The Ras Al Khaimah authorities has partnered with Sage Inclusion, a world supplier of accessible tourism consulting, to place the emirate because the world’s first licensed vacation spot for vacationers with disabilities. Along with the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Improvement Authority, Sage has developed a certification course of that goals to pitch the as soon as lesser-known emirate as a hub for inclusive journey.
“We’re nearly to grow to be the primary Sage-accredited vacation spot on the earth. We see that as the start of the journey,” mentioned Emil Petrov, Vice President of Technique and Insights at tourism authority, throughout a current panel dialogue moderated by Skift.
John Sage, founder and CEO of Sage Inclusion, mentioned the sector’s largest problem is communication.
“The trade as an entire is just not doing an excellent job of promoting to folks with disabilities,” mentioned Sage. “We’re very thirsty for accessible info. However I’ll let you know how neglected that is — I’m a guide wheelchair person, CEO of three accessible journey firms, I journey continuously, and I obtain no advertisements from any airport, airline, cruise line, or lodge chain.”
“Nobody is saying, ‘We’re accessible — right here’s how — e book with us.’ The trade is lacking out on an enormous demographic.”
An Untapped Market
In 2022, MMGY International launched Portrait of Vacationers with Disabilities: Mobility and Accessibility, a survey highlighting the journey challenges confronted by individuals who use mobility aids and their companions. The most typical frustrations included misplaced or broken mobility units, inaccessible lodge facilities, and an absence of dependable info throughout journey planning.
The survey of U.S. vacationers discovered that accessibility points have been widespread, with 96% of respondents reporting issues with lodging, 86% with flights, and 79% with native transport. Regardless of these obstacles, vacationers with mobility disabilities took a mean of three.4 leisure journeys yearly and spent round $3,546 per yr, contributing a big $58.2 billion yearly to the U.S. journey economic system.
In line with the World Well being Group, 1.3 billion folks — roughly 16% of the worldwide inhabitants — reside with a big incapacity. Whereas Ras Al Khaimah isn’t aiming to draw all of them, it has set a goal of three.5 million guests by 2030, with accessibility a pillar in its tourism growth.
Step one in Ras Al Khaimah’s accreditation course of is to centralize accessibility info throughout its tourism sector.
“The primary stage for us is info provision,” mentioned Petrov. “Not having centralized and constant info is without doubt one of the largest obstacles to journey. But in addition, what will get measured will get managed. By placing the data on the market, we create the correct incentives.”
He added, “If the data is on the market, the demand will come.”
Constructing with Accessibility in Thoughts
The certification additionally ensures future developments within the emirate incorporate inclusive design from the outset.
“As a part of the audit, we visited upcoming tasks to make sure they’d the correct commonplace working procedures to construct in compliance and establish areas for enchancment,” Petrov defined.
Ras Al Khaimah’s lodge stock is anticipated to double by 2027, with practically 7,000 new rooms underneath improvement and one other 1,000 in planning for completion by 2030. A lot of this progress is concentrated on Al Marjan Island — a man-made four-island archipelago — the place manufacturers like Marriott (together with JW Marriott, Westin, W, and Le Méridien) and luxurious operators like Nobu are establishing a presence.
Sage famous that the accreditation will even profit MICE (conferences, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) journey.
“It not solely helps leisure vacationers, but in addition occasion organizers and enterprise journey managers,” he mentioned. “They need accessibility however typically lack the experience or time to make sure it. With Ras Al Khaimah licensed, they’ll confidently host occasions that embrace folks with disabilities.”
“We evaluated resorts, points of interest, transportation — all the pieces — in order that whether or not it’s a big group or a small one, they’ll know they’ll come right here.”
Accessibility Efforts in The Area
Whereas Ras Al Khaimah often is the first to get this new stamp from Sage, they don’t seem to be the one ones within the area speaking about accessibility. Simply final week, neighboring emirate Dubai introduced it had grow to be the primary autism-friendly-certified vacation spot within the Jap Hemisphere.
Acknowledged by the Worldwide Board of Credentialing and Persevering with Training Requirements (IBCCES), Dubai’s certification means the town has applied autism-friendly measures throughout airports, resorts, points of interest, and transport techniques. Over 70,000 folks have been skilled in autism and sensory consciousness, greater than 300 resorts are concerned within the certification course of, and key places like Dubai Worldwide Airport, Emirates airline, and Expo Metropolis have obtained particular person certifications.
In Saudi Arabia, Crimson Sea International, the grasp developer of The Crimson Sea Undertaking, says it’s constructing all 50 of its new resorts, its new airport, and all transportation infrastructure with accessibility in thoughts.
Trying forward, Petrov mentioned Ras Al Khaimah’s objectives will at all times shift in the case of accessibility. “It is a steady journey. I feel we’ll know that we succeed after we cease speaking about accessibility and it simply turns into pure and intuitive.”
