Transcript Accessibility in Tourism is…

Unlocking the potential of
Accessible Tourism
Treviso, 06 November 2012
Antonella Correra
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DG Enterprise and Industry
Why Tourism?
• 12% EU labour force, 10% EU GDP
• Steady growth since 2010
• In 2011, numbers of nights spent in hotels
surpassed results of 2007, the year before the
crisis
• In 2012, 1 billion people will have travelled in the
world
• By 2030, they will rise to 1,8 billion
• Over 40% employed in tourism are less than 35
• Up to 60% employed are women
Valorisation
of off-thebeaten-track
destinations
Off-setting
seasonality
Accessible
Tourism
Quality
tourism offer
Diversified
tourism offer
Attracting
more tourists
Accessible Tourism-Why does it matter?
• Untapped potential for SMEs=> 20% customer base
lost
• Loyal, frequent travellers, travelling off season and for
longer periods
• Accessibility matters also to ageing population => 60 is
the new 40!
• Multiplication factor
Accessibility in Tourism is…
Preparatory Action Tourism for ALL
2012-2014
Budget from EP in 2012: € 1 million
Objectives:
•
- To raise awareness
•
- To disseminate and reward best practices
•
- To improve skills
•
- To foster innovative solutions
•
- To promote more accessible services and facilities
•
- To incentivise and reward accessibility efforts
Mapping the demand of accessible tourism
 48% of disabled tourists in Germany would travel more often if
services were more accessible
 £2 billion is the contribution of disabled travellers to the domestic
visitor economy in UK (2009)
Fragmented data
for EU-27
1) Assess Economic impulse on tourism
2) Forecast the demand of accessible tourism
services until 2020
3) Understanding the beneficiaries (travel
propensity, patterns, disabilitieS)
Mapping supply of accessible tourism
 € 4 billion : the cost of "non-accessibility" of tourism
€. 60% would be willing to pay more for accessible tourism services
 17% holidays outside Europe because of more accessible
services
Lack of information
Inadequate services
"Broken" supply chain
= loss of potential
travellers
1) EU-wide quantitative assessment of
the accessibility of the tourism supply chain
2) Performance check” (satisfaction,
effectiveness, usability, customisation)
3) Finding the bottlenecks for travellers
and for businesses
Improving skills
 Understanding people’s needs
€. Impairments affect areas other than physical
mobility
 Safety is paramount
Unskilled,
untrained staff
can spoil the
holiday experience
1) Need to identify gaps in the current
level of skills and training to cater
for people with special access needs
2) Need to disseminate best practices
in disability training in tourism.
Fostering awareness
 Access is good for business
€.
 Catering for people with “special access needs” as a
standard tourism business practice
-To raise public awareness and sensitise relevant stakeholders and
operators
Treviso Seminar (2012)
-To reward accessible European destinations
EDEN (2012-2013)
-To reward economic operators who make accessibility an element
of their competitiveness
An Access award for tourism operators (2012-2013)
Overview for 2013
• - Data gathering, statistics
• Socio-economic
• Behavioural
• - Focussing on information and communication
•
•
•
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Developing compelling messages
Finding effective multipliers
Communicating proactively
Closing the communication gap
• - Practical tools
• Guidance, checklists
• Practical tips
•
Accessible tourism: paving the way…
EP Preparatory
Action
Dialogue
- More/better data
- Better awareness
- Tools, best practices
- National authorities
-Stakeholders, industry
To elaborate considerations and proposals for future action
Thank you for your attention!