September 16, 2025, by aczht

Tourism for all – Announcing a new resource for accessible tourism

Jillian Rickly is a Professor of Tourism and Head of Department (Marketing, Tourism and Analytics) at Nottingham University Business School. She is also the theme lead for accessibility and inclusivity for the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre (STTAR Centre). In this blog, Jillian discusses her latest collaborative project with Professor Nigel Halpern (Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, Norway), Professor Brian Garrod (Swansea University, UK) and Dr Marcus Hansen (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) to create a foundational resource for researchers, students, advocacy groups, industry practitioners and policymakers interested in improving the accessibility of the tourism and travel sector for people with disabilities.

Accessibility matters by Professor Jillian Rickly

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 16% of the world’s population experiences a disability that affects their daily life. That’s 1.3 billion people. Coincidentally, that figure is nearly equal to the number of international tourist arrivals recorded by UN Tourism for 2024.

Why does this matter? Even though people with disabilities demonstrate the same motivation to travel as the general population, in reality, they travel at a much-reduced rate due to a lack of reliable information and negative past experiences. In short, people with disabilities experience many barriers to tourism.

Importantly, though, many holiday destinations and tourism service providers are realising that with some carefully considered adjustments, accessible tourism can be an untapped opportunity to grow their businesses and diversify their customer base.

Research indicates that disabled people, on average, spend more and stay longer within a destination. According to the Purple Pound, total expenditure generated by disabled people or those travelling within a group where a member is disabled is an estimated £14.6 billion, representing a considerable consumer group.

What is accessible tourism?

It might seem obvious that accessible tourism means creating tourism opportunities for people with disabilities, but there are several important dimensions to this endeavour. Accessible tourism:

• accommodates a full range of consumers, including people with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, temporary injuries and illnesses, and ageing persons.
• is driven by the values of independence, equity and dignity.
• reduces attitudinal, informational and physical barriers to access.
• embraces stakeholder collaboration in the design of products and services.
• is not a supplement to ‘traditional’ tourism but integrated to provide seamless experiences through the tourism system.
• acknowledges the diversity of disability and that there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to accessibility.

The future of accessible tourism

Advancing these dimensions of accessible tourism means celebrating best practices and leaning into the gaps where there is still work to be done. This handbook does just that. It includes 35 chapters contributed by 69 researchers and practitioners from around the world, including a breadth of professional experience representing 38 organisations.

As the first handbook on accessible tourism, it is a crucial resource for establishing the foundations of the topic and identifying our next steps for bridging scholarship and industry to foster real change.

Learn more about the Handbook of Accessible Tourism.

Discover more about Nottingham University Business School:

Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre

Department of Marketing, Tourism and Analytics.

Unlocking the power of the purple pound – Barclays

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