Service Inclusion for Physically Disabled Tourists: Assessing The Impact of Functional and Social Experienscape on Tourist Service Well-Being

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the travel destinations for millions of tourists from all around the world and thousands of service providers in Malaysia are catering to the varying needs of these travelers. Since ages, Tourism & Hospitality industry has been seen marketing their services to young individuals, couples, families, and business professionals globally. But, among these customers, there exists a significant market segment comprised of disabled tourists which is being largely overlooked by this industry. Therefore, this research is to study the impact of functional and social experienscape on service inclusion and tourist service well-being. Data is collected from the 354 respondents and a self-administered questionnaire was used. Results showed that Functional and Social Experienscape have positive influence on service inclusion and service inclusion have positive influence on tourist service well-being. Results drawn from the current study are expected to help academicians as this research would be a great contribution towards existing literature which will link marketing efforts to disabled consumers’ experiences with a totally new approach of Service Inclusion. Also, it will be helpful and valuable for service/marketing managers (practitioners) of Tourism & Hospitality industry to better operationalize their marketing strategies pertaining to disabled consumers in order to reduce their suffering and to make them feel cared for.