The characteristics of accessibility-natured spatial experiences, in the mirror of travel science

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present, in a philosophically and empirically verifiable way, the necessarily subjective aspects of the creation and transformation of the space giving home to human existence in the context of travel studies. This intellectual and practical human activity is called “handiness”: both a necessary condition and a driving force for our existence on Earth. In this paper, the authors contextualise the experiential and spatial needs of people with disabilities wishing to travel, compared to their ‘healthy’ counterparts, which show no real differences. Focusing on the travel management difficulties of travellers with accessibility needs, which basically fluctuate around under- or dis-information, the authors actively rely on an ancient “toolbox” of philosophy, already successfully integrated into their studies to date, to explore and analyse the problem and to formulate recommendations. The authors are convinced that this ‘methodology’ will deepen the thought and academic messages of travel studies and are aware that their approaches and the language of the world of philosophy is relatively far from the mainstream academic formulation. Woven into this contextual web, they also draw attention to the responsibility of online accommodation providers and distributors, and make suggestions for making the seemingly paradoxical individual needs for space and building use mappable.