Empowering people with visual disabilities through rural tourism: the benefits of nature activities and how the various travel constraints can be overcome

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to identify the main constraints faced by people with visual disabilities (PwVD) when visiting a rural destination, as well as the benefits sought through their participation in rural tourism. Furthermore, this study also intends to identify the main strategies used by PwVD to overcome the barriers encountered in rural destinations. A triangulation of qualitative methods was used to collect and analyse data, comprising various online forums and blogs posts related to the tourism experiences of PwVD, together with fifteen semi-structured interviews conducted with Portuguese PwVD. The results reveal that PwVD find rural destinations compelling and that they look for sensorial stimuli in nature as a means for self-development and relaxation, while the lack of public transport and accessible information dissuades PwVD from seeking rural tourism experiences. These constraints are often overcome with the use of various smartphone apps, the aid of travel companions, or the help of residents. Based on the results obtained in this study, a set of guidelines is proposed to improve the level of accessibility of rural tourism destinations, contributing to the empowerment of PwVD.

KEYWORDS:

• Accessible tourism
• rural tourism destinations
• people with visual disabilities
• triangulation
• qualitative research
• travel constraints

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.

Notes on contributors

Ana Gomes

Ana Gomes is a Doctorate student in tourism (University of Aveiro). She holds a degree in tourism management and planning from the University of Aveiro (2018), and a Master’s in tourism management and planning from the University of Aveiro (2021), with her master’s thesis focusing on accessible tourism. Her research interests include accessible tourism, circular economy, circular tourism, pro-environment tourist behaviours, tourism circular processes, and rural tourism.

Celeste Eusébio

Celeste Eusébio is an Associate Professor of tourism and a researcher at the GOVCOPP Research Unit at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). She holds a degree in tourism management and planning from the University of Aveiro (1995), a Master’s in economics from the University of Coimbra (1998) and a doctoral degree in tourism, also from the University of Aveiro (2006). Her research interests include social tourism, accessible tourism, tourism economics, tourism impacts, tourism forecasts and consumer behaviour in tourism.