Universal access in tourism (accessible tourism) refers to the ability of all people to have equal opportunity and access to a product or service, as described by the South African National Department of Tourism.

The World Health Organization estimates that over a billion people, about 15% of the world’s population have some form of disability.

Collin Thaver, MD of Southern Africa 360, said: “In my opinion, this is an untapped area for travel within Southern Africa.”

Following Thaver’s last two sales trips toward the end of 2017 to the Nordic region with South African Tourism and World Travel Market London, he was approached by agents asking him to put something together that they could utilise and sell.

“They found this was lacking in the marketplace and not many tour operators offered this, nor did we, to be honest,” said Thaver, who has since, in conjunction with his team, been working on a simple-to-sell programme to cater for this market. Since then, Southern Africa 360 has designed four more offerings.

Group travel also poses an issue to accessible tourism. Andrea Hand, Operations Director for USA, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux and Emerging Markets at Tourvest DMC, says often hotels and lodges that are equipped to service physically impaired guests do not have enough rooms to accommodate an entire group of such guests.

“We have success where one guest is physically impaired but have greater difficulty at arranging group travel which we have found to be more and more often requested, so there is a gap in the market at the moment,” concludes Hand.

Tamsen Birss, Team Manager for Spain, South America and Italy at Tourvest DMC, believes that once touring suppliers and properties begin to relook at how they offer their products and adapt them to become friendly services for those with disabilities, only then would we see an increase in travellers.

Whereas, Martin Cook, Managing Director of Sense of Africa, East Africa and GoVacation Africa, East Africa, thinks it is more about accessing wider channels of distribution, rather than there being a gap.

Penny Rice, Marketing Head of Isibindi, mentioned that she had not noticed a significant increase in requests for accessible travel, nor has Cook, who added that this was not something they aggressively marketed, however one of their key European operators recently commenced promoting themselves into this market.

“Tour operators and travel agents do certainly ask what our facilities are like, and we have undertaken that as we have upgraded our lodges, so that at least one room at each is wheelchair-friendly,” said Rice.

East Africa has a range of safaris for those who are physically impaired. Cook said they were also able to provide specifically adapted safari vehicles and guides experienced in working with clients with various impairments.

Masa Yamawaki, Market Manager for Japan, South East Asia and Scandinavia at Tourvest DMC, said many hotels had facilities for physically impaired guests, however there could be more done in terms of access for sightseeing points and major attractions to make it more convenient for those guests.

Cape Town has long focused on creating universal access to its tourist hotspots, with inroads being made said Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, such as providing wheelchair-friendly pavements in the CBD and traffic lights that emit an audio signal when it is safe to cross. “This shouldn’t be considered a niche market; universal access must be a priority for all operators.

“We must provide a universally accessible built and natural environment, and then ensure that this element is marketed. That way we can reach those wanting to travel. Ultimately, the more visitor-friendly we are as a destination, the likelihood is that we’ll attract more visitors as a result of word-of-mouth advertising.”