Constraints Affecting Destination Choice of Disabled Individuals within the Scope of Accessible Tourism, Social Appearance Anxiety, Intention to be a Tourist and Recommendation Relationship

Abstract

Tourism offers significant benefits to people with disabilities, not only by providing opportunities for rest and recreation but also by improving personal and social well-being. It supports the development of physical, psychological, and emotional health while enhancing social skills, broadening horizons, encouraging intercultural exchange, and facilitating learning. "Accessible tourism" refers to the ability of individuals with disabilities to travel and vacation with the same freedom and equality as everyone else. Accessible infrastructure and services help people with disabilities increase their self-confidence and independence, reduce concerns about their appearance, and have a more enjoyable vacation experience. As a result, individuals with disabilities can engage more freely in society and socialize with others. Ensuring access to accessible tourism is important for promoting equality and inclusivity, advancing efforts in the field, and creating solutions to improve the tourism experiences of people with disabilities. This study aims to examine the relationship between social appearance anxiety, tourist intention, and recommendation intention, focusing on the barriers that individuals with disabilities face in participating in accessible tourism. The research was conducted in Konya, with a sample of 486 individuals with disabilities selected from the districts of Karatay and Selçuklu using purposive sampling. A quantitative research method was used, and participants completed a personal information form. Data collection tools included the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale [15], the Tourism Constraints and Tourist Intention Scale [27] and the Recommendation Intention Scale [1]. The data were analyzed using SPSS, and the results were presented in terms of numbers, percentages, means, and standard deviations. For normally distributed data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used, while the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman Correlation analysis were used for non-normally distributed data. Demographic characteristics were taken into account in each analysis. The results showed a moderate negative relationship between social appearance anxiety and tourist intention (r: -0.536; p<0.05), indicating that as social appearance anxiety increased, tourist intention decreased. Additionally, a weak positive relationship was found between social appearance anxiety and recommendation intention (r: 0.253; p<0.05), meaning that higher levels of social appearance anxiety were associated with a greater likelihood of recommending tourism.