Digital Inclusivity: Advancing Accessible Tourism via Sustainable E-Commerce and Marketing Strategies

Abstract

In the fast-paced digital economy, stakeholders across regions, industries and organisational typologies are recognising the growing significance of adopting customer-centric digital strategies. Inexorably, this necessitates the comprehension of consumer behaviours across a diverse customer spectrum, including individuals with disabilities (PwD). In this context, the present expert-driven conceptual research examines tourism digital sustainability and inclusion and elucidates the role of tourism e-commerce platforms in promoting a barrier-free digital environment for PwD and creating a more inclusive and sustainable online marketing landscape. The findings highlight the need for ongoing evaluation and improvement of the user experience to achieve satisfaction, loyalty and stakeholder engagement, as well as the factors in need of consideration towards a barrier-free and sustainable e-commerce environment. Further research could explore the assessment of the framework presented here in a practical context towards implementation to uncover its strengths and limitations.