Understanding technological contributions to accessible tourism from the perspective of destination design for visually impaired visitors in Hong Kong

Abstract

Increasing concerns about disability, accessibility and universal environments for travel and destinations have reached the academic and industrial attentions worldwide, especially for the understanding of the role of technology in tourism. This study presents a qualitative study to the objectives of: (1) understanding different types of barriers encountered by the visually impaired (VI) in visiting urban attractions; (2) exploring technological contributions in removing barriers for the VI smartphone and computer users in touring urban attractions; and (3) examining the implications for technological innovations that improve the accessibility of tourism in Hong Kong for the VI. The targets of the study were young local VI visitors of Hong Kong attractions who were also smartphone and computer users. Results revealed that the interviewees' main concerns regarding barriers were knowledge constraints. This study confirms the contribution of technology toward increased accessibility by highlighting that mobile applications have the capability to remove knowledge constraints for the VI. The study also shows that maps and images are the two areas for future technology innovation.