IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i9p3853-d1641701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accessibility of Tourist Attractions for Individuals with Disabilities as a Factor in the Development of Inclusive Tourism: Example of the Świętokrzyskie Region—Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Klaudia Chwaja

    (Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, University of Culture Physical in Kraków, 31-571 Kraków, Poland)

  • Błażej Chwaja

    (Faculty of Sports Management and Tourism, Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland)

  • Iwona Marczak

    (Faculty of Motor Rehabilitation, University of Culture Physical in Kraków, 31-571 Kraków, Poland)

  • Zygmunt Kruczek

    (Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, University of Culture Physical in Kraków, 31-571 Kraków, Poland)

Abstract

The number of individuals with disabilities around the world and in Poland is constantly increasing. Social inclusion, anti-discrimination, and social integration are among the Sustainable Development Goals, which include inclusive tourism. Fostering inclusion in the tourism industry contributes to improving quality of life in marginalised communities, community involvement in tourism development planning, and ethical activities related to the production and consumption of tourism services. Making attractions accessible to people with disabilities also contributes to enriching the tourist offerings of a region. The aim of this study is to assess the accessibility of tourist attractions in the Świętokrzyskie region, located in central Poland. The natural, cultural, and historical attractions there create potential for the development of various forms of tourism. The accessibility of 20 major tourist attractions for people with mobility, sight, and hearing impairments was examined. The results indicate a varying level of adaptation of facilities to the needs of the surveyed groups. Recreation and entertainment facilities are the best adapted, while sacred and historical facilities are the least adjusted. The majority of adaptations were directed towards individuals with mobility impairments, with blind and partially sighted people as well as deaf and partially hearing people often being overlooked. The identified barriers to adaptation included the excessive cost of adaptation and the limitations of the historic nature of the building. The inadequate preparation of attraction staff to support disabled individuals was also highlighted, as well as the importance of modern technology in creating accessibility and the need to promote inclusion among attraction managers and in regional policy. The article also includes an analysis of the local government’s measures aimed at social inclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Klaudia Chwaja & Błażej Chwaja & Iwona Marczak & Zygmunt Kruczek, 2025. "Accessibility of Tourist Attractions for Individuals with Disabilities as a Factor in the Development of Inclusive Tourism: Example of the Świętokrzyskie Region—Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-28, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3853-:d:1641701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3853/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3853/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3853-:d:1641701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.