Dubai seeking to increase tourism accessibility

Dubai a leader in accessible tourism? Well I must admit I've never been even near there, so I don't know first hand either way. But if realizing the need is an important step, well then Dubai toruism officials are definitley on the road to making that statement a reality.

At the recent  Fourth International Tourism Development Forum for People with Special Needs held under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the need to address people with disabilities when developing the country's tourism potential. “As we continue to grow the tourism sector here in Arabia, it is not only important but crucial to address and cater for the needs and requirements of the disabled,” said Peter van Driessel, vice president of the Dubai Skal Chapter.

I see this as great evidence of how the awareness of accomodating people with special needs is spreading to every corner of the travel industry. There's a simple economic argument to be made here. Being open to people with disabilites that like to travel can greatly increase your customer base. The example given for Dubai was an additional $3 billion a year. Now think about the potential upside of all the places in the world that welcome tourists getting the message. Yes it is implied here that accomodating people with disabilites will take some investment. But to make Dubai fit I'd wager will come nowhere near the $3 billion it could realize in additonal revenue in a single year.

In the tourism biz, being accessible to all is just good business.