Accessible tourism and its benefits for coping with stress

• Autor(a) principal: Moura, Andreia
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Kastenholz, Elisabeth, Pereira, Anabela Maria Sousa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47425
• topic: Accessible tourism; stress-coping; disability; socialtourism; health and wellness; Turismo Accesible; Estrés-Coping; Discapacidad

The present study had two main objectives: (i) to understand the relationship between tourism and stress-coping for individuals with disabilities, and (ii) to develop an empirical basis for therapeutic purposes and for improving new tourism products and policies, in a biopsychosocial framework. An empirical study was conducted using participants with disabilities (N = 306) who were assessed with the Leisure Coping Scale adapted to the Accessible Tourism context. The positive influence of tourism on these individuals’ biopsychosocial dimensions of stress-coping is identified and discussed. Results suggest that accessible tourism should be recognized as a new stress-coping resource for disabled people, supporting the rebalancing of their personal and social resources, positively contributing to their health and well-being. These findings provide further evidence for the development of new tourism products targeted to a population with special needs, and for accurate policies of alternative therapeutic interventions in the context of their rehabilitation.