Accessible adventure tourism: analysis of supply in the central region of Portugal

Abstract

The increase in adventure tourism reflects a change in the behavior of tourists, with motivations based on more active activities, and their demand is increasing for amongst disabled individuals. In this sense, the supply of accessible products has been an increasing concern for the tourist organizations.
However, this dimension is not always valued by organizations, justifying the lack of relevance due to lack of information, economic reasons or lack of financial support for their implementation. In order to analyze whether the existing services are adequately adapted to the target public in question, a survey was carried out, applied to 451 Adventure Tourism companies from the central region of Portugal. It can be concluded that, of the 73 companies that responded to the survey, about half have activities and/or services adapted to individuals with disabilities. The adaptation is not only done with the aim of increasing sales, but also for the sake of social responsibility. In terms of theoretical contribution, this article allows a clarification regarding the state of the art for accessibility in adventure tourism, something that is still very little studied. In practical terms, it will allow adventure tourism companies to increase strategies focused on people with disabilities, with an interest in the practice of adventure activities.