Functional Education of Tourism Workers for Working with People with Disabillities

Abstract

Development plan and directions of Slovene tourism 2007-2011 is focused on human resources, which take main part in gaining and maintaining competitive edge. Working with guests with special needs, which is raising its importance in the field of tourism, is demanding new knowledge from those employed in tourism. So far this knowledge isn't offered by any of the formal institutions, regardless of the fact that this group, including elderly people, will become one of the largest groups in tourism. The aim of the article is to present informal ways of education for working with disabled in tourism, to present contents of the program, and ways of approaching and gaining this knowledge. Our research in willingness to gain the special skills was performed in Ljubljana with people who work in tourism and who are all members of sector HoReCa/Ta in the city.