Rebuilding The Tourism Sector
The World as we know it is currently under tremendous turmoil. The current Covid19 pandemic has caused astounding devastation on a global scale; many of the World’s super economic powers are in recession, multi-national companies are struggling to stay afloat, many businesses have closed down and many economically productive individuals have spent the greater part of the last year at home. However; amidst all this chaos there is a glimmer of hope that has come on the global scene; the Covid 19 Vaccine. Thanks to the vaccine Covid19 is soon set to be confined to our history books. Soon we will all return to a great degree of what we once regarded as “normalcy”, industry and commerce will soon be fully functional, schools and other institutions of learning will be open again, we can all go anywhere we want to go without any restrictions. We can all go on holiday again!
As the world starts to prepare to “reopen” we need to also consider changing some of the practices that we had embraced prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. One such area that has long since been neglected in Zimbabwe though having huge revenue generation potential is the Tourism Sector. According to the World Health Organization at least 15% of the World’s total population has a disability. Studies conducted prior to the outbreak of the pandemic indicated that at least 20% of all tourists who go on holiday abroad have some accessibility requirements. The majority of that 20% was also observed to usually travel with at least one companion or aid. Simple mathematics hence indicate that approximately 40% of tourists will have some sort of accessibility requirements directly or indirectly. In simple terms investing in improving accessibility of Tourist Resorts, Hotels and Lodges could boost revenue by at least 40%.
Investing in Universal Accessibility is not only beneficial in terms of revenue generation, it actually is a legal requirement. Zimbabwe is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, (UNCRPD). UNCRPD Article 9 obligates society to create a universally accessible environment for everyone regardless of ability or perceived lack thereof. The Zimbabwean Constitution also recognizes the rights of people with disabilities in sections 22 and 83. The Zimbabwean National Tourism Policy section 5:10 furthermore declares that all tourism destinations, products and services are to be made accessible to people with disabilities.
Prior to the Covid19 pandemic many players in the Tourism Industry in Zimbabwe were observed to be making efforts towards improving accessibility of their products and services. However, there were some discrepancies that were observed. These could have been attributed to lack of standardization of universal accessibility guidelines in the tourism sector.
A vast majority of people limit accessibility to the aspect of physical access. However, accessibility transcends physical access. Below is a simple list of the different types of accessibility that combined constitute Universal Accessibility:
- Attitudinal Accessibility.
- Physical Accessibility.
- Access to Information and Communication.
One of our core mandates as Thisability Hub is to support players in the Tourism Sector to enable them to improve the accessibility of their products and services. We have realized that many players in the sector actually have a great willingness to improve their accessibility, sadly many are unaware of how they can actually achieve universal accessibility.
Are you looking forward to improving your accessibility nonetheless you are not sure where to go for help? Worry not, we are here for you.
Contact Us for more information: info@thisabilityhub.org.zw