Are Portuguese hotels prepared to welcome guests with disabilities?

Abstract

In nowadays tourism is one of the most important economic activities worldwide, contributing to the economic, social and cultural development of local communities and for the cultural enrichment of the visitors. However, there are still several constraints that impede the access of some groups to the practice of tourism activities. People with disabilities are one of these groups facing many constraints in the acquisition of tourism products. To understand if the tourism supply is prepared to receive guests with disabilities, the present study aims to analyze if the Portuguese hotels are prepared to receive guests with physical and sensorial disabilities. To accomplish this objetive, a survey was carried out to Portuguese hotel managers, in 2015. The results obtained reveal that the guests with disabilities are not a relevant market for hotel managers surveyed. Moreover, in the hotels analyzed in this research only the accessibility parameters defined by current legislation are presents. There are still many obstacles that guests with physical and sensorial disabilities have to face if they wish to stay in a Portuguese hotel. The paper ends with some recommendations to increase the accessibility level of the Portuguese hotels.