Can tourism businesses foster better inclusion for people with visual impairment?

It is difficult to deny that despite its increased popularity, the concept of social entrepreneurship has not received a clearer understanding in a theoretical context. Zahra, Gedajlovic, Neubaum, and Shulman (2009) list 20 definitions of social entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurs given by various authors. A recurring theme in the majority of these definitions is the “mission of the social entrepreneur […] of creating social value by providing solutions to social problems” (Dacin, Dacin, & Tracey, 2011, p. 1204). To measure such social value or social wealth is, however, a difficult task. Such wealth is more often than not non-quantifiable and subjective (Zahra et al., 2009). It is also plausible to assume that measuring social value is domain-specific and should differ significantly among different types of social enterprises. The study described further is taking a closer look at a specific group of tourism organizations that offer travel products for people with various forms of visual impairment as well as sighted people, thus providing an inclusive travel experience. Although these organizations vary in their model – ranging from non-for-profits to for-profit businesses – they all can be described as social enterprises, as they follow both economic and social goals (Zahra et al., 2009). While not discussing further the theoretic considerations of defining social entrepreneurship, neither the related ethical concerns, this study will measure the potential social value of such tourism organizations in the inclusion of people with visual impairment into the society. On a broader level, it can answer the question whether tourism products can foster social inclusion for people with disabilities. I want to