The Vacation Lottery: Exploring the relationship between the ...

Travelling with Disabilities in a Digital Age
Generally, advances within technology (eg internet, e-mail, social media/social
networking sites, smartphones etc) are applauded for providing greater access and
engagement to consumers. They are frequently reported as empowering us to
participate, either individually or collectively, in society, through affiliations (eg
social networking sites such as Facebook) and opportunities for self-expression (eg
review websites) (Burton & Kammash, 2010; Litvin et al., 2008). There is an implicit
assumption that we as a society are benefitting from these advances. Whether we are
the ‘digital natives’ of Generation Y, Z and beyond, or the digital immigrants of
previous generations (Prensky, 2001), technological advances are there to facilitate
and enhance our life experiences. However, this paper challenges this line of thinking
and argues instead that the relationship between consumption and technology is far
more complicated than necessarily appreciated. More specifically, the aim of the
paper is to explore the relationship by examining the leisure travel of disabled
consumers from a technological perspective.
Leisure travel is not accessible to all, with economic factors most commonly cited as
a primary reason for constrained participation. Economic constraints represent only
one part of the picture though with their contribution often over-simplified. Health
and disability factors, at times the cause of economic hardship, be it short or longterm,
are of at least equal significance yet remain infrequently considered. Such is
particularly problematic given the capacity of these factors to cut across the economic
divide. The comment by Shaw and Coles (2004, p 399) that "few, if any of the social
constructs of disability have permeated the tourism literature. There has been a
reluctance to explore the experiences of the disabled traveller, in addition to
neglecting the wider relationship between disabled people and the tourism industry" is
particularly pertinent to this paper as such criticism can equally be levied at our
current understanding of the technological access and engagement of these
consumers. Consequently, the paper questions whether, and which forms of
technology enhance tourism participation for disabled tourists today. Similarly it also
questions which problems arise for associated consumers as a consequence of
technological advances.
Understanding the travel needs of the disabled community is complicated as only a
narrow research agenda has been pursued to date. Three common areas of study exist.
First, that which identifies the disabled community as a lucrative market segment
waiting to be tapped. Second, that which considers the advantages of tourism
participation for constrained consumers. Third, that which considers the constraints
and barriers to participation the disabled community experiences.
Investigating the relationship between tourism participation and serious illness,
specifically cancer, Hunter-Jones (2004) identified the positive contribution of travel
to wellbeing. Personal health, social effectiveness, personal identity and regaining
independence were each identified as benefits of tourism participation. These benefits
are important and are generally reviewed within two contexts: physical benefits;
psychological benefits. More broadly physical benefits have commonly been linked to
active leisure participation. Gratton and Tice (1989) for instance contrasted
participation with non-participation under four general headings namely health status,
health attitudes, health lifestyles and leisure orientation. They found there to be a