Desafíos y estrategias para el desarrollo de destinos turísticos accesibles: estudio de caso en A Coruña desde la perspectiva de los stakeholders

Abstract

Accessible tourism (AT) has the potential to benefit millions of people and bring major economic profit and intangible value to companies. The aim of this article is to examine the current state of accessible tourism in urban destinations for people with physical and sensory disability. The case study focuses on the city of A Coruña (Spain), using data collected from nine interviews and two focus groups. The sample for the study comprised 23 participants from the public, private and association sectors. Data were collected and analysed using a Ground Theory methodology and the Atlas.ti programme. The results reveal that the problems and solutions of adapting tourism may be categorised as technical, financial and cultural. The results also highlight the central role and responsibility in AT of government, companies and associations of people with disability (PWD). Based on these findings, the study proposes the first theoretical model to categorise the problems and solutions associated with the development of accessible tourist destinations (ATD). At a practical level, these categories reflect the three areas in which Destination Management Organisation (DMO) action should focus in order to make destinations more accessible, while at a social level, the study recommends the creation of tourist environments that encourage the participation of people with special access needs.