Promoting accessible tourism for all

What is accessible tourism?

Accessible tourism enables all people to participate in and enjoy tourism experiences. More people have access needs, whether or not related to a physical condition. For example, older and less mobile people have access needs, which can become a huge obstacle when traveling or touring. Thus, accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavour to ensure tourist destinations, products and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age. This inludes publicly and privately owned tourist locations, facilities and services.

Accessible tourism involves a collaborative process among all stakeholders, Governments, international agencies, tour-operators and end-users, including persons with disabilities and their organizations (DPOs). A successful tourism product requires effective partnerships and cooperation across many sectors at the national, regional and international levels. From idea to implementation, a single destination visit normally involves many factors, including accessing information, long-distance travel of various sorts, local transportation, accommodation, shopping, and dining. The impact of accessible tourism thus goes beyond the tourist beneficiaries to the wider society, engraining accessibility into the social and economic values of society. International action and normative frameworks

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006. CRPD Article 9 on Accessibility calls for State Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to the physical environment, information, transportation and other facilities and services open or provided to the public. It also calls for the elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, including all transportation and facilities. Furthermore, Article 30 on Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport also calls for State Parties to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the benefits of tourism.

At the 2013, historic UN High-level Meeting on Disability and Development, which included several Heads of State, the link of disability and development was discussed and the meeting called for enhanced action to mainstream disability in the global development agenda. In the outcome document of the meeting, accessibility was identified as a key area for action.

Furthermore, in his message for the 2013 World Habitat Day , UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to make towns and cities accessible to all.

In the recent 2030 Agenda for Global Action containing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2015), Goal 11 focuses on principles to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. This goal captures tourism and recreation through its call for the provisions of universal design for accessible and sustainable transport systems, inclusive urbanization, and access to green and public spaces. In its 2011 Declaration, The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) predicted tourism will increase and experience sustained development, reaching 1.8 billion international tourists by 2030. Accessible cities and tourism provisions therefore ensure the full social and economic inclusion of all persons with direct benefits of promoting more sustainable travel habits among users.

What are the barriers to travel and tourism for persons with disabilities?

For persons with disabilities, travelling can be a challenge, as finding the information on accessible services, checking luggage on a plane, booking a room to fulfil access needs, often prove to be difficult, costly and time consuming.

Challenges for persons with disabilities include: • Untrained professional staff capable of informing and advising about accessibility issues • Inaccessible booking services and related websites • Lack of accessible airports and transfer facilities and services • Unavailability of adapted and accessible hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, toilets and public places • Inaccessible streets and transport services • Unavailable information on accessible facilities, services, equipment rentals and tourist attractions

Why is accessible tourism important?

Accessibility is a central element of any responsible and sustainable development policy. It is both a human rights imperative, as well as an exceptional business opportunity. In this context, accessible tourism does not only benefit persons with disabilities, it benefits all of society.

To ensure that accessible tourism is developed in a sustainable manner requires that tourist destinations go beyond ad hoc services to adopting the principle of universal design, ensuring that all persons, regardless of their physical or cognitive needs, are able to use and enjoy the available amenities in an equitable and sustainable manner. This approach foregoes preferential or segregated treatment of differently abled constituents to permitting uninhibited use of facilities and services by all, at any time, to equitable effect.

I am not a person with a disability – how does this affect me?

Accessibility is also an important aspect of realizing the rights of the world’s ageing population. As we grow older, our chance of experiencing a permanent or temporary disability is increased. A focus on accessibility can therefore ensure that we are able to participate fully in our societies well into our older years. Accessibility also benefits pregnant women and persons who are temporarily rendered immobile.

The improvements to physical and service infrastructure that come with a focus on accessibility also encourage a more multigenerational focus in development planning. For families with small children, accessible infrastructure – particularly in transportation, city planning and building design – improves the ability of these families to participate in social and cultural activities.

The United Nations is committed to sustainable and equitable development. Certainly, making basic adjustments to a facility, providing accurate information, and understanding the needs of disabled people can result in increased visitor numbers. Improving the accessibility of tourism services increases their quality and their enjoyment for all tourists, as well as improving quality of life in the local communities.

Other resources:

  • UN News Centre: Accessible tourism will benefit everyone, say senior UN officials on World Day
  • World Tourism Day 2016 Theme: Promoting Universal Accessibility
  • UN Environment : #Tourism4All videos 1 , 2 , 3
  • The UNWTO General Assembly adopts Recommendations on Accessible Information in Tourism
  • UN World Tourism Organisation Accessible Tourism Manuals
  • Disabled World Travel Documents
  • European Commission Improving Accessibility
  • Sustainable Tourism Online
  • 7th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the CRPD
  • United Nations World Tourism Organisation Best Practice Guide  
  • European Network for Accessible Tourism – World Summit in Montreal, October 2014
  • Centre of Excellence for Destination
  • European Network for Accessible Tourism
  • Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality
  • Capitalising on the Grey-haired Globetrotters Economic Aspects of Increasing Tourism among Older and Disabled People

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What is Accessible Tourism and Why is it So Important?

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Accessible tourism is an integral part of implementing sustainable tourism. When most people hear the term ‘accessible tourism’, they immediately think of disabled people and things such as audio devices for the blind and ramps for those in wheelchairs. Yes, this is an important part of accessible tourism, BUT accessible tourism is actually MUCH more than this!

Accessible tourism is about providing access to tourism for people from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds- provision for disabled people makes up just one fragment of this.

This article sets out to cover the broad spectrum of areas that are encompassed within the concept of accessible tourism. I will explain what accessible tourism is, provide some definitions of accessible tourism and then I will discuss at length the factors influencing accessible tourism.

What is accessible tourism?

Definitions of accessible tourism, why is accessible tourism important, factors influencing access to tourism, disposable income, cost of travel, cost of tourism, cost of living, exchange rate, available leisure time, nature of employment, stage of life, social environment, access to transport , cultural attitude, images of destination, perception of destination, familiarity with destination, uncertainty over future, political stability, disease , natural disaster, social conditions , economic conditions, level of development, government attitude to tourism, laws or restrictions, availability of resources for tourism, attractions , mega-events, marketing and promotion, technology , startegies to implement accessible tourism, accessible tourism: conclusion, further reading on accessible tourism.

Accessibility in tourism is a social right- everyone should have access regardless of where they come from, their age, their gender, any disabilities they may have, hope much money they earn etc.

Also sometimes referred to as ‘ tourism for all ‘, accessible tourism is closely aligned with the principles of sustainable tourism . In order for an organisation to be sustainable, it should provide access opportunities for all.

Accessible tourism

Accessible tourism provides opportunities for all types of people to take part in tourism activities.

People’s needs vary considerably- while one person may have a physical disability, another person may be financially disadvantaged or may not have access to the technology required to organise their trip.

By ensuring there is accessible tourism, destinations are enhancing their business prospects by attracting a wider range of tourists than they may otherwise achieve.

Accessible tourism involves a collaborative process among all stakeholders in tourism including Governments, international agencies, tour-operators and tourists themselves.

There are many things to consider when planning for accessible tourism, such as accessing information, travel arrangements to the destination, local transportation, accommodation, shopping, and hospitality.

There is no universally agreed and approved definition of the term accessible tourism, which perhaps contributes to the lack of clarity that many people have in understanding what constitutes accessible tourism.

The concept of accessible tourism has evolved considerably throughout recent years. This is largely because society has become more aware and more inclusive. This has resulted in discussions about accessibility coming to the forefront amongst tourism stakeholders.

Below I have outlined some of the commonly noted definitions, however, it is important to remember that the concept is likely to continue to evolve further and that the term be need to be ‘redefined’ as necessary.

Accessible tourism (also known as access tourism, ‘universal tourism’, ‘inclusive tourism’ and in some countries such as in Japan ‘barrier-free tourism’) is tourism and travel that is accessible to all people, with disabilities or not, including those with mobility, hearing, sight, cognitive, or intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, older persons and those with temporary disabilities”  ( Takayama Declaration – Appendix, UNESCAP, 2009 ). 

‘Accessible tourism refers to tourism that caters to the needs of a full range of consumers including persons with disabilities, older persons and cross-generational families. It entails removal of attitudinal and institutional barriers in society, and encompasses accessibility in the physical environment, in transportation, information and communications and other facilities and services. It encompasses publicly and privately owned tourist locations.’ ( Takayama City and UNESCAP Conference – Press Release – Takayama, 2009 )

‘Accessible tourism is a process of enabling people with disabilities and seniors to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universal tourism products, services and environments. The definition is inclusive of the mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access.’ (Darcy, 2006)

‘ Accessible tourism enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments. This definition is inclusive of all people including those travelling with children in prams, people with disabilities and seniors’. (Darcy & Dickson, 2009)

More posts that may interest you- – Types of tourism: A glossary – Everything you need to know about sustainable tourism – Enclave tourism: An explanation – The structure of the tourism industry – What is the sharing economy and how does impact travel and tourism?

Accessible tourism is not just about people with disabilities, it is about everyone.

Accessibility is a central element of any responsible and sustainable development policy , both in the context of tourism and in other areas.

Accessible tourism is important because accessibility is a human right and an important business opportunity. By ensuring that tourism is accessible, there is more scope for business development for individuals and from a top-down perspective.

In order to ensure that accessible tourism is developed in a sustainable manner, tourism stakeholders must develop policies and practices aimed at achieving inclusivity, avoiding practices that include preferential or segregated treatment.

There are many factors that may influence a person’s access to tourism. In order for tourism to be developed and managed in a sustainable way, these factors should be taken into consideration at the planning stage and throughout implementation.

Accessible tourism

Accessible tourism: Economic factors

There are many economic reasons that tourism may not be accessible for some people. I will outline some of the major economic factors below.

Travel and tourism is considered a luxury in that it is not essential to maintain life. As a result, when a person does not have much disposable (or ‘extra’) income, the first thing to suffer is often their holidays.

During times of financial hardship, such as an economic recession, the tourism industry is one of the first areas to suffer.

Therefore, disposable income is a key contributor to the travel and tourism industry.

A key contributor to accessible tourism is price. If the price of travel is too high, many people will not be able to access it.

The tourism industry really took off with the growth of the low cost carrier . Reductions in the price of flights, coupled with growing route networks, made travel and tourism more accessible.

But it’s not just about the cost of travelling to a destination. The price of tourism facilities in the destination is also a key factor in attaining accessible tourism.

If hotels and tourist attractions are very expensive, this will likely mean that many people will not be able to access the tourism industry in this area.

The cost of living in both the tourism traveller region and the tourism destination region (for more on this see my post on Leiper’s tourism system ) can have a significant impact on accessible tourism.

leiper

If the cost of living is high in either area, tourists may not be able to financially access tourism.

Exchange rates are particularly important in international tourism .

Tourists who are based in a country with a strong currency (such as the UK, the USA, Australia ) are naturally at an economic advantage over tourists who live in countries with weaker countries.

This is because their money goes further when they travel abroad, particularly if they choose to travel to a destination with a currency that is weaker than the currency used in their home country.

Accessible tourism: Social factors

There are also many social factors that contribute to accessible tourism. I will introduce you to these below.

Accessible tourism is dependant on whether a person has the free time to spend on tourism.

Many countries around the world now offer their employees paid leave each year. This has resulted in a growth in tourism because people have more available leisure time.

Whether you have a lot of time to spend on travel and tourism or not can be dependant on the type of employment that you have.

For me, one of the reasons that I work in education is so that I have lots of free leisure time to travel!

However, some jobs do not offer such flexibility and may offer reduced leisure time.

A person’s physical ability to take part in tourism is a key contributor to accessible tourism.

This includes physical disabilities, illnesses and health that is effected by age.

There are many things that tourism stakeholders can do to ensure that tourism is accessible such as providing ramps for people who are in wheelchairs, brail cards for the blind and lifts for those who find stairs challenging.

Accessible tourism should enable people to access tourism no matter what stage of life they are in. This means that there should be facilities for young children, such as ramps of buggies, as well as facilities for the elderly.

Tourism destinations should try to differentiate the products that they have on offer to cater for people of all ages.

Education may have an impact on how accessible tourism is for a person.

For example, it has been a long debated topic about whether students should be allowed to take holidays during the school term. Prices invariably rise as soon as school breaks up, meaning that some families can no longer afford the tourism products that are on offer.

Different people come from different social environments and this should not make tourism any more or less accessible.

A social environment could be centred around a particular culture or religion, for example.

It could also be related to particular hobbies and interests.

Some people have more access to transport than others. This is commonly noted when comparing city living to rural living. In towns and cities there is typically a wider range of transport options than in rural areas.

In fact, transport accessibility is one of the greatest challenges that the rural tourism industry faces.

Psychological factors

Psychological factors also play a significant role in accessible tourism. Here is a summary:

If a person is not motivated to visit a certain area, they probably won’t- it’s as simple as that!

A person’s cultural attitude can be an important factor in accessible tourism.

For example, people want to feel that their culture will be treated with respect.

Some people think they are superior or inferior to others, and if this is the case then they may not wish to travel to a particular area in which they hold this view.

The image of a destination is a key factor in determining if a person may be likely to visit.

Many of us want to visit Thailand because of the many images of exotic beaches that we can see, for example.

However, some people may not want to travel to Thailand because they perceive it to be a bad country because of the poverty levels or because of sex tourism in Thailand .

This demonstrates that perception also plays a key role in accessible tourism.

Many people prefer to travel to a destination because they are familiar with it.

This may be because they have travelled to said destination before, or it may be because they have seen their favourite influencer talk about it on Instagram .

Familiarity with a destination can be a motivational factor.

Sometimes tourists feel that they have a ‘connection’ to a place.

In some instances this may be a physical connection- a family member may live there or the tourist may have a strong history in the area.

In other cases tourists may feel that they have a psychological connection with a place. They may affiliate with the culture or the ‘feel’ of the place.

Whilst for some people, distance is no issue, other people prefer to stay closer to home.

And some people prefer not to travel to particular areas or using particular modes of transport because of fear.

A person made be afraid of flying, for example.

Another factor that can influence accessible tourism is uncertainty that a person may have in their future.

Many people may not want to go on holiday if they have worries over aspects such as their job security or money.

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated more than ever that people are nervous to travel when there are political, economic and health uncertainties.

Broader factors (macro-determinants)

Alongside the environmental, social and economic factors that influence accessible tourism, there are also several macro-determinants which can play a key role. Some examples include:

Destinations that are experiencing or that have recently experience terrorist attacks are unlikely to be accessible tourism destinations.

e.g. New York after the 9/11 attacks, Tunisia after the shootings in 2015, Bali after the bombing in 2002.

Areas that have ongoing war are also unlikely to be accessible tourism destinations.

One exception is Israel. Israel continues to welcome tourists, despite ongoing feuds with Palestine. I watched rockets being shot out of then sky when I was there, it was pretty scary. You can read all about that here.

Destinations that are experiencing political instability are not likely to welcome tourists with open arms.

They also often receive a lot of negative media attention, which can impact tourist motivations to travel to the area in the near future.

e.g. Thailand Bangkok riots in 2018, Egyptian revolution in 2011.

If a person does not feel safe and secure in a destination, they may not feel that it is accessible.

There are many parts of Africa and Central America that revive fewer visitors for this reason.

Many tourists will avoid travelling to areas that have disease.

This has never been more prevalent than the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, which has a devastating impact on the tourism industry.

Natural disasters often hit tourist destinations hard.

The 2001 tsunami, the Nepalese earthquake in 2015 and Hurricane Katrina in the USA in 2005 all had terrible consequences for the tourism sector.

Many people do not want to be faced with particular social conditions when they go on holiday.

This may be things such as poverty, gun crime or smoking.

Many tourists do not want to experience tourism in poor areas.

The economic conditions here mean that accessible tourism is not achieved.

Other people are influenced by levels of development.

Many less economically developed countries do not experience the same levels of tourism is Western nations because of their inferior levels of development.

This include aspects such as an underdeveloped airport or road infrastructure.

In some parts of the world the Government may not have a favourable attitude towards tourism.

There could be a lot of corruption, for example. Or there could be high taxes on tourism activities.

Some people choose not to travel to particular areas because of the laws or restrictions placed upon them.

A common example of this is people who are in same-sex relationships who wish to visit destinations in The Middle East. Rules and punishments for same-sex relationships shown in public can be severe; making tourism inaccessible for some.

Some areas are not accessible destinations because they lack the sources required for tourism.

Perhaps the area does not have a well developed road infrastructure or enough water to fill the hotel swimming pool, for example.

Attractions can be a big draw to a destinations for tourists. Likewise, a lack of attractions may put tourists off.

Mega-events can often result in overtourism and congestion.

Mega-events could be the reason a person visits the area, but it could also put a person off visiting.

In order for accessible tourism to be achieved, all types of visitors should be made aware of what is on offer.

This is where good marketing and promotion come in.

Lastly, technology can have a significant influence on whether accessible tourism is achieved or not.

Nowadays, many people will rely on technology for research purposes and to book the components of their holiday .

Therefore, those who do not have adequate access to such technology may be disadvantaged.

There are many strategies that tourism destinations and organisations can use to implement accessible tourism. This includes:

  • Encouraging policies and actions to support social tourism at all levels
  • Ensuring universal adherence to workers’ leave entitlement, safeguarding this aspect of social security guaranteed by the European social model 
  • Designing and adapting tourism facilities and sites to meet physical disability needs
  • Improving information relevant to disabled people and under-privileged groups 
  • Encouraging a broad price range in tourism facilities and experiences 
  • Pursuing specific schemes to facilitate and encourage holiday-taking by people on low incomes, such as the holiday voucher systems run in some countries based on tax incentives and involving governments and operators
  • Having effective marketing and promotion strategies

Accessible tourism is not a luxury, it is a right. Everybody should have access to tourism.

In order for tourism to be sustainable, it should do its upmost to development and implement accessible tourism where possible. This will inevitably have positive outcomes for the overall business development. As I have explained in this article, the three keys areas of the environment, economy and society should be considered when planning for accessible tourism.

To learn more about accessible tourism, I suggest that you consult the texts listed below.

  • Accessible Tourism: Concepts and Issues – This book sets out to explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues in the study of accessible tourism.
  • Best Practice in Accessible Tourism: Inclusion, Disability, Ageing Population and Tourism – It brings together global expertise in planning, design and management to inform and stimulate providers of travel, transport, accommodation, leisure and tourism services to serve guests with disabilities, seniors and the wider markets that require good accessibility. 

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Accessibility in Tourism: challenges and opportunities

Globally the WHO estimates that 15% of the population has some kind of need for accessibility assistance. For these people, accessible space is essential to be able to carry out daily activities including their leisure time. Also, many people have some temporary difficulty such as pregnant women, recovering from an accident, children, etc. The progressive ageing of the population associated with a longer life expectancy in developed countries also is causing an increase in the number of people with reduced mobility.

The importance of accessible tourism

“Accessible tourism” enables people with access limitations in mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions to function independently and with equity and dignity by delivering universally designed tourism products, services and environments (Darcy and Dickson, n.d.) . According to the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT, n.d.) accessible tourism includes:

  • Barrier-free destinations: infrastructure and facilities.
  • Transport: by air, land and sea, suitable for all users.
  • High-quality services: delivered by trained staff.
  • Activities, exhibitions, attractions: allowing everyone to participate in tourism.
  • Marketing, reservation systems, websites and services: information accessible to all.

70% of Europeans with disabilities have physical and economic possibilities to travel, this is equivalent to 58.115.778 potential visitors only in the European Union. In the case of Germany, people with physical disabilities spend a total of about 5 billion euros each year on travel, although the number of trips has been reduced due to the lack of accessibility in tourist areas in Europe. In America, specifically in the United States, people with motor disabilities spend about 11,212.90 dollars on travel each year (González, 2014) .

Europe and the United States of America are home to most of the specialized travel agents in this field of providing accessible tourism. However, companies around the world are beginning to appear as a result of a growing need, driven by high-end tourism and due to increased life expectancy in developed countries.

With the growth of the Internet, online travel planning is also becoming more common, leading to an increase in online accessibility maps. As an example, starting in 2016, Lonely Planet began offering accessible online resources by country.

Accessibility and reduced mobility are on the agenda

In the last twenty years, accessible tourism has become a priority for both public and private initiatives in different countries through laws protecting the right to accessibility for people with disabilities.

In the year 2016, the theme of the UNWTO International Tourism Day was “Tourism for All”. The website of this organization refers to the fact that accessibility is not only focused on the elderly, families of limited resources or workers. It also promotes the opportunity for recreation and rest for people with some kind of disability (UNWTO, 2016).

“Governments and the private sector should view the potential for inclusion of 15-17% of the population as an untapped market, as a sound investment in social inclusion – something that could benefit large swathes of the population,” says Charlotte V. McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank.

A consistent supply of accessible tourism requires a combination of integrated public and private services, providing reliable and up-to-date information to both residents and tourists. It also requires adequate means of transport and the necessary protection to ensure the safety of all.

Integrating digital, social and sustainable skills in a tourism accessibility strategy

With persons being at the heart of all tourism services, their awareness about the topic, knowledge and necessary skills are critical for successful implementation.

The human element is and will be a key factor in any adapted tourism product design because the levels of attention and care required by these groups must be highly personalised. Social skills (empathy, communication, assertiveness, etc.) are essential in accessible tourism since most of these people will require direct accompaniment or help in carrying out many leisure activities.

The technological revolution with the appearance of internet, robotics, virtual or augmented reality, big data, provides new opportunities to improve the accessible tourist experience in services  and destinations. Providing human resources with the necessary digital skills will favour a better adaptation of these services to the real and specific needs and the different types and levels of disability or reduced mobility.

The level of demand regarding the adaptation of facilities and equipment in accessible tourism is high. A strategy of “inclusion” of groups of people with disabilities results in a greater degree of sustainability of the initiatives. In such a “global” concept, the versatility and adaptability of the tourist offer are perfectly complemented by the fulfilment of environmental criteria and integration in the territory and the local population.

NTG is seeking greater integration of these competencies in the future design of training itineraries, which increasingly need to take into account accessibility requirements.

Practical problems and how to solve them

Specific problems encountered by travelers or tourists with disabilities include:

  • Inaccessible or only partially accessible websites
  • The lack of wheelchair accessible vehicles
  • The lack of well-adapted hotel rooms
  • Lack of professional staff capable of dealing with accessibility issues
  • Lack of reliable information on the level of accessibility of a specific attraction
  • Lack of accessible restaurants, bars and other facilities
  • The lack of adapted bathrooms in restaurants and public places
  • Inaccessible streets and sidewalks
  • The lack of technical aids and equipment for the disabled, such as wheelchairs, bathing chairs and public toilets

Public institutions and the private tourism sector are already working in many cases in a coordinated manner to try to gradually solve these limitations.

EU countries have incorporated minimum accessibility criteria and requirements in the regulations governing public and private buildings and spaces. Tourism regulations establish a series of minimum requirements in terms of accessibility such as, for example, the obligatory of access without architectural barriers in entrances and common areas, the requirement for lifts, adapted public and private toilets, etc.

In some countries, private or mixed initiatives for the enjoyment of tourist services and activities by the disabled have been implemented. They refer to the creation of accessibility standards according to the type of disability, or the definition of labels or certifications of accessible tourism services or destinations. Here are some practical examples of best practice, guidelines and resources to support tourism businesses:

  • UK national accessible scheme for tourism
  • Manuals on recommendations of adaptations for accessible tourism offer; e.g this one elaborated by Predif the State Representative Platform for People with Physical Disabilities
  • Guides of accessible tourist resources on Greenways
  • Companies whose product is focused on inclusive tourism. They provide their facilities and equipment with high levels of accessibility and take care of specific training and qualification of their workers many of whom have some degree of disability. E.g. Ilunion Hotels (Spain)

Eurogites is working now on this topic. The project Access IT (INNOVATION FOR ACCESSIBLE TOURISM IN NATURAL AND RURAL AREAS) supports the capacity of EU tourism SMEs operating in nature and rural areas to bridge accessibility gaps through stakeholder co-design of innovative solutions for tourism products for customers with specific access requirements. For more info click here .

Francisco Javier Cansinos Cabello

Inhouse consultant

  • Accessible tourism: a reflection from the public and private sectors.

Erika Cruz Coria[a], Carlos Ignacio Patiño Tejada[b]

  • https://www.hisour.com/es/accessible-tourism-38586/
  • https://www.bancomundial.org/es/news/feature/2018/02/19/turismo-accesible-destinos

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Tourists with disabilities, representing approximately 15% of the world's population, especially need everything planned for their tourist experiences. Therefore, the contents and level of digital accessibility are vital and significantly impact the final decision to travel to one destination.

This work analyses a total of 165 digital contents (152 in Andalusia and 13 corresponding to Northern Morocco) from the perspective of web accessibility and inclusive communication in social media. The method used is multidisciplinary, carrying out a series of analyses through the statistical language R, TAW as an online tool to analyse the website's accessibility and synthesise guidelines for communicating inclusively in social networks.

The main results show the scarce involvement of public bodies in inclusive communication and digital accessibility, designing content from the universal design perspective. There is no substantial difference between the two regions studied, identifying that European legislation and national regulatory framework in Andalusia's case do not favour a better level of web accessibility, although this is a mandatory aspect. Furthermore, very few differences have been noted in analysing the level of Smart Tourism Destinations when accessibility is fundamental in their conceptualisation. Finally, this research can be identified as state-of-the-art in tourism marketing as a conceptual approach and a starting point for measuring inclusive communication in social networks.

Nowadays, accessible tourism is an opportunity to be placed at the centre of recovery plans in the post-COVID-19 era. Therefore, let us facilitate more inclusive societies, using tourism as a lever to achieve this goal.

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1 Introduction

Hereafter, the literature review introduces the research on Accessible Tourism, and contextualises this work. The term “accessible tourism” is relatively new in scientific research, characterised by its transversality. The databases of scientific articles in Web of Science and Scopus were analysed, searching with the terms “Accessible tourism”, “Inclusive tourism”, “Web Accessibility”, and “Inclusive Communication” both in the title and in the abstract and keywords for the selected dates, from 2000 to 2021. A total of 252 research articles have been obtained related to this topic, from the first use of these terms in 1989 to the considerable increase in scientific production related to this research topic from 2018 onwards. Focusing on the terms “Web Accessibility” and “Inclusive Communication”, the following figure shows the evolution of the most used keywords over time, where both concepts are not linked to the most relevant research topics, nodes configured by accessible tourism, accessibility or travel, among others. (see Fig.  1 ).

figure 1

Source prepared by the authors using VOSviewer

Keywords clustering in accessible tourism research.

In contrast, all the terms related to “inclusive tourism”, i.e. “inclusion”, “inclusive development”, “responsible tourism”, or “responsible tourism”, are within the most current node identified in yellow in the cluster around 2019. The term “Inclusive Communication” itself is not yet represented, although work like this will help narrow this gap.

Analysing the term “Web Accessibility” in the literature review, a total of 29 research articles have been identified in the supplementary (Table 1). The selected articles are from the last decade following the criteria: articles from 2022 regardless of the number of citations; articles from 2018 to 2021 if they have at least one citation; finally, articles from 2012 to 2018 if they have at least ten citations with the aim of identifying papers that have a high level of support for their scientific contribution through the citations obtained during the last decade, as well as more current papers in recent years to analyse the current trend in this research topic. In general terms, the aspect most covered by the previous literature is tourism websites accessibility analyses through automatic tools to destinations management organisations, global airlines, hotels or event sectors. The general results showed that the Web accessibility of tourism websites is generally low. However, there is diversity according to the type of tourism activity, which means that disabled users may have substantial problems accessing websites, as seen in recent works [ 1 , 2 ]. Being one of the specific objectives of this work for the specific case of Andalusia, it has been noted in full support of the results of previous work [ 1 ], that none of the websites of the smart tourism destinations fully complied with the international WCAG 2.1 framework. Moreover, as will be seen in the section dedicated to Smart Tourism Destinations in Andalusia, it has not been possible to verify a better performance in terms of web accessibility for those classified as Smart destinations than those not.

Another issue that has been extensively addressed in these previous works [ 3 ] is that the studies published mainly use manual or automatic evaluations. However, the number of studies using mixed approaches (both manual and automatic) is minimal as well as another identified gap is related to the need for studies using WCAG 2.1. In order to fill these gaps, this paper analyses both manual and automatic web accessibility under WCAG 2.1. In line with the results of some previous works [ 4 ], this paper supports the idea that countries with a long tradition of accessibility in legislative terms do not necessarily perform better in web accessibility analysis. Likewise, the recommendation to carry out comparative research work between continents is another aspect that this work addresses in line with the gaps identified by authors of previous works to complement existing research [ 3 , 4 ].

Finally, the framing of this work concerning research studies shows that people with disabilities use social networks to expand their knowledge related to tourism services [ 5 ], constituting a fundamental tool for eliminating barriers through inclusive communication. Information on social networks to promote tourism services for people with disabilities is minimal. This study contributes to filling this gap by studying the level of inclusive communication used in the different social network profiles by the tourist destinations in the sample studied. To the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the first existing studies in this regard. However, it would be necessary to complement it by assessing the perception of people who experience a disability when interacting with social media platforms.

In this sense, this research addresses the challenges identified on websites and social media in terms of accessibility and inclusive communication, as well as the application that the competent administrations carry out in this area with the existing regulations in both countries. The particularity of this article lies in the fact that accessible tourism is a real opportunity for both mature and emerging destinations for different reasons. For this reason, the study area for this work was Andalusia, a region in southern Spain made up of eight provinces (some inland, such as Seville, Cordoba and Jaen, others eminently coastal, such as Huelva, Cadiz, Malaga, Granada and Almeria) and the northern region of Morocco, i.e. the region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hociema (this region includes other smaller destinations such as Larache, Chef Chaouen, Ouazzane, Bab Berred and Tarquist). These are two territories in which there has been a historical relationship of economic, social and cultural cooperation, primarily in the area known as the “Círculo del Estrecho” [ 6 ]. Relations between these intercontinental territories have been strengthened in recent years, especially in the tourism sector [ 7 ], although there is still room for improvement, for example, on issues such as the one analysed here.

Proof of this is that only 9.2% of tourism facilities and services in EU countries have some level of accessibility. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis has noted that 90.8% of tourist facilities are not adequately prepared for people with special accessibility needs [ 8 ]. In the case of Morocco, mainly due to its proximity to Europe, it has a potential of 138.6 million customers and a gross turnover of 786 billion euros.

Despite these, this article focuses on the universal right to travel on equal terms, and to this end, the information available and its level of digital accessibility are fundamental. The challenges of accessible tourism in today’s digitised world require content designed to be consumed by all, regardless of personal circumstances, disabilities or temporary or permanent limitations [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. At the same time, public promotion agencies have an opportunity to introduce the inclusive use of digital marketing in the tourism industry [ 12 , 13 ].

In this regard, it must be remembered that it is crucial for tourists with special needs to have everything planned and organised before they go on a trip. Therefore, the information available and its accessibility are of vital importance. This significantly influences the final decision to travel to one destination or another. Related web accessibility is the inclusive practice of making it possible for anyone to access a website and consume its content regardless of their circumstances [ 14 , 15 ].

However, this statement is difficult to address when applying established standards of eAccessibility, especially in terms of geographic area. To solve this problem, international initiatives such as the one promoted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) aim to standardise websites [ 16 , 17 ]. In Europe, Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the digital accessibility of websites and apps for mobile devices of public sector bodies was published in December 2016 to harmonise the accessibility requirements for websites and apps of public bodies at the European level. In Spain, in general, and for Andalusia, the directive is set out in Royal Decree 1112/2018, of 7 September, on the accessibility of public sector websites and mobile devices. Establishing the obligation for public portals to have an Accessibility section following the model published by the European Commission (EU) 2018/1523, the EU establishes an accessibility declaration model with the information that must be provided and the requirements must be met. As for the United Nations, accessibility to information and communications was established in the Manila Declaration and Recommendations on 7 March 2003 https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/maniladecl.htm . Similarly, the UNWTO digital accessibility statement has published the first international standard on accessible tourism for all, led by UNWTO, ONCE foundation and UNE https://www.unwto.org/news/publication-of-first-international-standard-on-accessible-tourism-for-all .

Morocco does not currently have mandatory legislation on the digital accessibility of public websites. The recommendations followed by some administration areas align with the standards stipulated by the W3C through (WCAG) 2.1. Furthermore, to the regulations issued by the United Nations.

As can be seen, info-accessibility is not an isolated element but a generalised pattern worldwide. On the other hand, the state of research on digital accessibility in tourism websites is limited to a few previous works [ 2 , 4 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].

Because of the above, the general objective of this research is to analyse the levels of digital web accessibility and social media inclusive communication of the main tourist destinations in the “Círculo del Estrecho”. Conducting a cross-cultural study this work aims to analyse the differential component between the European regulatory framework applicable to the case of Andalusia and that applicable to Morocco in the Northern region.

Based on this goal, we address the following research questions:

What are the main good practices and problems regarding digital accessibility in Andalusian and Northern Morocco Tourism Public websites?

Is the regulatory framework for digital accessibility in Andalusia having a positive differentiating effect on the tourism sector compared to the destination of Northern Morocco?

In Andalusia, are Smart Tourist Destinations (STDs) improving the web accessibility of public tourism promotions bodies?

Do tourism administrations in Andalusia and Northern Morocco communicate inclusively on social media?

The research method used was multidisciplinary. The multidisciplinary contribution can be interpreted as the grouping of disciplines that retain their problem-solving approach to find a solution to a common problem. In the research process, the sample under study takes into account in Andalusia, the 22 tourist points established by the National Statistics Institute (INE) https://www.ine.es/index.htm as tourist destinations, 7 of them are included in the network of Smart Tourist Destinations (DTI) ( https://www.destinosinteligentes.es/destinos-inteligentes/).This gives a total of 17 initiatives in 32 tourist destinations. It should be noted that the province of Jaén does not include in the sample any tourist destination based on the two selection criteria belonging to the list of tourist destinations defined by the INE, as well as not currently having any tourist destination in the Smart Destinations Network. As for northern Morocco, in the region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hociema, 5 websites and 8 profiles on social networks have been identified. Tourism promotion in Morocco is centralised in the institutional portal of the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism, which does not have promotional websites or profiles on social networks. It should also be noted that there is currently no STD initiative in Northern Morocco, neither with the framework followed in Spain, the SEGITTUR methodology [ 23 ], nor with other frameworks, although there is a growing interest in these issues. Thus, has been obtained a final sample of 37 destinations in Andalusia and Northern Morocco has been obtained, identifying 37 official websites (33 in Andalusia and 5 corresponding to Northern Morocco) and 127 official profiles on social networks (119 in Andalusia and 8 corresponding to Northern Morocco). A total of 165 digital contents (152 in Andalusia and 13 corresponding to Northern Morocco) will be analysed from digital accessibility and inclusive communications perspectives.

Thus, during this process, techniques and tools of data science have been used through the R statistical programming language. TAW, was used to analyse web accessibility in non-social reach, following a decalogue of good practices on accessibility in social reach to analyse whether public bodies promoting tourism communicate inclusively on social networks. Finally, a comparative study through a cross-cultural analysis of the results obtained for both Andalusia and Northern Morocco was conducted. For this purpose, the statistical R programming was used to perform linear regression analysis, principal component analysis for the quantitative variables mainly related to digital accessibility errors, and correspondence analysis for the factor variables related primarily to good practices of inclusive communication in social networks.

TAW is an automatic online tool to analyse the accessibility of websites ( https://www.tawdis.net/index .), it was created by the CTIC Foundation, Parque Científico Tecnológico, Gijón, Asturias, Spain, taking as a technical reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) of the W3C consortium ( https://www.w3.org/ ) . TAW has been the reference tool in Spanish-speaking countries for more than 15 years. However, it is a checking tool suitable for web pages whose language is English. In our study, by using both English and Spanish pages for the cases that do not have translated pages it is understood that it is the tool that best adapts to our specific reality under study.

The main approach when applying accessibility to a website should be to reach the highest possible level. The levels of digital accessibility of a website are measured with the WAI-W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.0, classified as follows:

WCAG 2.1 A. Meets all Priority 1 checkpoints. Websites that do not satisfy this checkpoint will result in one or more groups of users finding it impossible to access the information;

WCAG 2.1 AA. Websites that do not satisfy this checkpoint will result in one or more groups of users encountering difficulties in accessing the information;

WCAG 2.1 AAA. Websites not satisfying this checkpoint will result in one or more user groups encountering difficulty accessing the information.

Digital accessibility is based on four principles:

PERCEPTIBLE (perceived by all people). Information and user interface components must be presented to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to comprehend the information being depicted: It can’t be invisible to all their senses;

OPERABLE (all people can interact with it). The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform;

UNDERSTANDABLE (messages understandable by everyone, especially in social networks). Users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface;

ROBUST (ICT products and services compatible with other types of systems or assistive technologies that facilitate accessibility). As technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible and compatible with a range of assistive technologies.

The sum of the total number of errors committed in the above variables is considered in the analysis as an aggregate variable called Total Errors.

Related to the decalogue of good practices for inclusive communication in social media, the base of the model recently published by Alexa Heinrich [ 24 ] has been followed. It is an eminently practical guide developed considering the experience of both accessibility experts and disability experts  https://www.accessible-social.com/ . Accessible Social is committed to being accessible to everyone who wishes to learn more about inclusive best practices for social media ongoing accessibility efforts work towards conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA criteria. These guidelines help make web content accessible not only to users with sensory, cognitive, and mobility disabilities, but also ultimately to all users, regardless of ability. The main points to be checked under this framework are divided into the following sections: Copy, Images and Audio-visual (see Table 1 ).

The methodology described above is then applied, analysing web accessibility and the level of inclusive communication on social networks both in the main tourist destinations in Andalusia and Tangiers, Tetouan and Al-Hocima, in the northern region of Morocco.

This section presents the results from this study, related to Web Digital Accessibility Analysis and Social Media Accessibility Analysis.

3.1 Webs digital accessibility analysis

First, a database was created containing all the public tourism promotion websites of the tourist destinations in both regions. The database will also support the analysis of digital accessibility, including the results provided by TAW to specify the total number of accessibility errors for each website under study. The different digital accessibility principles, i.e. Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust , were checked for each website (see supplementary Table 2 Destination’s webs digital accessibility analysis).

3.1.1 Accessibility modules by regions and provinces

Next, data of the websites in Andalusia and Northern Morocco that have information on accessible tourism through a specialised information module on accessible tourism and/or decalogue of digital accessibility was gathered (see Table 2 ).

As seen in Table 2 above, the websites with an information module on accessible tourism or a digital accessibility decalogue represent only 36.36% of the total in Andalusia. In Morocco, on the other hand, after analysing all the websites in the northern region, there are no modules with specialised information on this market segment. Andalusia’s improved positioning is due to a digital accessibility decalogue that is mandatory for all public promoting websites. In addition, of the 12 websites with the mandatory digital accessibility decalogue, half (50%) have specialised content or information on accessible and inclusive tourism. It is worth highlighting the lack of information on accessible tourism on the institutional portals of such emblematic destinations as Malaga, Marbella, Granada and Seville.

3.1.2 Web accessibility errors by regions and provinces

The level used to analyse web accessibility in the public tourism promotion portals of Andalusia and Northern Morocco is the W3C Standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA. It included a wide range of guidelines to make content more accessible for people with disabilities: blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations, using TAW as an analysis tool to measure web accessibility by total errors detected on sites’ HTML and CCS languages. As a quantitative variable ( Total Errors) , a mean and standard deviation analysis was performed for each of the two geographic locations or regions (see Table 3 ).

As shown in the previous figure, the average total errors of the websites analysed in Andalusia are 48.88. At the same time, 142.40 are the average errors of the websites available in the North of Morocco. Seville and Cadiz have the lowest number of errors, averaging 21.33 and 29.28, respectively.

Continuing with the analysis under the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, each kind of error has been analysed, for each principle: Robust, Understandable, Operable and Perceivable, by each destination in Andalusia and the north of Morocco as shown in the figures below (see Figs.  2 , 3 ).

figure 2

Source prepared by the authors using R

Andalusia Region websites’ errors by component WCAG version 2.1 (level AA).

figure 3

Errors in Moroccan websites by component WCAG version 2.1 (level AA).

As the previous figure shows, perceivable and operable are the principles with the most errors, with 576 and 382 errors, respectively, with a similar distribution among the different tourist destinations in Andalusia, except Rincón and Córdoba. While the minor errors are related to the principles understandable and robust with 91 and 562, respectively, the latter is on the level as the two most frequent error categories; this is because only two destinations, Benalmádena and Almería, account for almost 50% of the total number of errors identified in the robust category with 271 errors out of the total.

As seen in the previous figure, perceivable and operable are the principles with the most frequently occurring errors on the websites analysed in the destination of northern Morocco. Thus, the most significant digital accessibility problems were identified as the scarce use of alternative texts for images and other accessibility problems linked to the components of the interfaces. In the other two categories, understandable and robust, the errors are more limited, from this, a good performance in the comprehension of the content can be deduced, which is generally interpreted reliably by a wide variety of users, including technical aids.

Complementing the previous analysis, the analysis went deeper into the fundamentals of the accessibility variables of the WCAG 2.1 AA standard: Robust, Understable, Operable and Perceivable, through two complementary analyses. These in a linear regression model to determine which variables are related to digital accessibility and a principal component analysis (PCA) through which the relationship between these variables, that explains digital accessibility, has been analysed. The linear regression model is set out as follows:

Model_Digital_Accessibility  = lm (TOTAL_ERRORS  ~  ROBUST  +  UNDERSTANDABLE  +  OPERABLE  +  Perceivable_estandar  +  ACCESSIBILITY_MODULE  +  REGION, data  =  Webs_Digital_Accesbility_Analysis).

Firstly it has proceeded to standardise the scale of the different types of errors. In the specific case of Perceptible, the number of images on the respective websites has also been considered because most images have a high potential number of errors. In this way, it has not been penalised large portals such as  https://www.visitmorocco.com/en  or  https://www.andalucia.org/en/home , which depend on the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco and Turismo Andaluz, a public promotional entity dependent on the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Government).

The model’s outcome is statistically significant, with an R2 of almost 90%. When performing the Shapiro test, it was indicated that the independent variable under study in the Total_Errors model does not follow a normal distribution, which is why we performed a Wilcox test to check the statistical significance of the means of this variable in Andalusia and Morocco and found it to be significant. Therefore, the variable Region is significant, so it can be argued that the geographical location, Andalusia or Northern Morocco, influences the level of digital accessibility of the websites analysed.

In this order, the statistically significant parameters or estimators are Operable, Robust and Perceivable_Standardized. At the same time, Understandable is not significant, a situation that is explained by the fact that the average number of errors of the variable is 2.81, while the errors related to the variables Perceivable_Standardized, Robust or Operable are 29.46, 15.59 or 13.92, respectively. Therefore, it is not that Understandable is not an essential characteristic of digital accessibility, but rather that in the websites analysed, there are fewer errors in this variable compared to the others studied.

Finally, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed. Principal component analysis is one of the most widely used multivariate data analysis methods that allow us to investigate multidimensional data sets when dealing with quantitative variables, reducing the analysed variables to two principal components, PC1 and PC2, which describe, in this case, more than 75% of the original variance (see Fig.  4 ).

figure 4

Principal components by region.

The previous figure shows how the websites relate to the variables that explain digital accessibility. The analysis works in practice as a digital accessibility performance index, where the further to the right on the abscissa axis, the greater the number of total errors the analysed website will have. Also, it identifies the variables Perceptible, Robust and Operable as the most significant influence on the total number of errors and worse relative performance for tourism promotion websites in Northern Morocco.

In the following subsection, for the specific case of Andalusia, the question of some tourist destinations working within the framework of Smart Tourism Destinations has been analysed.

3.1.3 Smart tourism destinations in Andalusia

As a consequence of the proliferation since 2014 of Smart Tourism Destination (STD) initiatives linked to the development of smart cities [ 25 , 26 , 27 ], the variable STD in the particular case of Andalusia has been included in our study to analyse whether the process of converting a mature mass destination into STD has any relationship with better performance on the levels of digital accessibility of tourism promotion websites. Even more so when, by definition, one of the fundamental pillars of smart destinations is accessibility.

From the sample under study, 53.13% of Andalusia´s destinations are immersed in converting to STD. Deepening the distribution of STD initiatives in the provinces of Andalusia (see Fig.  5 ).

figure 5

Smart tourism destinations in Andalusia by provinces.

The figure above shows the distribution by provinces of the current initiatives launched for developing STDs in Andalusia. Malaga, Seville and Cadiz are the Andalusian provinces with the highest number of STD initiatives. Cordoba, together with Jaén, the fewest, with none. In the case of Jaén, it must also bear in mind that it does not have a tourist destination considered by the INE, which is why it is not represented in the above graph. This is because the development of STDs is primarily linked to mature sun and beach destinations. Supplemented the above data by performing a principal component analysis for this factor (see Fig.  6 ).

figure 6

Principal component analysis by STDs.

The previous figure has been analysed through principal components of the quantitative and multidimensional data of supplementary (Table 2), developing factors that will be used later in a modelling method through linear regression. As shown, no pattern in the point cloud differentiates STD and NON-STD behaviours, which means that it cannot identify a better performance of these destinations that do not work within the STD framework than those that do. Therefore, the STD variable is not a positive differential component concerning digital accessibility.

3.2 Analysis of inclusive communication in social networks

Firstly, a database has been compiled, which includes the profiles on social networks used by tourist destinations in Andalusia and Northern Morocco to promote tourism content (see supplementary, Table 3 Tourist destinations’ social media analysis).

In supplementary (Table 3), profiles in social networks have been classified geographically by region, province and city. In some cases, the managing body of the tourist destination corresponds to a group of cities or provinces; for these cases, we proceeded with an NA, indicating that this data is unavailable. We carried out a manual collation task for each social network to identify cases of good practices of inclusive communication in their tourism promotion content. These good practices include the appropriate use of the following qualitative variables:  Plain Language, Alternative Text, Captions, Transcriptions, Hashtags  and finally, limited use of  Emojis . The database includes the date the analysis was done, delimiting this study in time.

3.2.1 Inclusive communication, descriptive and correspondence analysis

In this part of the study related to social network analysis, an initial descriptive analysis of the variables that make up the total of good practices has been conducted. In addition, it complements it with a correspondence analysis, as these are qualitative variables or factors, to find out the tendency of the relationship between the different variables, if there are any (see Figs. 7 , 8 ).

figure 7

Good practices by components.

figure 8

Good practices correspondence analysis.

As shown in the previous figure, the use of plain and informative text is the most widespread good practice, although it accounts for only half 50.41% of the copies analysed. The use of other good practices of inclusive communication is considerably reduced, and in some of the variables analysed, they are almost anecdotal. This is the case with alternative texts, a good practice to facilitate reading images by screen readers, limited to 1.63% of the profiles analysed, or the transcription of audiovisuals, with only 4.07%. Subtitling is another good practice of inclusive communication on social media that should be encouraged, as it is only presents 8.95% of the social media profiles analysed. Even practices that are simpler a priori to implement are being minimally employed, such as the use of hashtags to classify contents and facilitate their search with 13.82%, or the limited use of emojis so as not to interrupt the reading sequence of screen readers frequently, with the appropriate use of emojis being a practice found in 22.32% of the contents analysed.

Figure  8 shows a correspondence analysis of the good practices of inclusive communication on social networks by the destinations belonging to the sample under study.

As shown in the previous figure, the use of good practices in inclusive communication is reflected in the graph in the right-hand area of the ordinate axis. The variable  Region  corresponding to the  North of Morocco  is also relevant in this area. On the other hand, the worst performance of these variables is located on the left, with profiles belonging mainly to destinations in Andalusia. Regarding inclusive communication, based on the decalogue of good practices and the sample under study, Northern Morocco is in a better relative position than Andalusia. However, one must bear in mind that the total number of profiles analysed is much higher in the case of Andalusia, depending on different public entities. In the case of Morocco, the profiles belong mainly to the public accounts of the Moroccan Ministry, thus organising the communication process in a more centralised way.

At this point, the profiles of tourist destinations on social networks will be analysed, classifying them into five groups, from those that do not comply with any good practices to those that comply with four good practices in terms of inclusive communication (see Fig.  9 ).

figure 9

Total good practices correspondence analysis.

The previous figure shows how the groups of profiles with the worst performance with 0 or 1 good inclusive communication practices are located in the left area, with a reasonably close position. In contrast, the groups of profiles in social networks with 2 to 4 good practices are in the right area of the graph. Visually, the groups or clusters with the worst results are those with the highest number of members, confirming how little interest is devoted to the issue of inclusive communication by tourist destinations. To illustrate this point, we complete the previous quantitative analysis with a qualitative analysis based on the good practice guide for inclusive communication on social networks. In this case, collecting through the UX Check some of the worse practice cases examples trying to limit them (see supplementary, Table 4). A complimentary comment to the previous table can identify a generalised lack of good practices in inclusive communication through the social media profiles of tourist destinations, in some cases, a profound lack. For example, only 1.63% of images use alternative text or a meagre 8.94% use video subtitles. However, the performance of profiles from Northern Morocco is somewhat better, considering that the number of profiles is lower than those from Andalusia. The room for improvement in communicating more inclusively on social networks is enormous for both regions.

3.2.2 Inclusive communication, linear regression analysis

The present section has analysed inclusive communication through social media destinations profiles in Andalusia and North Morocco with a linear regression model where each variable belonging to good practices is the estimator of this explanatory variable. The variables  region  and  social network were added, and their statistical significance was analysed, using the following regression model:

Model_Comunicate_Inclusively  = lm (TOTAL_GOOD_PRACTICES  ~  `PLAIN LANGUAGE`  +  `ALTERNATIVE TEXT`  +  CAPTIONS  +  TRASNCRIPTIONS  +  HASHTAGS  +  EMOJIS  +  REGION  +  Network, data  =  Social_Media_Analysis).

In order to include the latter variable, social networks, a preliminary analysis of mean and standard deviation and correspondence analysis has been conducted (see Fig.  10 ).

figure 10

Social networks correspondence analysis.

In this first approximation, Instagram and Facebook are the social networks with the highest number of good inclusive communication practices, along with Pinterest, significantly the most inclusive in the group of other social network profiles (OTHER). In contrast, Twitter and YouTube are positioned last, shown as the worst-performing networks to the left of the graph. Social networks such as Facebook and Instagram are positioned to the right, with their position in the diagram depicting a better performance in inclusive communication. The sphere represented by Others reflects the level of inclusive communication of the group of minority social networks in use by the tourist destinations analysed: Flickr, Issuu, Spotify, Blogger, LinkedIn and Pinterest. However, they are the ones that accumulate the highest number of good practices in inclusive communication. This is mainly due to the high performance of LinkedIn and Pinterest. Both social networks perform better in audio videos with subtitles, transcriptions, informative copies and no abusive use of emojis.

Focusing on the regression model, the variables that make up the total of good practices, i.e. plain language, alternative text, captions, transcriptions, hashtags and emojis are significant as expected, as each variable forms a necessary component to communicate inclusively. Concerning the region and the level of good practices in social media, it must be noted the better performance of social media profiles of the main destinations in Northern Morocco, Tangier, Tetouan and Al-Hocima, with an average of two good practices per profile. At the same time, Andalusia has a low average of just one good practice per social media profile (see Fig.  11 ).

figure 11

Good practices regional analysis.

In the previous figure, the outliers in Andalusia are the profiles that communicate more inclusively on social networks, taking into account the sum of both regions, coinciding with the destination of Malaga and Nerja in the province of Malaga.

4 Discussion

4.1 1st phase discussion. website digital accessibility analysis: accessibility modules by regions and smart tourism destinations in andalusia.

Taking into account the averages and correlations obtained in the previous section, either the limitations presented in the international context, the following reflections are considered relevant to understand the current state of this subject.

According to the results presented in this study, Table 2 shows that of the 33 websites analysed in this article for Andalusia, only 12 websites (36.36%) refer to accessibility or accessible tourism. In contrast, the rest of the websites, i.e. 21, do not make any reference, representing 63.64% of the total. Comparing this study with the data presented [ 2 ], among the results of a total of 19 websites analysed in Portugal, the territories with references to accessibility or accessible tourism are only 10, which represents 53.63% of the total. Thus, better relative performance can be seen concerning digital accessibility corresponding to the websites of Andalusian tourist destinations. In this regard, it should be borne in mind that Portugal has a long history in favour of digital accessibility, as it was one of the first countries to become a member of the accessibility guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Regarding the most common web accessibility errors identified in the pages analysed for Andalusia and Northern Morocco, the results obtained and shown in Figs.  2 and 3 highlight those related to Perceptible, Robust and Operable. In this case, the results coincide with the work carried out in the framework of web accessibility for Portugal [ 2 , 18 , 20 ]. Regarding the understandable principle, some problems and warnings were identified, as shown in Fig.  2 , the web accessibility error with the most insignificant impact on the web pages analysed. This low average of accessibility problems linked to the comprehensibility principle is consistent with previous work [ 21 ].

The results are focused on the web accessibility of public tourism promotion bodies. As mentioned in the methodology, the most relevant destinations in Andalusia and the north of Morocco have been selected, for different reasons, as seen in Table 1 (supplementary). After carefully studying the state of the art, it can be appreciated that some works analyse the web accessibility of public and private entities in the value chain of a tourist destination. These are museums, hotels or leisure activities websites [ 18 , 19 ]. Recent works confirm that more attention is given to the analysis of digital accessibility in official tourism organisations’ websites and Municipal websites, as shown in [ 3 ]. In this sense, there is no previous reference to analyse the accessibility of the official websites of the “Círculo del Estrecho” tourist destinations.

The results aim to raise awareness among the managing bodies of tourist destinations in Andalusia and northern Morocco of the importance of increasing the levels of digital accessibility of websites in both regions for several reasons. Firstly, in the case of Andalusian destinations, the minimum legal requirements still need to be met in many cases. Secondly, in both regions, few websites have a specialised information module on accessible tourism or even a digital accessibility decalogue, even though the latter is compulsory. Thirdly, concerning the northern region of Morocco, no information related to accessible tourism has been identified. Therefore, in the case of this region, web accessibility should be addressed from the initial process—design and implementation—based on international standards of digital accessibility, thus highlighting the level of web accessibility and good practices of inclusive communication on social networks in Malaga, Andalusia as an accessible destination. This destination presents an above-average performance in both parameters of this study; despite this, there is still significant room for improvement since, as shown in Table 2 , it lacks reference to accessible tourism on its official website.

4.2 2nd phase discussion. Analysis of inclusive communication in social networks

The comparative framework with previous works must be more present in this new concept of inclusiveness in social networks. Some studies include the concept of inclusion from the perspective of branding [ 28 ] or the language used [ 29 ] but not from analysing the level of inclusive communication on social networks by compiling the good practices used for tourist destinations. In this sense, as shown in supplementary (Table 3), the results provided in this work aim not only to raise awareness among the managing bodies of tourist destinations in Andalusia and northern Morocco but also to encourage the tourism sector itself to reflect on the importance of increasing the levels of inclusive communication for three main reasons. Firstly, all tourists, regardless of their disabilities or permanent or temporary limitations, have the right to consume the promotional content generated by tourist destinations through social networks without discrimination. Secondly, communicating more inclusively will make it easier for tourist destinations to reach more tourists and, therefore, more potential customers. Third, communicating inclusively the content generated by tourist destinations facilitates the work of organic positioning of digital content at the end of the destination itself.

5 Conclusions

Answering the first research question, the connection between web accessibility and inclusive communication concepts leads to cross-cutting approaches based on concepts such as universal design. In this sense, in a first approximation, these terms are receiving increasing attention from researchers and communication professionals. However, there is still a considerable margin for improvement, as this paper shows. Regarding info-accessibility, a considerable need for digital accessibility on promotional websites of the main tourist destinations in Andalusia and Northern Morocco has been identified. Likewise, there is a critical need for awareness-raising and training for professionals in charge of communication within the tourism marketing function. Related to the most significant digital accessibility errors is the general lack of alternative texts for the images included on the destinations’ websites in both regions. However, Andalusian websites have a slightly higher level of digital accessibility than the northern region of Morocco. This circumstance should not hide the significant shortcomings in terms of digital accessibility which have been detected in the websites of Andalusian destinations. Websites with an accessible tourism information module or a digital accessibility decalogue only represent 36.36%, which should be mandatory for all of them according to regulations.

Concerning the second question, related to the comparison of the websites of tourist destinations in the Strait of Gibraltar, it can be stated that there are no significant differences, highlighting the shortcomings of many websites of destinations in Andalusia not complying with the mandatory legal requirements. The point to note is that the mandatory legislation emanating from the European Union and included in the Spanish regulatory framework (in the case of Andalusia) is not offering a significant differential component in terms of digital accessibility in their websites of public tourism promotion.

Regarding the third research question, currently, a significant number of initiatives in mature mass tourism destinations in Andalusia focused on accessible tourism, supported by new models of tourism management such as Smart Tourism Destinations (STDs). Although the analysis results are conclusive, they do not identify a better performance of the tourist destinations included within the STDs framework than those that do not, which is even more striking when accessibility is a fundamental pillar in the smart destinations. At this point, the component to highlight is that STDs must develop into more accessible tourist destinations by conceptualisation.

Focusing on inclusive communication practices in Andalusia and Northern Morocco as the fourth research question, minimal performance is identified, possibly due to the need for more awareness of this emerging concept in both destinations. Thus, there is a strong need for good practice in using alternative texts to describe images beyond those self-generated by some platforms. The misuse of emojis is widespread hindering the readability of the technologies on which screen readers. The inappropriate use of hashtags frequently mixed with the copy itself or the non-use of the CamelCase style makes screen readers’ work difficult. For all these reasons, there is a considerable gap in the use of good inclusive communication practices, which could also represent an opportunity for those destinations that are increasingly interested in the accessible tourism segment. Currently, most social networks offer help pages to design content that everyone can consume from the universal design paradigm [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].

The originality of this work is that it represents the first analysis of the accessibility of the websites of the tourist destinations of the “Círculo del Estrecho”, and, more specifically, it is the first time that the northern region of Morocco has been analysed. Moreover, this study represents a step forward compared to previous studies, which were limited to digital accessibility. However, this article opens up a new line of research by analysing inclusive communication on social networks. This research will be significant in tourism marketing due to its conceptual approach and as a starting point for measuring inclusive communication in tourism destinations and social networks.

As a limitation of this work, we can identify several different stages of development of tourist destinations on both sides of the Gibraltar Strait and different regulatory levels. However, the most significant is the difference in tourism management models in both regions, which has led to a significant difference in the number of websites and social network profiles to be analysed for each case. Therefore, future studies should consider the current trends of digital content consumption through any device, considering both the concepts of Web Responsive Design [ 47 ] and Mobile First [ 48 ]. We must recognize that, at present, the most significant number of searches and digital content consumption is done through mobile phones.

Finally, accessible tourism in general and digital accessibility and inclusive communication, as part of social sustainability, are fundamental for transforming tourism destinations. Future work should include indicators to measure these variables in the framework of recent studies on measuring the sustainability of tourism destinations [ 49 ].

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Conceptualization: Alexander Aguirre Montero, Mohammed Youbi Idrissi, José Antonio López Sánchez; Methodology: Alexander Aguirre Montero, José Antonio López Sánchez; Formal analysis and investigation: Alexander Aguirre Montero, Mohammed Youbi Idrissi, María Dolores Hernández Sales; Writing—original draft preparation: Alexander Aguirre Montero, María Dolores Hernández Sales; Writing—review and editing: Alexander Aguirre Montero, María Dolores Hernández Sales; Funding acquisition: José Antonio López Sánchez; Resources: José Antonio López Sánchez; Supervision: José Antonio López Sánchez, Mohammed Youbi Idrissi.

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Montero, A.A., Sales, L.H., Idrissi, M.Y. et al. Web accessibility and inclusivity of tourist destinations at social media management. An intercultural analysis of Andalusia and Northern Morocco. Univ Access Inf Soc (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-023-01020-y

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tourism and accessibility

Hotels Have Come A Long Way With Accessibility — But There's Still So Much Work To Be Done

Eager to shower and get to bed after a late-night arrival in Brussels last summer, my husband and I were disappointed — but not surprised — to find that my wheelchair didn’t fit into the bathroom of our supposedly accessible hotel room.

Too late to find a new hotel to stay in after a short but laborious flight from our home in Dublin , I clumsily lowered myself to the floor, scooted into the shower and sat while my husband angled the showerhead toward me and sprayed me down. Using the toilet was an even bigger issue, but I’ll spare you the details.

Navigating hotels as a person with a disability can be challenging in unexpected ways. After a long day of traveling, nothing feels better than settling into a cozy bed. But for wheelchair users like me, there are often several obstacles that keep us from resting, relaxing and getting anything else done in a hotel room that was clearly not designed with anyone like me in mind. From stories about beds being too high  to  limited floor space and roll-in nightmares , there are so many things that the global hospitality industry needs to address.

I have to hope that change is underway, because this can’t be as good as it gets. I spoke to several big hotel groups about what they’re doing to ensure better accessibility for their disabled guests — and some of them appeared to already have plans in action.

InterContinental Hotels Group brands include Even and Crowne Plaza, as well as, on a luxury level, Kimpton and the InterContinental. At the InterContinental specifically, there’s a new inclusivity initiative that prioritizes accessibility through a pledge to focus on diversity in clientele .

“By championing accessibility from the outset, we are rethinking how our environments enable every guest to find restoration and rest within our rooms,” Melissa Messmer, the head of global design for InterContinental at IHG Hotels & Resorts, told me.

Messmer noted that, historically, accessibility in the hospitality industry has been an afterthought — and I wholeheartedly agreed, as I’ve experienced all the shortcomings for years.

I learned that it can be easier for some structures to get accessibly face-lifts than others. The Kimpton Fitzroy in London, for example, is old and grand — sort of a historic landmark. Few renovations have been made on the hotel since it opened its doors as The Russell in 1898, but it has recently been afforded exemptions related to accessibility requirements. Acquired by IHG in 2018, the hotel’s entrance was recently fitted with a wheelchair lift using modern engineering and construction methods.

To Bryan Houser, vice president of preconstruction lifecycle at IHG, a strong design aesthetic is always inclusive. He and his team strive toward a balance of thoughtful function and aesthetic strategizing to create comfortable environments for their guests with different disabilities.

And to tap into what this requires, they work with the U.K.-based  Motionspot , an inclusive design consultancy creating beautifully designed environments that center people with various disabilities.

“Traditionally, accessible design has been functional — the bare minimum of what a person needs to carry out their daily tasks” said Ed Warner, the CEO of Motionspot. “However, this is not enough for a person to express themselves and reach their full potential. Truly inclusive design is about blending function and form to create spaces which enable and inspire.”

Partnerships like these are not just cool — they’re necessary, because design decisions about accessibility really can’t be made by a bunch of people who have never used a mobility aid.

Marriott International, in hopes of making properties more comfortable for those with mobility issues, is engaging with people with disabilities to inform its decision-making in the development of its  Room for All initiative . It’s also working with inclusive design consultant Elise Roy , a deaf, human-centered designer who delivered a thought-provoking TEDx talk back in 2015 called  “ When We Design for Disability, We All Benefit .”

Based in Marriott’s Maryland headquarters, the Room for All project will see the development of new digital features such as voice-activated temperature and lighting control, as well as room layouts that have fewer physical barriers and increase accessibility for guests who use wheelchairs.

Similarly, the company Accor has partnered with Jaccede  —  a collaborative platform where users review the accessibility of places they’ve visited, aiming to help people with reduced mobility identify establishments that can meet their access needs. The transparency of real guests posting about their stays is really appealing here.

New in-room features are also key to Accor’s quest to make hotels in its roster (like Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis) more accessible to people with mobility aids. Accor’s recently launched “ smart rooms ” use technological innovation — including adapted, adjustable bathrooms and connected tablets to control the rooms’ equipment — to create a richer overall hospitality experience.

Anne-Sophie Beraud, senior vice president of group diversity inclusion and social care at Accor, stressed to me that the brands are not only focused on improving physical accessibility for their guests, but also on creating a better work environment for hotel staff with disabilities. They offer extensive training to foster healthy attitudes and reactions toward disability, as well as self-assessment programs.

The hotels also go through a certification process with the French organization Tourisme & Handicap — part of an action plan among hotel stakeholders in France ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Paris — to advance their commitment to accommodating guests with disabilities. Beraud hopes that these efforts will “not only establish a legacy of inclusivity, but also facilitate the global adoption of these best practices.”

After chatting with leaders in these hotel groups, I do feel a little more hopeful about change across the industry. The evolution of attitudes and actions in hotel tourism feels slow but palpable. Many of the hotels that execute new tech and accessibility features might be out of reach for those who aren’t rich. But hopefully, in the no-so-distant future, these features will become a staple of all hotels. Really, it’s beneficial for everyone.

“Ensuring there is accessible hotel provision is not only the right thing to do,” said Warner, “it also makes solid business sense.”

A 2020 market study  by Open Doors Organization  revealed that in 2018 and 2019, adults with disabilities in the U.S. spent a staggering $58.7 billion on their travel adventures. A similar study by VisitBritain uncovered that individuals with disabilities contribute a noteworthy 14.6 billion pounds each year to England’s travel economy. We are out on adventures too, and we want to spend our money on accommodations that make us feel seen and safe.

Failing to cater to the access needs of people with disabilities closes the door on numerous significant revenue streams. Mobility Mojo , a company that empowers organizations “to create more accessible and inclusive environments,” reported that the accessible tourism market is the fastest-growing but most underserved market in tourism.

The best way, in my opinion, that hotels can address inaccessibility is by working with disabled people, designers like Roy and agencies like Motionspot. We are, after all, experts through our own experiences. 

And since vacations are short, and I deserve as comfortable a stay as anyone else, I’m going to continue to ask the uncomfortable questions — and choose spaces that value my money.

Hotels Have Come A Long Way With Accessibility — But There's Still So Much Work To Be Done

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Agoda, GSTC, and USAID Partner to Champion Sustainability Education for Hotels in Asia

For Immediate Release

Press Release

Digital travel platform Agoda, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have partnered  to provide sustainability trainings for hoteliers across Asia, which will strengthen the sustainability transformation and foster green growth within the region’s hotel industry, with models that have the potential for global application.

The Sustainable Tourism Development Initiative builds on the success of Agoda’s ongoing partnership with the GSTC, which has provided sustainability education for hundreds of hoteliers to date across India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand to support the industry to meet the rising consumer demand for more sustainable accommodation options. This partnership with USAID, through the US-Supporting Economic Growth in Asia (US-SEGA) activity, expands the training scope and geographic coverage to additional markets in South and Southeast Asia.

  • Expansion of existing instructor-led hotel sustainability training at five destinations across the region in  India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, and the Philippines, will equip hoteliers with the necessary tools and knowledge to enhance their sustainability practices.
  • Development of a self-paced digital hotel sustainability training platform , which will offer localized, interactive learning modules, supplementary study materials, and quizzes that address the distinct sustainability challenges across the region. Covering different aspects of the GSTC Hotel Criteria, the global standard for sustainability in travel and tourism, the platform will provide an introduction to sustainability and sustainable tourism, insights into global trends and industry best practices, and practical tools on applying these learnings. The learning materials on the platform will be available in English and regional languages.
  • Establishment of a sustainability scholarship fund for select hotels across the region,  particularly hotels that are small, medium, and women-owned enterprises, to receive further training and obtain third-party sustainability certifications recognized by GSTC.

Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda,  said, “It is our responsibility to raise awareness about sustainability among both our consumers and accommodation partners and are thrilled to support the industry in developing the knowledge and working towards third-party certifications. Partnering with USAID will help elevate and scale our projects which combine Agoda’s extensive supply network with GSTC’s world-leading technical expertise on sustainability to reach even more markets across Asia.”

USAID India Mission Director Veena Reddy , stated, “USAID believes it is critical to work in collaboration with the private sector to drive sustainable development progress, including mitigating climate change. Tourism, when sustainable, provides an important pathway for inclusive economic growth and preservation of cultural heritage, and can be a valuable tool for environmental conservation. We are proud to launch this regional partnership with Agoda and GSTC in India to support, particularly as they overcome the economic setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability of small and medium enterprises to participate in a more sustainable economy.”

Speaking of the benefits of this initiative,  Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC , shared, “The knowledge and skills acquired from these trainings serve as a crucial step for hoteliers to obtain credible third-party sustainability certifications for their properties and effectively navigate the process with a thorough understanding of the GSTC Hotel Criteria. They will also have the opportunity to enhance their professional credentials and marketability in the hospitality industry, opening doors to career advancement opportunities in the future.”

The fifth iteration of the instructor-led hotel sustainability training organized by Agoda and GSTC, and the first in partnership with USAID, will be held in Jaipur, India on March 28-29, 2024. This training has the support of the  Rajasthan Department of Tourism, and is expected to garner up to 60 participants.

The interactive two-day training session will be held in all five countries and will allow hoteliers to learn from GSTC trainers and guest speakers to gain an in-depth understanding of the GSTC Industry Criteria and assess their current performance to establish better short-, medium-, and long-term sustainability goals. Participants who complete the training will receive a certificate of attendance from the GSTC, along with eligibility to sit for an optional exam to receive the GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism – both of which contribute to meeting the Staff Engagement Criterion A4 of the  GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels , which requires staff to hold certificates and qualifications in relevant disciplines and skills.

Through this partnership, Agoda, GSTC, and USAID aim to not only train individual hoteliers on sustainable hotel management, but catalyze knowledge sharing on sustainable management practices across the industry, and will create a network of sustainability professionals in the local hotel industry.

Agoda, GSTC, and USAID Partner to Champion Sustainability Education for Hotels in Asia

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Moscow extends a warm welcome to Indian travellers with enhanced infrastructure and hidden gems

Russia actively promoting moscow as a tourist destination for indian travellers, improving infrastructure and visa process..

Russia is making an active bid to attract Indian travellers to visit Moscow -- a huge megalopolis and the historical, political and spiritual heart of the Russian Federation. The Moscow City Tourism Committee is promoting the city not only as a cultural capital but also as a business hub as it plans to onboard trade partners, tourists and vacationers. Moscow has also strengthened cooperation with the tourism sectors of allied nations, hosting familiarization tours for delegates and arranging business trips to showcase the city's tourism potential.

Travelling to Moscow has now become easier as tourists from India and 54 other countries can apply for an electronic visa to enter Russia from August 1, 2023. (Unsplash)

To accommodate visitors, Moscow is improving its infrastructure: signs are now available in English and Chinese, all announcements on public transport are repeated in English, and hotels are also adapting to cater to the needs of guests from various countries and ensure a comfortable stay. "We are still on our way to restore the flow of Indian tourists in Moscow like it used to be before the pandemic," said Bulat Nurmukhanov, Head of International Cooperation Division of Moscow City Tourism Committee.

Bulat further said that before the pandemic, there was a steady growth of 12-15 per cent on a year-on-year basis. In the first half of the year, Moscow received about 20,000 Indians, compared to the same period a year ago, it is about 56 per cent higher. In a bid to make Moscow a must-visit destination, the committee is actively working on improving the infrastructure for international travellers. Moscow is spearheading the development of innovative standards in catering to the needs of foreign travellers.

Tourists arriving in the capital can stay in hotels of various price segments. They can savour traditional Russian cuisine, and can also indulge in a diverse culinary experience, with options ranging from authentic Indian delicacies to continental dishes prepared to the highest standards. In 2022, the number of foreign tourists who visited Moscow increased by 6.3 per cent compared to 2021, reaching a total of 1.7 million.

Travelling to Moscow has now become easier as tourists from India and 54 other countries can apply for an electronic visa to enter Russia from August 1, 2023. The impact of e-visa rollout would be available by October this year after the quarterly data from the Russian border control agencies is analysed, Bulat said.

Moreover, the Russian government is planning to come out with a virtual 'Foreign Tourist Card' that will enable cashless payments for various services. "The idea behind this card is, a person back home in India can remotely apply for this card and then he/she can transfer money from the personal bank account to this bank account," Bulat added.

Meanwhile, sources in the Indian Embassy in Moscow told reporters that the Indian tourism ministry as well as the governments of Goa and Kerala are slated to participate in roundtable discussions this month. There are also plans to engage social media influencers to improve the inward traffic to India. Before the pandemic, around 3 lakh Russian tourists visited India annually. The numbers are down to around 80,000-90,000 of late.

To facilitate easy visitor movement across the city, there is "Discover Moscow" -- a navigation and travel web portal about Moscow and "RUSSPASS travel service" -- a digital platform designed for planning trips across Russia. The Discover Moscow portal features descriptions of over 1,200 architectural landmarks in Moscow. The site provides news, digests with festival and event information and curated lists of exhibition venues.

By availing the RUSSPASS travel service, tourists can access all essential information for a trip to Moscow on the site, including visa and currency matters, accommodation and transportation options in the capital. The site also offers a trip builder feature, allowing tourists to select pre-designed city routes or create their own itinerary from their favourite locations. There are versions of the site in Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic.

On the cultural scene, Moscow boasts 10,000 cultural venues including theaters, museums, libraries, parks, cinemas, concert halls, and more. In the last decade, around 900 parks and green spaces have been renovated.

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How a $33,000-a-night private island inspired by the Kennedys became a beacon for sustainable tourism

By Tom Page and Sean Coppack, CNN

(CNN) — Thanda Island, a speck of sand off the Tanzanian coast, has room for only a handful of guests, but space enough for many thousands of inhabitants.

A luxury estate which must be rented in its entirety, where prices start at $33,000 per night, you’ll have to share this tropical hideaway with some of Mother Nature’s most majestic creatures, including the largest fish in the sea, the whale shark.

Located a 30-minute helicopter ride from Tanzania’s biggest city, Dar es Salaam, Thanda sits amid a private marine reserve with a rigorous conservation and restoration program ­– one that is already reaping rewards for visitors as well as the surrounding island communities.

The brainchild of Swedish entrepreneurs Dan and Christin Olofsson, Thanda Island Hotel has been in operation since 2016.

“They wanted to create the ultimate escape,” says general manager Antigone Meda, who explains that multigenerational families and groups of friends are the island’s typical guests, with most staying for five to eight nights.

The island features a villa and two open-air beach chalets. “The villa was very inspired by the Kennedys’ beach home,” Meda says, referring to the compound in Cape Cod that belonged to the family of JFK . “It breeds beach romance, nostalgia, (with) a touch of East African flare.”

Thanda strives to be as self-sufficient as possible, she adds, with a seawater desalination plant on site, rainwater harvesting, and powered by the largest off-grid solar farm in Tanzania, she claims. Organic waste is turned into compost.

But the hotel’s sustainability credentials are only part of the allure for the environmentally conscious traveller. The island sits within Mafia Island Marine Park, and more specifically, Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve, which guests have exclusive use of during their stay.

Beyond the island’s white sand beaches, activities include jet skiing, jet boarding, kayaking, sailing, wind surfing and kite surfing. Diving and snorkelling are the most prized sports, however. Whale sharks, humpback whales and blacktip reef sharks are a short boat ride away.

These species are being fostered by the island’s conservation program, which started in 2017 with the hiring of a marine biologist, kickstarting a team that has expanded significantly since, including a partnership with the Tanzanian Marine Parks and Reserves Unit.

The island itself has a protected turtle nesting area (five species live in the area, with green turtles hatching from 2017 ), but much of the work takes place at sea.

Hassan Jumbe is the dive master at Thanda and works on its coral restoration project. A 10-minute boat ride from the island is a coral nursery tended by Jumbe, where found coral fragments are cut into smaller pieces and cemented to ropes hanging from floating pontoons, and allowed to grow. Another technique involves clipping small corals to the seabed, giving them space to grow.

Jumbe started in 2022, and says in the island’s immediate waters there “was not so many fish.”

“There’s a big difference now,” he adds. “We have a very healthy reef and also a lot of fish around. So for the local people, they are so proud of it.”

“The ocean is our life”

The dive master explains that 90% of the nearby population, found primarily on Mafia Island, 16 nautical miles away, rely on fishing for a livelihood. While the private reserve is off limits, Jumbe says, the reefs allow a safe breeding space, with populations that spill out over a wider area beyond it, which can be fished in a more sustainable fashion.

“The ocean is our life,” Jumbe adds. “A lot of people didn’t realize how important the coral is.”

Meda says the project aims to cover and restore one hectare of reef over the next five years.

“I remember when I first came here, I would see one or two blacktip reef sharks. We now have a thriving population of them. You jump in the water and you could almost be surrounded,” she says. One hundred and twenty individual whale sharks have been recorded in the waters, she adds.

The benefits to tourism have been married to a number of projects engaging with the Mafia Island community. The majority of employees at Thanda Island come from the neighboring island, and Thanda supports a series of entrepreneurs and small businesses there, says Meda. Jumbe says other people from Mafia Island have been trained in open water diving and coral restoration.

“Some guests go as far as helping us with some of our projects on Mafia Island that we run,” she adds. “They feel a sense of responsibility. It makes them happy that luxury travel can actually make a positive impact.”

Cherae Robinson, founder and CEO of luxury travel operator Tastemakers Africa, says Tanzania’s “really dynamic” coastal region is on her radar.

“(A) holistic approach to sustainable tourism is really finding its foot(ing) on the continent, because so much of tourism on the continent is in connection with the environment. And so you’re seeing sustainability really on the cutting edge in some places,” she explains.

The World Travel Awards has named Thanda Island the “World’s Leading Exclusive Private Island” for the last eight years.

Like the corals off its pristine shores, its reputation continues to grow and grow.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Frequently asked questions, per diem

What is per diem?

How do I find the per diem rate for (city/county, state)?

What is the difference between non-standard areas (NSA) and standard CONUS locations?

How are the CONUS per diem rates set for NSAs?

How does GSA set boundary lines for where per diem rates apply?

How can a CONUS non-standard area (NSA) receive a special review?

How can I request the establishment of a new NSA?

What if a city is not listed on the CONUS Per Diem website?

Can hotels refuse to honor the per diem rate to federal government employees and federal government contractors?

Is the hotel’s GOV rate the same as the federal per diem rate?

Are lodging taxes included in the CONUS per diem rate?

Are taxes and gratuity (tips) included in the Meals and Incidental (M&IE) expense rate?

What is considered an incidental expense?

How often is a study conducted on the M&IE expense rates?

What is the M&IE reimbursement rate during the first and last travel day?

Can I combine the lodging and M&IE per diem rates ("mix and match") in order to get a nicer hotel room or spend more on meals?

Do I need to provide receipts?

What do I do if there are no hotels available at per diem?

Do I receive a meal reimbursement for day travel away from my regular duty station?

How much per diem can I pay a contractor?

How much can a trucker deduct for meals per day?

Per diem is an allowance for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes the per diem reimbursement rates that federal agencies use to reimburse their employees for subsistence expenses incurred while on official travel within the continental U.S. (CONUS), which includes the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) establishes rates for travel in non-foreign areas outside of CONUS, which includes Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions. The U.S. Department of State establishes rates for travel in foreign areas. For more information on rates established by DOD and the State Department visit travel.dod.mil and aoprals.state.gov .

Please visit www.gsa.gov/perdiem  to find the rates. Click on a state on the map to view that state's rates or enter the location in the search box. Even though some cities are listed for your lookup convenience, not all cities can or will be listed. To look up the county a destination is located in, visit the Census Geocoder . If neither the city nor county you are looking for is listed on the GSA per diem rate page, then the standard CONUS rate applies.

Non-standard areas (NSAs) are frequently traveled by the federal community and are reviewed on an annual basis. Standard CONUS locations are less frequently traveled by the federal community and are not specifically listed on our website.

Per diem rates are set based upon contractor-provided average daily rate (ADR) data of local lodging properties. The properties must be fire-safe and have a FEMA ID number. The ADR is a travel industry metric that divides room sales rental revenue by the number of rooms sold. All rates are evaluated to ensure that they are fair and equitable in the GSA and Office of Management and Budget approval process. For more detailed information, visit the Factors Influencing Lodging Rates page.

5 U.S.C § 5702 gives the Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) the authority to establish the system of reimbursing Federal employees for the subsistence expenses (lodging, meals, and incidentals) of official travel. The law governs how GSA sets rates today, and allows the GSA Administrator to establish locality-based allowances for these expenses with a reporting requirement back to Congress. The law was established to protect Federal employees by fairly reimbursing them for travel expenses. In addition, if a Federal employee cannot find a room within the established per diem rates, the travel policy allows the agency to reimburse the actual hotel charges up to 300 percent of the established per diem rates.

The per diem program has several standards that it follows in its systematic structured per diem methodology. The first level is having a "standard rate" that applies to approximately 85 percent of counties in the continental United States.

It is GSA's policy that, if and when a Federal agency, on behalf of its employees, requests that the standard rate is not adequate in a specific area to cover costs of travel as intended by the law, GSA will study the locality to determine whether the locality under study should become a "non-standard area." If the study recommends a change, a change will be implemented as deemed appropriate. GSA has implemented a process to review and update both the standard and non-standard areas annually.

The standard "boundary line" for where non-standard areas apply is generally one county. This is the case for approximately 85 percent of the non-standard rates that GSA sets. However, in some cases, agencies have requested that the rate apply to an area larger than one county, such as a metropolitan area. In a very small number of cases, an agency can and has requested that a rate apply to just a city and not the entire county. In some rural areas, a rate sometimes applies to more than one county due to lack of an adequate data sample to set a rate otherwise.

GSA uses the Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS) code standard for its apply areas. While GSA often uses ZIP codes to select hotel data samples, the apply area is coded by a FIPS code, unless a Federal agency only wants the rate to apply to certain ZIP codes. These codes are managed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to ensure uniform identification of geographic entities through all federal government agencies.

In order for GSA to conduct a "special" review of a non-standard area (NSA) during the current fiscal year, a Federal Agency Travel Manager or an equivalent individual in grade or title must submit a signed letter on agency letterhead or stationery stating that the present per diem rate is inadequate. The request should contain the following information:

  • The geographical areas you want us to study, especially ZIP codes.
  • The property names (including addresses, ZIP codes, and rates) where your federal travelers stay while on temporary duty travel and those properties (including addresses, ZIP codes, and rates) that will not honor the federal lodging per diem rate.
  • The number of times actual expenses were used and/or federal travelers had to use another lodging facility to stay within the maximum allowable lodging per diem rate, which resulted in additional transportation expenses (rental car, taxi) being incurred.

All valid requests postmarked no later than 12/31 will be eligible for this review. All valid requests received after 12/31, but before 4/1 will be evaluated during the following fiscal year's annual review cycle. After all the requirements are submitted, GSA will obtain updated data from our contractor to determine whether a per diem rate should be increased, decreased or remain unchanged. We will conduct no more than one "special" review for a particular NSA annually.

Letters should be sent to: General Services Administration, Office of Government-wide Policy, 1800 F St. NW., Washington, DC 20405. For more direct service, please also scan and email your request (a signed letter on agency letterhead must be attached) to [email protected] .

The procedure and the request deadline are the same as FAQ #6. However, requests received after 3/31 will not be included in the following fiscal year's annual review cycle because the annual review will have already begun.

If a city is not listed, check to ensure that the county within which it is located is also not listed. Visit the Census Geocoder to determine the county a destination is located in. If the city is not listed, but the county is, then the per diem rate is the rate for that entire county. If the city and the county are not listed, then that area receives the standard CONUS location rate.

Hotels are not required to honor the federal per diem rates. It is each property’s business decision whether or not to offer the rate. Hotels also may or may not choose to extend the rate to other individuals, such as government contractors.

Hotels sometimes offer a "GOV" rate, which might be different than the federal per diem rate. If it is higher, you need to receive approval for actual expense prior to travel in order to receive full reimbursement. It is the traveler’s responsibility to know the federal per diem reimbursement rates, and should not assume a GOV rate is the same as the federal per diem rate. See the FTR Chapter 301, Subpart D-Actual Expense and follow your agency's guidelines.

Lodging taxes are not included in the CONUS per diem rate. The Federal Travel Regulation 301-11.27 states that in CONUS, lodging taxes paid by the federal traveler are reimbursable as a miscellaneous travel expense limited to the taxes on reimbursable lodging costs. For foreign areas, lodging taxes have not been removed from the foreign per diem rates established by the Department of State. Separate claims for lodging taxes incurred in foreign areas not allowed. Some states and local governments may exempt federal travelers from the payment of taxes. For more information regarding tax exempt status, travelers should visit the State Tax Forms page.

Yes, the meals and incidental expense (M&IE) rate does include taxes and tips in the rate, so travelers will not be reimbursed separately for those items.

The Federal Travel Regulation Chapter 300, Part 300-3 , under Per Diem Allowance, describes incidental expenses as: Fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff, and staff on ships.

An M&IE study has traditionally been conducted every three to five years. Based upon the recommendations of the Governmentwide Travel Advisory Committee, GSA began reviewing rates every three years starting with rates for FY 2016.

On the first and last travel day, Federal employees are only eligible for 75 percent of the total M&IE rate for their temporary duty travel location (not the official duty station location). For your convenience, the M&IE breakdown page has a table showing the calculated amount for the "First and Last Day of Travel."

For federal employees, the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) does not make a provision for "mixing and matching" reimbursement rates. The lodging per diem rates are a maximum amount; the traveler only receives actual lodging costs up to that maximum rate. Therefore, there is no "extra" lodging per diem to add to the M&IE rate. Likewise, the M&IE per diem cannot be given up or transferred to lodging costs. See FTR 301-11.100 and 301-11.101 for more information.

For any official temporary travel destination, you must provide a receipt to substantiate your claimed travel expenses for lodging and receipts for any authorized expenses incurred costing over $75, or a reason acceptable to your agency explaining why you are unable to provide the necessary receipt (see Federal Travel Regulation 301-11.25 ).

You may ask your agency to authorize the actual expense allowance provision. The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 301-11.300 through 306 notes that if lodging is not available at your temporary duty location, your agency may authorize or approve the maximum per diem rate of up to 300% of per diem for the location where lodging is obtained. You should also ensure you have checked www.fedrooms.com to confirm there are no rooms available at per diem in the area where you need to travel.

According to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), travelers are entitled to 75% of the prescribed meals and incidental expenses for one day travel away from your official station if it is longer than 12 hours. Please see FTR 301-11.101 .

GSA establishes per diem rates and related policies for federal travelers on official travel only, and cannot address specific inquiries concerning the payment of contractors. If the contractor is on a federal contract, check with the contracting officer to see what is stated in their contract. Contractors should also check the travel regulations of their company.

GSA establishes per diem rates, along with its policies for federal employees on official travel only. Truck-related questions should be addressed either to the Department of Transportation ( www.dot.gov ) or the Internal Revenue Service ( www.irs.gov ).

PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

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Wine Tourism Conference to Address Ways to Boost Wine Tourism Profits

tourism and accessibility

March 19th – The eighth annual Wine Tourism Conference, that takes place on 30 May, will feature an impressive line-up of international and local speakers who will give “The Business Case for Wine Tourism”, the theme for this year’s event. 

tourism and accessibility

Sponsored by Wesgro, Delta Air Lines, the Stellenbosch Wine Route and South Africa Wine, the day-long event at Lanzerac in Stellenbosch, is being convened by tourism and hospitality specialist, Margi Biggs.

She says South African wine tourism is following the same upward trajectory evident elsewhere in the world. “Figures released by Statistics South Africa show international tourist arrivals from January to November 2023 reached 7.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 52%.”

She adds that traffic through Cape Town Airport’s domestic arrivals rose by 20% in December, compared with 2022.

“While the total international visitor count is still almost 18% lower than in pre-Covid 2019, we are seeing a strong rebound.”

In a recent trends report published by Bizcommunity, South Africa Wine CEO Rico Basson confirms that despite challenges faced by the local wine industry, the “bright spot” is the “exponential growth of wine tourism”. He said that “South Africa’s winelands, renowned for its world-class offerings, are becoming a magnet for recurring visitors. This trend generates revenue for wineries and builds the country’s image as a destination rich in beauty and experiences.”

Biggs believes further growth can be expected flowing from Cape Town coming in at the number two position in Time Out’s ‘50 Best Cities for 2024’ list. 

“We think the new Winelands airport, expected to be operational by 2027 will also be a big growth driver. This is the time for us to get ourselves ready for the upswing.”

US wine tourism and marketing supremo Paul Wagner has been marshalled as headline speaker for the conference. A veteran member of Napa Valley College’s Viticulture and Winery Technology Department, he speaks worldwide on wine and wine tourism with a strong accent on marketing and communication.

Australian Peter McAtamney, who heads Wine Business Solutions (Australia), global specialists in wine market research, wine education and direct to consumer (DTC) wine business, will discuss how to optimise revenue with effective wine tourism business strategies.

Mike Ratcliffe, CEO of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, who has been a leading player in underscoring the pre-eminence of Stellenbosch as a district of excellence, will talk on how to boost wine tourism profitability. He was a major contributor to the success of Warwick Wines and more recently, Vilafonté, established as the first South African/US joint wine venture. 

Meanwhile, Mark Wilkinson, director of the Cape Winelands Airport, as well as Kevin Campbell of Delta Air Lines, will be outlining the business case for air access to the winelands.

Francois Rautenbach, formerly of Singita, a highly successful group of luxury lodges across Africa, will look at the benefits of tourism and wine partnerships. He established Singita’s successful Premier Wine Direct programme that gives guests the opportunity to buy and ship wines home that they have enjoyed on safari.

Other specialist tourism speakers include Eric Matkovich, founder of leading US wine importer Cape Ardor, who will talk on the lifetime value of a tasting room sales conversion; and Xania van der Merwe, a seasoned wine marketer and customer experience manager, who is set to discuss key principles of creating a successful wine tourism business. 

Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander will open the conference. 

A number of workshops will be run after the presentations, with a report-back session scheduled to conclude the conference before an informal wine tasting by Stellenbosch Wine Route.

The early-bird rate to attend the conference is R3 450 per person.  If you book after 30 April, the cost per person escalates to R4 450 per head.

Go to  https://winetourism.co.za/register/  to reserve your seat.

For further details, please visit  https://winetourism.co.za/ . 

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