Barrier-free tourism is a vastly underrated market whose economic importance will increase drastically over the years and decades to come.
Around
the world, despite having the time and money to travel, millions of
people with disabilities or reduced mobility are unable to do so due
to a lack of facilities. What is more, because of the demographic
change in many countries and the growing desire of the elderly to
travel, potential demand in this market will rise significantly.
These are the findings of the latest ITB
World Travel Trends Report, compiled by IPK International and
commissioned by ITB Berlin.
According
to Lilian Müller, President of the European Network for Accessible
Tourism (ENAT), the most recent statistics reveal that in Europe
alone there are 80 million people with disabilities:
”Global estimates range
from 600 million to 900 million.“ That means that with world’s
population now at seven billion, about ten per cent require
barrier-free and easily accessible facilities.
Commenting,
Dr. Martin Buck, director of the Competence Center Travel &
Logistics, Messe Berlin, said: “It is important for the global
travel industry to exploit this potential, as removing barriers
enables not only the disabled to enjoy stress-free holidays. Other
groups, for example families with young children,
accident victims and the elderly, also benefit from barrier-free
arrangements.“
Lack
of arrangements hampers market growth
The
economic importance of this market is huge: US adults with
disabilities or reduced mobility spend around 13.6 billion dollars on
travel every year. In Germany, turnover in this market is estimated
at around 2.5 billion euros and in the UK at almost two billion
pounds. “In the future these figures may well rise“, said Lilian
Müller. In recent years, around 37 per cent of disabled people in
Germany have decided not to travel due to a lack of easily accessible
facilities. However, 48 per cent would travel more if the necessary
arrangements existed. 60 per cent would even be willing to pay higher
travel costs for better accessibility.
According
to Lilian Müller, barrier-free tourism should no longer be a niche
market: “Accessibility arrangements must be part
of every single travel package. There is also a demand for specialist
operators to offer services for customers with greater mobility
needs“, she added. The internet represents an important platform
for achieving a barrier-free future. That means tour operators and
travel agencies making their internet information accessible to blind
and deaf persons. According to a survey by
ENAT, in 2011 only 10 out of 39 websites could be accessed by the
disabled.
The
ITB World Travel Trends Report has more information on barrier-free
tourism as well as details of every survey on global
tourism trends. It can be downloaded at www.itb-berlin.com. The
report is based on the assessments of 50 tourism experts from 30
countries, on a special IPK International trend analysis undertaken
in leading source markets, and on core data supplied by the World
Travel Monitor®, recognised as the largest continuous survey of
global travel trends in some 60 source countries. The findings
reflect trends which emerged during the first eight months of 2012.
At the ITB Berlin Convention Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK International,
will present the findings for the entire year, as well as
the latest forecasts for 2013.
From
10.30 to 11.45 on Friday, 8 March 2013 at the ITB Berlin Convention,
a keynote panel will examine “Barrier-free tourism for everyone:
quality and success criteria for ensuring the marketability of
destinations.”