The role of social organisations in the promotion of recreation and tourism activities for people with special needs

Liliana Saraiva,Celeste Eusébio,Leonor Teixeira,Maria João Carneiro,Joana Alves

doi:10.54055/ejtr.v30i.2153

Abstract

Although leisure and tourism are recognised as rights for all people, many people with special needs (PwSN) still have very limited opportunities for participating in these activities. Social organisations (SO) are potential mediators between the tourism industry and this market, especially for reducing barriers to participation. However, there is a lack of research on the role these organisations perform as facilitators of access to leisure and tourism. This paper aims to identify the difficulties faced and strategies adopted by SO when developing recreation and tourism activities, as well as the benefits of these activities for PwSN. A qualitative approach was adopted, namely semi-structured interviews with representatives of Portuguese SO working with PwSN. The findings highlight that Portuguese SO have had a dynamic and proactive behaviour in the development of recreation and tourism activities, contributing to increased access of PwSN to tourism activities, especially for people belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. However, the results also show that SO face several constraints, specifically financial constraints, lack of specialised human resources and the lack of suitable tourism supply (e.g. accommodation, transportation) for this market. The paper ends with strategies that these organisations may adopt to cope with these constraints.

Highlights

In December 2006, in the resolution 61/106 of 13 December, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD)
Studies about people with special needs (PwSN), who include PwD, seniors and people with other specific needs related to health or personal physical conditions, reveal that these people have low levels of participation in society comparing with other citizens (Eusébio et al, 2016; Melbøe & Ytterhus, 2017; Solish et al, 2003)
The sample was somewhat unbalanced considering the target of the Social organisations (SO), with the majority of the organisations that participated in the study supporting PwD (73.33%)

Summary

Introduction

In December 2006, in the resolution 61/106 of 13 December, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD). Studies about people with special needs (PwSN), who include PwD (e.g. mobility, vision, hearing, intellectual/cognitive, mental health), seniors and people with other specific needs related to health or personal physical conditions (e.g. respiratory, food allergies), reveal that these people have low levels of participation in society comparing with other citizens (Eusébio et al, 2016; Melbøe & Ytterhus, 2017; Solish et al, 2003). The characteristics of the physical environment and of transportation, difficulties in communication, lack of access to information, inappropriate attitudes of the community and financial factors, are commonly identified by PwSN and their families as constraints to participating in different kinds of activities (Freund et al, 2019; Gillovic, 2019; Innes et al, 2016; Reynolds, 2002; Russell, 2009)

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Conclusion