Tourism Management 24 (2003) 465–474 Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: perceptions of people with disabilities Bob McKercher a, *, Tanya Packer b,1 , Matthew K. Yau c , Patrick Lam d a School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong b School of Occupational Therapy, Curtin University, Perth, Australia c Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong d School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Received 9 September 2002; accepted 22 October 2002 Abstract Travel agents remain the primary source for people with disabilities to purchase travel products. How effectively travel agents performthistaskhasadirectimpactontheabilityofpeoplewithdisabilitiestotravel.Agoodtravelagentcanfacilitatetravel,while a poor one creates another obstacle to participation in travel by people with disabilities. This paper examines the perception of people with disabilities towards the effectiveness of travel agents in Hong Kong. For the most part, respondents suggest that travel agents are largely deficient in catering to the needs of this specialist market. Two causes were identified: attitudinal and structural. Travelagentsarelargelyignorantoftheneedsofpeoplewithdisabilities,whichleadstoovertorsubtlediscrimination.Inaddition, the financial realities of the retail travel sector in Hong Kong force agents to push high commission, easy to book packaged tours that may not be suitable for the tourist with a disability. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Disability; Travel agent 1. Introduction Travel agents continue to play a vital role in the tourism distribution system, forming the all important link between providers and consumers. Their stock in tradeisknowledgeanditisthatknowledgethattheysell to consumers. Travel agents have been described as the most important information gatekeeper in the travel purchase decision making process (Middleton, 1994), experts who are knowledgeable in all aspects of tourism (McIntosh & Goeldner, 1990), and as information brokers whose opinions and recommendations are sought because of their high level of knowledge and involvement in a particular product class (Jacoby & Joyer, 1981 as cited in Klenosky & Gitelson, 1998). As opinionformers,theirknowledgeandinformationhasa significant impact on destination choice (Lawton & Page, 1997). Destination na . ıve tourists and those people who travel internationally are particularly likely to use theservicesofatravelagencywhentraveling(Baloglu& Mangaloglu, 2001). The success of travel agents relies on their ability to provide products that suit clients’ needs and wants. An understanding of those needs and wants, coupled with deep product knowledge are implicit in this assertion. However,anumberofsourcesquestionboththequality and accuracy of the advice they provide. Travel agents may be reliable information sources for mainstream tourists, but for a variety of reasons, may not serve the needs of special populations particularly well. Indeed, rather than breaking down barriers to travel for members of special populations, travel agents may actually create an additional obstacle to travel. This paper examines the relationship between the travel trade and people with disabilities as well as the quality of information provided. The authors examine whether the retail travel sector acts as a facilitator or barrier to travel by people with disabilities and question *Corresponding author. Tel.: +852-2766-6553; fax: +852-2362- 9362. E-mail address: hmbob@polyu.edu.hk (B. McKercher). 1 Previously from Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 0261-5177/03/$-see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0261-5177(02)00107-3