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.
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