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Accessible tourismrequires planning

The Regional Conference on Barrier-free and Accessible Tourism organized by the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and sponsored by the Asian Pacific Disability Forum today and tomorrow in Taipei is a timely event to raise disability awareness in the fast growing tourism sector and to promote cross-sector partnerships and regional cooperation.

The conference will focus on the following key issues:

First, people with disabilities have an equal right to access to all tourism infrastructure, products and services, including employment opportunities and benefits that the tourism industry can provide. The tourism industry should provide the same choices for all consumers to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities, and protect the individual's right to travel with dignity.

Second, accessible tourism benefits a very large proportion of the population, including people with disabilities, older people and families with young children. These population sectors are among the fastest growing consumers of tourism services. They contribute significantly to a country's GDP growth.

Third, the fast growing tourism industry should also provide more employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The coming decades will see major improvements in infrastructure in many areas in the region, much of which will be related to the tourism industry. The region will also witness major investments by multinational tourism companies, including theme parks, resorts and hotels. The region will also host the Olympics in 2008, and Asia is expected to receive an increased number of disabled travelers and their families beginning that year, and for many years after.

For the region to develop truly barrier-free, accessible tourism that benefits all people -- including people with disabilities -- and fully realize the potential economic benefits of tourism, we need a comprehensive approach in each country to integrate the "hardware" and "software." The built environment -- buildings, streets, parks, public transportation and communication infrastructure -- has a major impact on the quality of a tourist's experience, especially concerning safety, convenience, efficiency and enjoyment.

However, there is insufficient integration of the planning and development of the built environment with tourism development, both within and across countries. To create tourism that caters to the full range of consumer needs, there is a need to improve the usability of transportation, accommodation, tourism sites and services, and tour programs. Tourism master plans, policies and programs should incorporate the principle of universal access to tourism infrastructure, products and services.

The Barrier-free Tourism Conference in Taipei will provide timely input on what strategic actions that the region should need. The following areas will be investigated: Empowerment and training of people with disabilities to take an active role in advocacy and monitoring for barrier free tourism; capacity building and policy development so that governments take a proactive approach in building barrier-free tourism; capacity building and disability awareness in the private sector, particularly among tourism service providers; capacity building and disability awareness for training institutions, including training of disabled people for the tourism industry; and finally, fostering inter-country exchanges and networking opportunities to share experiences and practices in developing barrier-free tourism.

Joseph Kin Fun Kwok is the chairman of the Information Subcommittee, Asia Pacific Disability Forum and an associate professor in the department of applied social studies at the City University of Hong Kong. Judy Wee is the chairperson of Asia Pacific Disability Forum.
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