As part of its Belong initiative, Tourism HR Canada has conducted a range of research activities to provide a foundation for understanding individuals with disabilities in the tourism workforce, and to offer tailored recommendations to create accessible, inclusive workplaces and recruitment practices.
A robust year-long process has included the collection and analysis of surveys and focus groups conducted with individuals with disabilities and with tourism employers, as well as data from Statistics Canada’s 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability.
The findings provide an in-depth exploration of a range of topics, including:
- Labour force characteristics of individuals with disabilities
- Disability awareness among tourism employers
- Tourism job preferences and perceptions of individuals with disabilities
- Barriers to employment faced by individuals with disabilities
- Types of workplace and career development supports
- Opportunities to improve the job application process
The report also provides recommendations around broadening the accessibility of the tourism sector as an employment destination for individuals with disabilities. Specific action items are grouped by audience: government, tourism employers, disability organizations, and the tourism sector as whole.
In addition to the full report, Tourism HR Canada has created a suite of factsheets providing high-level insights into the demographics of individuals with disabilities, perspectives from both individuals with disabilities and employers, and recommendations for employers on building accessible, inclusive workplaces.