Through their lens: A visual inquiry into people with disabilities’ memorable tourism experience

While accessible tourism has gained traction, memorable tourism experience (MTE) research has largely overlooked how people with disabilities construct and interpret meaningful travel. This study addresses that gap through autophotography and photo elicitation with 57 people with disabilities to show that MTE dimensions are shaped by uneven, embodied processes influenced by inclusion, exclusion, and stigma. We reframe MTE by centring agency, affect, and identity and identify five mechanisms central to their memorability: autonomy, identity exploration, creative expression, personal achievement, and experiential learning. These led to outcomes tied to people with disabilities’ self-esteem, self-awareness, self-affirmation, self-efficacy, and self-growth. We provide recommendations for tourism marketing, helping destinations design and communicate experiences that resonate emotionally and meaningfully with people with disabilities.