Accessible Tourism
2.0 The Current Landscape
The Value of Accessible Tourism
Accessible and inclusive tourism is not a niche market, nor should it have ever been seen as one. It goes beyond having wheelchair ramps or accessible toilets and any other box ticking to be compliant. With almost one in five Australians identifying as having a disability, accounting for more than four million people. And, with the ageing population growing, this number will increase over the next 20 to 40 years.
This is not dissimilar globally, with 15% (approximately 1 billion) living with some form of disability. Almost everyone will experience some form of disability in some form at some point in their life (World Health Organisation 2021).
The demand to travel and live life to the full, is global - disability or not.
There is an untapped opportunity for both those with disability and business.
There has long been a gross misconception that people with disability and seniors have significantly less disposable income. Domestic and international visitation by people with disability contributed to $10.8 billion a year in Australia on tourism related activities (Travability 2018). This can be further broken down across day tripping ($1.4 billion), overnight stays ($6.6 billion) and inbound travel ($2.8 billion) and pre-pandemic it was forecasted to account for 25% of total tourism spend in 2020 (Travability 2018).
A reader survey undertaken by Travel Without Limits in 2021 identified:
67% of respondents take between one and four domestic trips each year, with the most common taking one to two trips
36% travel internationally at least once a year, with 54% not travelling internationally
17% travel with a support worker at all times
71% of respondents prefer to communicate directly with a travel provider rather than through a travel agent
76% have an annual travel budget between $1000 and $10,000.
Legislation and Guidelines
In recent years, legislation and guidelines have been released improving the goalposts for industry to understand their role and commitment in making businesses accessible.
In 2021, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) published the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) to help the industry make travel accessible for all. It is the first global standard on accessible tourism. ISO 21902, Tourism and related services - Accessible tourism for all - Requirements and recommendations, provides requirements and guidelines to facilitate equal access and enjoyment of tourism by people of all ages and abilities. The document provides information on the key aspects of policy making, strategy, infrastructure, products and services. It is for all stakeholders involved in the tourism supply chain, whether from the public or private sector, at a local, regional, national and international level. The standard is set to support the tourism sector in mainstreaming Universal Design approaches, making tourism accessible for everyone, everywhere.
Also in 2021, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) launched Inclusive and Accessible Travel Guidelines focusing on the experience of people with disability to make the sector more inclusive. The four key pillars include:
developing an inclusive and accessible system
creating safe spaces
designing an engaging and relevant system
exemplifying inclusion and accessibility.
These guidelines emphasise the importance of fostering an inclusive and respectful environment with a focus on providing training to staff on disability awareness, supporting people with disability and collaborating with businesses and communities where there are gaps in accessible experiences, services and knowledge.
In 2022, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) released the ‘Tourism Access and Inclusion: Best Practice Guidelines for Tourism MSMEs in APEC’ which aims to help grow the market for tourism micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) and provide people with disability greater choice and control in their travel planning and purchase decisions.