Inclusivity and Literary Tourism

With profound changes in the behaviour and profiles of individuals, there is increasing concern with equal opportunities for all people regardless of their physical, sensory, intellectual or socio-economic conditions. This collective awareness has become more visible since 2007, after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106), which advocates an equal society for all, emphasising inclusion.

In this new context, the tourism sector needs to rethink its activity so that it also contributes to strengthening the principles of equality and respect for diversity, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to explore new places, different cultures and experiences to build a fairer and more inclusive society. As UNWTO (2021) states: "We are witnessing a growing adaptation of services in the tourism sector along with a stream of smarter and more inclusive development of technology, that reduces barriers and includes persons with disabilities in a very early phase of conceptualisation and design of tourism products". These are a set of alterations aimed at people with special needs, including people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, parents with children in prams or even people with temporary injuries. Thus emerges the concept of inclusive tourism, which is associated with finding ways to enable those typically marginalised or excluded from tourism to benefit directly from this activity. As Biddulph and Scheyvens (2018; 584) point out, inclusive tourism is a “transformative tourism in which marginalised groups are involved in the ethical production or consumption of tourism and in sharing its benefits”, which implies eliminating barriers that could hinder the experience of any visitor/tourist.

Considering the diversity of obstacles, for a tourism activity to be truly inclusive, it is necessary to adapt and/or modify services, products and infrastructures to suit the needs of the various publics and meet their expectations.

Literary tourism, as the travelling of people motivated by a love of literature or curiosity about literature, is increasingly significant since travelling, which for years was only an adventure confined to intellectuals and lovers of literature, is increasingly extended to all those who like to discover real or imaginary “places famous for their association with books or authors” (Ferreira & Villares, 2023; 9). However, as Squire (1996) points out, the literary tourist experience must be understood as an experience that goes beyond the leisure experience but can integrate and convey different cultural dimensions linked to a territory and its values. In this sense, it should be an attribute of literary tourism products, through multiple diverse and combined narratives, to lay bare the soul of the territory for its visitors (Van Es & Reijnders, 2018). In this perspective, the visitor is not a passive agent who receives content and interpretations of a landscape; on the contrary, the visitor plays a crucial role in adding value to literary spaces and interpreting them (Jiang & Xu, 2017) because it is their imagination that makes the connection between literary spaces and their specific values and allows them to perceive these spaces as 'authentic' (Orr, 2018). Thus, imagination is a condition common to all human beings; therefore, in its essence, literary tourism is a tourism niche that can benefit and promote inclusive proposals.

It is important to note that the term inclusive has, to date, been primarily used in discussions about accessible tourism, in most cases associating the two terms because accessibility in tourism is a condition for it to be inclusive. Increasingly aware that visitor/tourist limitations are not only related to disability but also arise from situations related to the ageing process or other conditions of limited or restricted mobility, such as pregnancy, parents with toddlers, obesity, gigantism, dwarfism, or even specific respiratory, cardiac, neurological pathologies, it will be essential to assess the impact of these characteristics of its public on literary tourism proposals.

Despite being a right enshrined in law (ISO 21902), tourism responses to this public are still considerably lower than demand. By making the literary tourism offer more inclusive, literary sites can welcome any tourist and give tourism service providers a competitive advantage. The challenge facing literary tourism is to be inclusive, in other words, to implement changes and adjustments to the services and products on offer so that everyone can access them: large families, the elderly, pregnant women and those with motor, visual or hearing impairments.

With its growing popularity, literary tourism places a responsibility on tourism and destination managers to offer activities that include all types of audiences. With very different specificities/limitations, it is up to tourism agents to adapt the proposals considering mobility conditions, physical endurance, and retention of information, among others, and to adjust the instructions, safety conditions and signage used in outdoor activities or enclosed spaces. Proposals for walking routes, for example, have to be adapted to the physical conditions of visitors, in particular by considering the length of the route, the condition of the ground, the possibility of safe movement and the width of the road and the signs used, since depending on the public each of these aspects may be more or less relevant.

Although there is a growing concern with developing specific literary itineraries for particular audiences, much needs to be done regarding festivals and other literary events. The same applies to literary destinations, which should include opportunities for all audiences. Therefore, guided tours should be led by qualified professionals, providing experiences adapted to the type of audience, both in the activities developed and the communication techniques used, reflecting a genuine commitment to inclusion. An example of this is the growing commitment to specific training to sensitise and train tourism professionals in the needs of different audiences.

Designing and implementing inclusive proposals respects individuality and increases the value that literary tourism adds to tangible and intangible heritage since literary sites expand and diversify the tourism market and foster innovation and creativity in tourism and social responsibility. Hence, inclusive literary tourism strengthens tourist destinations' image and offers enriching experiences, affirming respect for others and contributing to a more equitable society.

How to cite this entry: Ferreira, A. & Villares, M. (2025). Inclusivity and Literary Tourism. In R. Baleiro, G. Capecchi & J. Arcos-Pumarola (Eds.), E-Dictionary of Literary Tourism. University for Foreigners of Perugia. https://doi.org/10.34623/zdg2-hn59