Assessing the Travel-Related Behaviors of the Mobility-Disabled Consumer

Few consumer groups have greater potential and are more ignored than the disabled. Consisting of 50 million individuals in the United States, with discretionary income of over 200 billion, this largest of all minority groups has been viewed by many tourist businesses as a source of confusion, requiring extra expenditures on ramps, specially fitted rooms, and the loss of prime parking. This article offers new insights into the possibilities associated with the disabled, including general trends and need sets. Also included are the results of a survey of a cross section of mobility-disabled consumers. Four hypotheses relating severity of disability with destination decision criteria were tested. Results indicate that disability relates to environmental criteria, accessible criteria, and activities criteria. The findings indicate that segmenting the disabled by level of severity is a valuable process and that those with more severe disabilities travel differently and for different reasons. Managerial implications are discussed.