book thus offers students, colleagues from the scientific community as well as practitioners and political decision-makers numerous suggestions, considerations and decision-making aids with regard to destination development.

This guide describes how tourist facilities, large and small, and destinations as a whole can improve the quality of the service that they offer to disabled people and others who will benefit from better accessibility. It aims to help tourist facilities and destinations provide the basic information that disabled people need when deciding to visit. It also shows how to move beyond simple information provision and provides further contacts to assist organisations in moving forward. A key aim of this 28 page guide is to present a consistent and practical European wide approach to providing access information, so that tourists can compare their options.

On 12 July 2005, a Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre Research workshop was held at the New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development, titled Setting a Research Agenda for Disability and Tourism. The workshop looked at the state of the field from the perspectives of supply, demand and regulation/coordination research and accessible tourism industry practice. This publication is also available for free download at www.crctourism.com.au