EXPLORING THE PERFORMANCE OF HOTELS’ WEBSITES FOR GUESTS WITH DISABILITIES: A CONTENT ANALYSIS APPROACH

The globally rising awareness about the social inclusion of individuals with disabilities also influences the tourism and hospitality industry in Turkey. This exploratory research focuses on the disability related content of 61 four and five star hotels’ corporate websites in Izmir to reveal the provision of services to people with disabilities within the lodging industry via content analysis. The findings mainly revealed that the websites are not well-structured to support social inclusion of people with disabilities. Most of the hotel websites lack the details of general accessible information and visuals of the properties related to disability and measurement details of offered products in line with the services. Accordingly, empowerment of stakeholders is emphasized in order to improve the awareness of economic and social benefits in accessible accommodation.

ENGELLİ MİSAFİRLER İÇİN OTELLERİN İNTERNET SİTELERİNİN PERFORMANSINI KEŞFETME: İÇERİK ANALİZİ YAKLAŞIMI

Dünyada engelli bireylerin sosyal katılımları konusunda artan farkındalık, Türkiye'de turizm ve misafirperverlik endüstrisini de etkilemektedir. Bu keşifsel araştırma, konaklama endüstrisi içinde engelli bireylere sağlanan hizmetleri açığa çıkarmak için İzmir'de bulunan 61 adet dört ve beş yıldızlı otelin kurumsal internet sitelerindeki engellilik ile ilgili içeriklere, içerik analizi aracılığıyla odaklanmaktadır. Temel olarak bulgular, internet sitelerinin engelli bireylerin sosyal katılımlarını desteklemede iyi yapılandırılmadıklarını ortaya koymaktadır. Otel internet sitelerinin büyük kısmında genel erişilebilirlik bilgisi, engellilik ile ilgili mülkiyetin görselleri ve hizmetle beraber sağlanan ürünlerin ölçüm detayları eksiktir. Bu doğrultuda, erişilebilir konaklamada sosyal ve ekonomik faydaların farkındalığını arttırmak için paydaşların güçlendirilmesine vurgu yapılmaktadır.

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