Cover not available
Article published In:
Challenges and solutions in translation: Insights into training, ELF, and accessibility
Guest-edited by Rossella Latorraca and Jacqueline Aiello
[Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 9:1] 2023
► pp. 41–70

Translation and EIL in accessible tourism

Potentials and limits

| University of Sassari

This paper aims at exploring the potentials and limits of translation and English as International Language as tools of inclusion in accessible tourism. Accessible tourism can be defined as a form of tourism that enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments. This research will try to identify the main linguistic, translational and multimodal features characterising a series of accessible tourism texts in English and Italian, in order to show how translation and English as International Language may increase, or sometimes hinder, the actual level of accessibility and promotional aims of these texts, raise awareness on disability issues and, mostly, contribute effectively to the development of a more inclusive and egalitarian society.

Keywords: accessible tourism, translation, EIL, inclusion
Article outline
  • 1.Accessible tourism: Key definitions and socio-economic data
  • 2.The promotion of accessible tourism: Linguistic features, structural layout and textual contents
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1The accessibility page of the British Museum website
    • 3.2The Airport4All app
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 March 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00101.gan
References
AccessAble – British Museum Portal
2020 Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Airport4All
2020 Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Ambrose, Ivor
2014 Economic Impact and Travel Patterns of Accessible Tourism in Europe – Final Report. Service Contract SI2.ACPROCE052481700 – European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry. [URL]
2016 The Economic Impact of Accessible Tourism. Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
2020 Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Bowtell, James
2015 “Assessing the Value and Market Attractiveness of the Accessible Tourism Industry in Europe: a Focus on Major Travel and Leisure Companies.” Journal of Tourism Futures 1 (3): 203–222. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
British Museum
2020 Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Buhalis, Dimitrios, Simon Darcy, and Ivor Ambrose
eds. 2012 Best Practice in Accessible Tourism: Inclusion, Disability, Ageing Population and Tourism. Clevedon, UK: Channel View. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carreres, Ángeles, and María Noriega-Sánchez
2020 “Beyond Words: Concluding Remarks.” In Translation and Multimodality: Beyond Words, ed. by Monica Boria, Ángeles Carreres, María Noriega-Sánchez, and Marcus Tomalin, 198–203. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Center for Universal Design
2008 Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Darcy, Simon, and Tracey J. Dickson
2009 “A Whole-of-life Approach to Tourism: the Case for Accessible Tourism Experiences.” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 16 (1): 32–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Daniels, Margaret J., Ellen B. Drogin Rodgers, and Brenda P. Wiggins
2005 “Travel Tales: an Interpretive Analysis of Constraints and Negotiations to Pleasure Travel as Experienced by Persons with Physical Disabilities.” Tourism Management 26 (6): 919–930. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
European Commission
2004 Improving Information on Accessible Tourism for Disabled People. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.Google Scholar
2014 Economic Impact and Travel Patterns of Accessible Tourism in Europe – Final Report. Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL];
2015 Mapping and Performance Check of the Supply of Accessible Tourism Services – Final report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
2019 European Commission Activities and Support Measures in the Area of Accessible Tourism for All. Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
European Disability Forum
2012 Facts and Figures about Disability. Accessed December 10, 2020. [URL]
Kress, Gunther
2020 “Transposing Meaning: Translation in a Multimodal Semiotic Landscape.” In Translation and Multimodality: Beyond Words, ed. by Monica Boria, Ángeles Carreres, María Noriega-Sánchez, and Marcus Tomalin, 24–48. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kress, Gunther, and Theo van Leeuwen
2001 Multimodal Discourse: The Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication. London: Hodder Education.Google Scholar
Lovelock, Brent, and Kirsten M. Lovelock
2013 The Ethics of Tourism: Critical and Applied Perspectives. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McKay, Sandra L.
2018 “English as an International Language: What it is and what it Means for Pedagogy.” RELC Journal 49 (1): 9–23. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Small, Jennifer, and Simon Darcy
2010 “Tourism, Disability and Mobility.” In Tourism and Inequality: Problems and Prospects, ed. by Stroma Cole, and Nigel Morgan, 3–20. Wallingford: Cabi. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization
2011 World Disability Report. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Tourism Organization
2013 Recommendations on Accessible Tourism. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2016a Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Best Practices Module I: Accessible Tourism – Definition and Context. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2016b World Tourism Day “Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility” Good Practices in the Accessible Tourism Supply Chain. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2016c Recommendations on Accessible Information in Tourism. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2017a Measuring Sustainable Tourism: a Call for Action – Report of the 6th International Conference on Tourism Statistics, Manila, Philippines, 21–23 June 2017. Madrid: UNWTO.Google Scholar
2017b 3rd International Congress on Ethics and Tourism – Enhancing the Sector’s Sustainability through Shared Responsibilities, Krakow, Poland, 27 and 28 April 2017. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
World Tourism Organization and United Nations Development Programme
2017 Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030. Madrid: UNWTO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar