Análisis de la información y actitud del personal directivo de las empresas hosteleras hacia la accesibilidad y el diseño universalEstudio empírico en la provincia de Cádiz

Abstract

In recent decades, disabled people have come to occupy a prominent place in the field of tourism. The relevance of the market segment that integrate people with disabilities is not only justified by the number of troops in it, but also by the growing involvement in the tourism sector. According to estimates by the United Nations (UN, 2006) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2006) the number of disabled people worldwide amounts to 600 million, representing 10% of the population (EDDES-99). 50 million disabled people belong to Europe, of which 40 million are in European Union countries (Perez and Marcos González Velasco, 2003, Preface). In Spain, the market segment of the permanent disabilities exceeds 3.5 million (Survey on Disabilities, Deficiencies and Health Status (EDDES) (INE, 1999). Furthermore, advances in technology and increasing aid techniques have led to an increase in the participation of disabled people in the tourism sector. Despite this, many disabled people who do not travel for fear of the barriers existing in many destinations. The reasons that have led to this situation of inaccessibility in tourism seem to come justified, in part, by the scant attention given to them until recently, persons with disabilities, especially their right to leisure and enjoyment free time. Fortunately, in the last two decades, initiatives have emerged, both public and private, for the right of these people to equal treatment in leisure and tourism, which has resulted in increased awareness in various fields of business, political and social. Specifically, in the last decade have adopted numerous provisions and regulations designed to achieve an accessible environment for disabled people, thus they are subject to unequal treatment. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of accessibility to ensure that disabled tourists can enjoy a destination equal to the tourists are not disabled. Our research focused on the "hotel" as a means of accommodation, being the most used by disabled tourists (Huesca and Ortega, 2004:48 ff), aims to ascertain the perspective of the people who run the hotels in the following aspects: the level of knowledge about the applicable rules on accessibility of hotels, the benefits of improved accessibility, ie the elimination of barriers in the hotels and the consideration of accessibility as a factor differentiation. The geographical area in which it has conducted research is the province of Cádiz.