Is accessibility the next frontier of tourism?

For many of us, family holidays centre around making memories that will be cherished for a lifetime. Yet for 1.3bn disabled people globally, making such memories can prove difficult because of the lack of inclusive experiences and infrastructure. From poor wheelchair access to chaotic airport environments, barriers can limit the holiday choices of many families and even prohibit travel altogether. 

Thankfully, the travel and tourism industry is beginning to wake up to the need for change, starting with a shift in mindset from a tick-box attitude towards disabled initiatives to a focus on understanding, inclusion and adaptation. The approach must involve meticulous attention to detail, incorporating smaller interventions such as website updates and braille-friendly information centres all the way to large-scale transformations of entire destinations.

A growing market

Addressing the historically underserved needs of disabled people and their families in the push towards “accessible tourism” isn’t simply doing the right thing. It also makes sense commercially. Analysts predict that the accessible tourism market could generate revenues of approximately $90bn by 2025, representing 65 per cent growth over a 10-year period. 

The business case for accessible destinations is clear, says Mike Adams, founder of Purple Tuesday, a global initiative dedicated to improving the experience of disabled customers. “If you make your environments accessible and inclusive, disabled travellers will come, will recommend and will return. Disabled people are the most loyal customers.”

Those advocating for change also point to the transformative, non-financial advantages of promoting equity. Embedding accessibility into the social and economic fabric of a destination drives practical benefits for disabled people who live in the local community, while helping to shift the values of that society. 

An all-inclusive offer

While retrofitting existing infrastructure can be a challenging and costly exercise, developers creating entirely new destinations have the opportunity to show the rest of the industry what can be done. 

One such developer is Red Sea Global (RSG), the company behind two ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and Amaala, that are being built on Saudi Arabia’s western coast. RSG is integrating accessibility into its offering, enabling all guests to enjoy their visit, irrespective of their physical or cognitive ability.

For Ahmad Darwish, RSG’s Chief Administrative Officer, the business has an important role to play in being a catalyst for change. “Accessible tourism is central to our approach. Building our destinations from scratch, we have a unique opportunity to curate a fully accessible experience, raising the bar for inclusivity across the entire category,” he says.

The developer has also committed to integrating accessibility across its organisational and employee experiences, with the creation of an accessibility committee to ensure implementation of the ISO 21902 – Accessible Tourism for All standard across the business. 

And as it will be for many future guests, accessible tourism is a personal concern for some of RSG’s employees. “As the mother of a disabled child, accessible tourism is profoundly important to me,” says Rosanna Chopra, Executive Director, Destination Development at RSG. “We often struggle to find hotels that will accommodate our needs, which makes planning family breaks difficult and stressful. Accessible tourism initiatives drive real-world consumer benefits and give families like mine, and many others, the chance to make special memories together, without fear of exclusion.”

Accessibility is important in a wider sense as Saudi Arabia invests in expanding its tourism income in line with Vision 2030, its programme for diversifying its economy away from oil. The kingdom only opened to international tourists in 2019, welcoming 16.6mn of them in 2022. Promoting accessible tourism is a component in the country’s drive to be understood as welcoming and inclusive while it is viewed globally as a traditional and socially conservative culture. 

“We often talk about our role in realising the transformation of not only our industry but the kingdom as a whole,” says Darwish. “If we’re serious about this ambition, it’s only right that we take a stance on the causes we believe in.”

The global tourism industry has a long way to go, but there are glimpses of how future destinations might work to serve all travellers equally. This will require a pan-industry effort that runs parallel with wider societal awareness of accessibility issues. As Adams of Purple Tuesday observes: “Disabled people and their families represent a third of the world’s population and so it is imperative that our environments are accessible to meet their needs.”

Through partnerships and the implementation of new standards, tourism – and other adjacent industries such as transport and hospitality – could help deliver a seismic change.