The Economic Potential & Benefits of

Accessible Tourism in South East Asia

Chris Veitch - European Network for Accessible Tourism

& Simon Darcy - University of Technology Sydney

The winner of the 2022 award

for the destination offering the

most outstanding visitor

experience is…

The most accessible one!

‘Accessibility’can be misinterpreted

Win Win Win

Visitors Businesses Destinations

A Stereotype Image?

Access imperatives

Legal

Moral Business

e.g. UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 / Equality Act 2010

Drivers for Accessible Tourism

Market Drivers for

Accessible Tourism

1. Respect for Human Rights, Global Governance - UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

- European Accessibility Act (proposed)

2. Demographics + Ageing population

- Growing population of older people with access needs

3. New Business Opportunities- Opportunity to develop quality tourism based on accessibility, sustainability and improved customer care

- Corporate Social Responsibility and good business sense

Not all disabilities are visible

We can’t ignore accessibility

Accessibility development

• Universal Design and Service offers

exciting and untapped development

opportunities for visitors, local

businesses and destinations.

• We should see improving

accessibility in tourism as

compelling, not just a means to an

end in itself (an easily accessible

tourist experience) but also as

a‘tool’leveraging many other wider

benefits.

Business & Destination

Benefits Through

Accessibility Accessibility

Improve Quality

Respond to Changing Markets

Increase Market

Opportunities

More CompetitiveDifferentiate

Create a Unique Selling Proposition

A Better WelcomeRepeat Visits &

Recommendations

Improved Financial

SustainabilitySeasonality

Social Responsibility

Civic

Pride

Inward Investment

Impact of disability

on holiday-taking

Similar to non-

disabled

holiday

experience

Holiday-taking is a

possibility, depending

on availability of

disabled facilities /

services

Holiday-taking can

be complicated,

involving potential

loss of dignity for

disabled person

Partially

hearing or

visually

impaired

Mobility

impaired -

no walking

aids

Profoundly

deaf or

blind

Wheelchair

user

Mobility

impaired -

with walking

aids

Adult learning

disability / mental

health problems,

with behavioural

problems

Low

impact

High

impact

Source: VisitBritain

We all fit into this boxwe call accessibility!

See the customer not the disability

The Access Market

Specialist

All other Markets

The Pyramid

All with a Disability 20% of Aust population (ABS 2004)

Mo

bility

Vis

ion

He

arin

g

Ag

ein

g/S

en

iors

Dexte

rity &

Fa

tigu

e

Me

nta

l He

alth

(Invis

ible

)

Co

gn

itive

/Le

arn

ing

Co

mm

un

ica

tion

Se

ns

itivitie

s

Higher

Support Needs

Lower

Support Needs

No Restriction 4.7%

Mild 5.3%

Moderate 3.5%

Severe 3.3%

Profound 3.0%

Then…• Disabled and elderly people were marginalised in society.

• Not seen as a desirable or valuable market by the tourism sector

• Lack of knowledge about how to address their needs.

Now…- Increasing numbers of older travellers: travel is part of senior lifestyle.

- Older people inevitably acquire some disabilities or impairments.

In fact most disabilities are acquired

- These are not the "traditional" old people we knew 30 years ago.

- They aspire to do more and go to new places in their retirement/old

age...

- The active older “baby-boomer” generation is changing the perception of

"customers with disabilities" in the minds of tourism business owners.

- Businesses are gearing up to meet the requirements of seniors, disabled

visitors, families and an increasingly diverse market.

Why has the accessible tourism

market been ignored for so long?

Megatrends

Recent research from Accenture identifies four key trends:

• an ageing population,

• growing resource scarcity,

• exploding technology advances and

• emerging markets

“…that have the ability to shape the global economy and

drive growth in the coming decade, despite continued

market uncertainty.”

20

Accenture. New Waves of Growth reporthttp://www.accenture.com/us-en/landing-pages/management-consulting/new-waves-growth/pages/default.aspx

World Report on Disability, 2011

Dis

abili

ty

Ageing & Growth:

Areas to watch

• Experiential goods and services:

Increasing demand for varied leisure opportunities,

entertainment, travel and tourism.

• Health services and wellness products:

Increased health spending including long-term care for

the elderly

• Age-inclusive consumer goods:

Increased demand for products designed to adapt to the

changing physiological condition of older people.

22

Accenture. New Waves of Growth report

Ageing & Growth:

Success factors

• Businesses, governments and third-sector providers

such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will

need to adopt better long-range skills planning and

better techniques to analyze demographic demand

shifts.

• Areas such as healthcare and social care, tourism and

travel, will require a distinctive blend of knowledge and

skills

23

Accenture. New Waves of Growth report

• Information

• Infrastructure

• Transport

• Services

• Facilities

…provisions for elderly and disabled people are either

lacking or inadequate in many countries and regions.

This is a clear case of "market failure" where both the

public sector and entrepreneurs have failed to provide what

many potential visitors need.

Customers do not come simply because they simply can't!

Accessibility Requirements

Real numbers:

count the visitors

25

2009 UK Visitor Survey asked:

- Do you or does anyone travelling with you

have a disability or a long-term health

problem?

• 11% of all visitors answered “yes”.

• Disabled visitors contributed almost £2bn

to the English domestic visitor economy in

2009. (11% of total spending)

• Disabled visitors stay longer and spend

more per visit, on average. http://www.visitengland.org/

26

Around 11% of the total number of tourists have

a disability or long-term health condition

(2003 study).

Tourists with a disability:• Spent AUS $8 billion to 11.9 billion

• Contributed AUS$3 billion to 4.5 billion to Tourism

• 12%−15% of total tourism Gross Value Added

• Contributed $ 3.8 billion to $5.7 billion to Tourism Gross

Domestic Product (11%−16% of total)

• Sustained between 51,820 and 77,495 direct jobs in the

tourism industry (11.6%−17.3% of direct tourism

employment)

Source: Dwyer & Darcy 2008 “Economic Contribution of Accessible Tourism in

Australia” (estimates).

Australia

Real numbers:

count the visitors

27

“American adults with disabilities or reduced

mobility currently spend an average of 13.6

billion dollars a year on travel. Creating

accessible cruise ships, accessible ship

terminals, accessible ground transportation,

and accessible tourist destinations is not

charity – it is just good business”.

Dr. Scott Rains, Disabled travel expert and educator,

2011.

www.rollingrains.com

USA

Real numbers:

count the spend

Social Tourism

• Social Tourism Project – ‘Accessible Culture for all’

• Aims to get more people to visit Malta

• People with access requirements do not travel alone, are big spenders and likely to return

• Need to be more clever and strategic and sophisticated and treat social tourism like a mainstream market

Malta

Don’t miss out!

Benefits for business

See the market differently

“Accessibility, we try to think of

it as the norm, we don‟t think of

ourselves as an accessible

accommodation or an

accommodation just for people

with disabilities. We just happen

to be a holiday cottage that had

been adapted and is suitable for

everybody”

Sonja Gregory, The Hytte, Northumberland, UK

• Accessibility benefits a wider market e.g. families and older

people.

• Building accessibility into new build / refurbishment can be low

cost.

• Attractions can improve quality of experience for everyone.

• A loyal market.

• Access information is important.

• Staff training is vital.

• The more accessible the business the more attractive it is to a

wider number of people – wider customer base.

• If not accessible can stand to lose more than one customer = 24.

• See accessibility as the norm so that „everyone can have a nice

time together‟.

Key messages for businesses

Adapted from Lane (2007)

Unlocking the potential

• How can we manage

all of these moments of

truth that our visitors

have in our

destinations and make

them more accessible?

Developing synergy

‘Understanding this interconnectedness and

interdependence of individual businesses in the

experience of the visitor is essential in order for

destinations to grow their market share.’

‘To achieve this understanding may require the

leadership of destination managers and marketers, such

as regional tourism organisations, local chambers of

commerce as well as local governments.’

Dickson & Darcy (2012)

Unlocking the potential:

A Key role for destinations

We are the champions!

International Destination (Continent)

National Destination

Regional Destination

Local Destination

Tourism Businesses

Actions needed on every level

Enterprise - level

Cities and Destinations

Regions within countries

Countries

Global regions: Europe, Asia, North & South America, Australasia, Africa

Being positive about access

Source: ‘Growing your customer base to include disabled people.’

Win Win Win

Visitors Businesses Destinations