Exploring the obstacles and opportunities related to disability-inclusive diversity management in the local tourism sector of South Africa

Abstract

The Global South has joined the debate on disability inclusion and tourism; however, a diversity management lens reveals a blind spot in the research. Therefore, the current study explored obstacles and opportunities for disability-inclusive diversity management practices in the local tourism sector. The phenomenological qualitative research design fostered group chat-guided interviews with persons with physical disabilities on Facebook groups. The study also included in-depth, face-to-face interviews with tourism educators and gatekeeper organisations (leaders) for persons with disabilities. Manual content analysis and the use of a computer-aided analytical tool such as ‘ATLAS.ti 8’ augmented the data analysis process. The results show that obstacles emanate from overlooking disability in mainstream work policies. The failure of local government to consult meaningfully with persons with disabilities in developing its diversity management approach is a significant lacuna. Consultation can equalise the opportunities to interpret disability inclusion for organisational processes at the local tourism economic level. In conclusion, the article contributes to a sector-specific, disability-inclusive diversity management implementation framework and provides recommendations that can remove the gaps.