EMPLOYMENT OF DISABLED IN THE TOURISM SECTOR FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE EMPLOYERS: A STUDY ON ACCOMMODATION ENTERPRISES OF MERSİN

Abstract

Negative attitudes toward employers are one of the most problematic issues that disabled people encounter and must overcome when entering working life. The main purpose of this study is to examine the perspectives of people who are employers or managers in the accommodation sector on the employment of the disabled. The sample of the research is defined as the employers in the accommodation sector operating in Turkey. The sample of the study consists of employers in the accommodation sector operating in Mersin. The data of the study were made in the form of face-to-face interviews by applying a semi-structured interview form to 20 participants, including employers in the accommodation sector in Mersin, within the scope of qualitative research. In addition, the obtained data were made concrete and evaluated within the scope of descriptive analysis. As a result of the research, although the employers or the managers who are involved in personnel recruitment have positive opinions about the employment of the disabled, it has been learned that the working conditions are generally not suitable for the employment of the disabled. Besides, it has been found that disabled individuals have advantages such as attracting customers to businesses, but they also have disadvantages such as decreased productivity, customer dissatisfaction and cost increase due to their physical inadequacies. An important point in the employment of people with disabilities is incentives. The general view on this issue is that the incentives given by the state are insufficient and more incentives should be given for the employment of the disabled.