Towards Inclusive and Accessible Tourism: The Diagnostic Potential of Digital Tools

Tourism is an exclusionary activity. This is mainly the case with the elderly, persons with disabilities, and families with young members whose travel freedom is restricted by various conditions that range from personal and physical to environmental conditions. Studies exploring the diagnostic potential of digitalisation as a tool to reduce exclusion and improve the accessibility of tourism are still emerging. This chapter adds to this evolving body of literature by highlighting the tourism industry’s exclusionary nature and proposing digitalisation as a potential strategy to deal with the challenges. The chapter is conceptual and based on personal abstraction. But it also draws on the sectorial expertise of the authors. The chapter analyses the obstacles that lead to excluding other populations from tourism services and products and proposes a potential solution. The conceptual nature of the chapter could represent a particular limitation. Future research should explore different possible methodologies that can confirm or refute the conclusions and claims made in the chapter.