Employing Persons with Mobility Disability in Travel Agencies: An Exploratory Study Applied to Egyptian Travel Agencies

Despite the continuing international concern to promote employment of persons with disabilities, discrimination against them in the global labor market still exists while many workplaces – including tourism - remain inaccessible to them. The present study is considered the first study that explores the perception of travel agents towards employing persons with mobility disabilities. Therefore, it largely contributes to the existing body of knowledge concerning the factors influencing the inclusion of persons with mobility disabilities in the global tourism workplace. In this respect, a measurement scale was developed to assess the perception of travel agents towards employing persons with mobility disabilities. Multiple regression analysis and independent sample t-test were used to assess the effect of the barriers that travel agencies encounter in employing persons with mobility disabilities on their future intentions with regard to recruiting persons with disabilities and to detect significant differences between large and  small travel agents in terms of overcoming existing barriers and future intentions. The study findings reveal that the cost barrier is the key barrier that encounters travel agencies to employ persons with mobility disabilities. Tax exemption and country's assistance in the cost of medical insurance were reported as the most important means to encourage travel agents to employ persons with mobility disabilities. Specialized education and training programs and advertisements were found to be the most important means to overcome barriers to employ persons with mobility disabilities in travel agencies. The study indicates that negative appreciation of employers is considered the main barrier that negatively affects the future intentions of travel agents to employ persons with mobility disabilities. There were no significant differences between large and small travel agencies in perceiving potential means of overcoming different barriers to employ persons with mobility disabilities. The research generates insights for managers to assess key barriers that prevent them employing persons with mobility disabilities, potential means that encourage travel agents to employ persons with mobility disabilities and ways to overcome existing barriers based on agents’ points of view.