Travel constraint perceptions of people with mobility disability: a study of Sichuan earthquake survivors

This research examines how different socio-demographic and travel characteristics influence the perceptions of travel constraints of people with mobility disability. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research conducted a questionnaire survey with 157 Sichuan Earthquake survivors who suffer from different levels of mobility disability, supplemented by 22 semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that age, education, income, and marital status were the socio-demographic variables, and travel frequency, expenditure, motives, time and companions were the travel-related factors influencing the travel constraint perceptions of people with mobility disability. A novel contribution to the literature is the core finding that a life-cycle pattern was identified in the relationship between age and travel constraints. For instance, age is negatively correlated with interpersonal constraint while positively correlated with intrapersonal constraint. Contrary to the reporting in extant studies, this research did not find that severity of mobility disability affects perceptions of travel constraints. Practically, this research adds further theoretically information substance to the notion that destination managers should consider.