The contribution of holiday trips to life satisfaction: the case of people with disabilities

This study analyses the contribution of holiday trips to the life satisfaction (LS) of people with disabilities as compared to people without disabilities. Particular attention is paid to the effects of the intensity of taking part in holiday trips on LS. We are interested in testing two different hypotheses: (a) holiday trips increase individuals' LS and (b) the effects of holiday trips on LS are different for people without and with disabilities, being greater for this latter group. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we estimate LS equations (running generalised least square random-effects models) for people without and with disabilities which include a set of variables measuring participation or not in holiday trips and its intensity. Although people with disabilities are less likely to participate in holiday trips than people without disabilities, the results indicate that people with disabilities obtain higher levels of LS than people without disabilities from their participation in holiday trips, especially when this participation is more intense. Policy-makers and the tourism industry must promote and facilitate full access and participation of people with disabilities in holiday trips by eliminating all barriers, understanding their differential needs and providing an inclusive leisure environment.