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0:00
Welcome to this talk
on "Accessible Tourism,
The Missed Opportunity."
I'm going to be talking about
why you can't afford
to ignore this subject.
My name is Jennifer Littman.
I have been involved in this
area of inclusion in tourism
for over 25 years,
and specifically
over the last 12
with an organization
called Tourism for All
which specialized in making
tourism accessible to people
with disabilities
and impairments.
0:31
So this presentation will cover
the reasons why this is
an underserved market,
and that is a carrot,
that is a reason to get in there
because there is business
to be made.
Secondly, there is a stick here.
Most countries now have
disability
discrimination legislation
and we're going to
take a look at that.
And lastly, the most
important part, perhaps,
how to get your share
of this massive, growing market.
0:59
Tourism for All is a charity
in the UK,
and there are many organizations
around the world
who work together
to raise standards
on access to tourism.
We work for a world-class
tourism experience for everyone.
1:17
So let's come to those carrots.
1:21
Take a look at the size
of the market.
There are 71 percent
of American adults
who have disabilities,
who travel at least
once every two years,
and they spend over
13 billion on travel,
that's from
the Open Doors organization.
In the UK, there are
10 million people
who have a disability,
that's measured by people
who qualify under our
disability discrimination
legislation in the UK.
And they have an annual
discretionary spend
of over 80 billion.
And in Europe, we're talking
about 127 million people
with a disability
and potential spend
estimated at
over 166 billion euros.
So we are looking at
a really sizable market here.
What's more,
by 2025, there are going to be
over a third of the population
over the age of 55 in the UK.
We are all living longer
and we're living longer
with an expectation
of living active lives.
However, there can be
an increase in some impairments,
hearing, visual, or mobility
impairment as we get older,
and therefore,
their increase is anticipated.
