Access to tourism for excluded social groups - exploration of the phenomenon based on selected examples

Abstract

Today, social exclusion is a multidimensional phenomenon that penetrates many aspects of our lives. Social exclusion does not refer only to a situation in which individuals or social groups do not have equal access to, inter alia, material resources, but more and more often it is related to the inability to fully participate in social, economic, political and cultural life as a result of the lack of access to resources, goods and institutions, limitation of social rights and deprivation of needs. This term also describes a situation in which a given individual, being a member of society, cannot naturally fully meet his/her needs, interests or, for example, use tourist services and participate in various related activities. At the same time, each of us has the right to practice tourism without any barriers, regardless of sexual orientation, age, social origin, or degree of disability, etc. The aim of this article is to analyse the problem of exclusion from tourist services based on the example of selected social groups (prisoners, seniors, children and youth, the disabled) and the presentation of inclusive activities of various institutions and organisations in Poland and around the world. The conducted research has shown that, fortunately for the surveyed excluded groups, there are various effective programs and projects offered by entities and organisations established for this purpose.