Social capital as a driving force for accessible tourism

People with disabilities face environmental, economic, informational and intrinsic barriers that affect their choice of tourism goods by inducing a self-selection problem. This problem may generate a biased measure of their tourism participation probability. Given this consideration, the aim of the present study is twofold. First, the theoretical impact of barriers on tourism choices for a person with disabilities and how such barriers can generate a self-selection problem are presented. Second, the role of social capital in reducing these barriers is investigated. A Heckman selection model is employed to verify and address these issues using microdata concerning the Italian population. The results show the importance of social capital, through bridging and linking networks, in reducing the barriers to tourism participation.