A model for the accessible tourism human capital development for the physical impaired persons in South Africa

Abstract

The study is set on the background that tourism practitioners lack capacity to serve visitors with impairment in the tourism industry. This study purpose is to address this disparity from a tourism human capital development lens. This is set through accessible tourism human capital development model that bolsters the mainstreaming of impairment issues and persons with impairments (physical/visible). The goal was achieved through extensive literature review on tourism and impairments (disability) and policies. The literature analysis was set to ascertain the extent of mainstreaming impairments in empowering the impaired and non-impaired persons. This empowerment is set through the acquisition of formal employable tourism competencies within the tourism career path. This was achieved through Chapter 2 and 3. The second objective was to ascertain the extent of disablism on persons with impairments within the higher education institution. This was achieved in Chapter 3. The third and fourth objectives was to have the voice of the persons with impairments for the development of mechanism to nurture the capacity building in tourism practitioners to serve visitors with impairments. This was achieved through Chapter 4, 5 and 6. The qualitative study used in-depth face-to-face interviews and self-administered semi-structured questionnaires to persons with impairments’ gatekeepers and tourism educators. In addition, online panel discussion was used to collect data from the persons with impairments. The non-participatory direct observation was adopted for the higher education institution’s workflows/teaching and learning processes as augmented by policy document analysis. The results enabled the construction of the accessible tourism human capital development model. The results from the study highlighted that, neither policies mainstream impaired persons nor guides the enforceable practices towards mainstreaming impairment issues in the teaching and learning environment. This caused the void in capacity to handle learners with impairments among the tourism educators due to ignorance. Hence the graduates (tourism practitioners) will have no capacity to handle visitors with impairments at the tourism facilities. The study concluded that the policy bleakly addresses persons with impairments and impairment issues. This positions impairment issues and physical impaired persons’ inclusive approaches remains more of rhetoric than mainstreamed practices. The literature and results from the study enabled the construction of accessible tourism human capital development model and implementation blueprint/framework that fosters mainstreaming impairment issues and physical