El impacto económico del turismo accesible en Europa (1)
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Currently it is estimated that the accessible tourism represents almost 3% of GDP in Europe. However, this sector is still perceived by much of the operators and public authorities as a niche. For this reason, accessible tourism is currently unattended and with little presence in tourism development strategies.
This article aims to offer real and recent data on the amazing potential of this sector in Europe and invite the people responsible for
the tourism sector to take the necessary solutions for integrating the accessible tourism supply in models and channels of marketing and
distribution of tourism products.
The information included in the text is based on the study carried out by the European Commission in the 27 Member States between
2012 and 2014, to assess the economic impact and analyses trends in travel accessible tourism in Europe is concerned. The study was carried out by a consortium consisting of GfK (Belgium), the University of Surrey (United Kingdom), Neumann Consulting (Germany) and Pro - Solutions in Spain, under the direction and supervision of the European Commission Unit of Tourism Policies.
This study constitutes the most complete evaluation carried out until now on economical, demographic models and conduct of the accessible tourism in the European Union, either in terms of depth of analysis as to the geographic coverage. The study also includes a forecast on how the demand for accessible tourism will increase by 2020, taking into account also the ageing of the population and tourist fl ows to Europe. On the other hand, it also analyses the main barriers experienced by travellers, a review of best practices and recommendations for policy makers and the industry.
The article also wants to dispel the perception that tourism accessibility “hard money”: on the other hand, what if is costing money
every day to operators and destinations is the lack of accessibility.