Sufficiency and insufficiency of hotel facilities and services for guests with special needs: the cases of Portugal and Cyprus
Journal
Enlightening Tourism: A Pathmaking Journal
Date Issued
December 2021
DOI
10.33776/et.v11i2.5420
Abstract
Adequate facilities and appropriate customer service in the hotel industry
are needed to cater the increasing numbers of people with special needs,
including within the senior cohort. This paper purpose is to assess and
compare the cases of Cyprus and Portugal – countries that are highly
dependent on the tourism industry – and to identify whether their hotels
have the necessary facilities and employees are well equipped to support
guests with special needs. The results reveal that both Portuguese and
Cypriot hotels regard their facilities as adequate for people with physical
disabilities but exclude guests with other types of disabilities. Furthermore,
employees are not well prepared to provide services to this cohort of the
market. This failure to develop the necessary structures has implications
for these countries’ competitiveness in terms of becoming accessible and
disabled-friendly destinations.
are needed to cater the increasing numbers of people with special needs,
including within the senior cohort. This paper purpose is to assess and
compare the cases of Cyprus and Portugal – countries that are highly
dependent on the tourism industry – and to identify whether their hotels
have the necessary facilities and employees are well equipped to support
guests with special needs. The results reveal that both Portuguese and
Cypriot hotels regard their facilities as adequate for people with physical
disabilities but exclude guests with other types of disabilities. Furthermore,
employees are not well prepared to provide services to this cohort of the
market. This failure to develop the necessary structures has implications
for these countries’ competitiveness in terms of becoming accessible and
disabled-friendly destinations.
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