Accessible Tourism a potential market for Barbados

WITH over 650 million persons with disabilities globally, there is a need for Barbados to continue its efforts to put provisions in place to ensure that the island can be a competitive destination in accessible tourism. 

 

Yesterday, as part of Tourism Week, the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) held a Tourism Week Symposium with the theme, “Universal Access... Is our Tourism Sector ready?”, which invited members of the public and private sector to learn about the present policies, legislation and travel challenges of disabled persons in Barbados. The BTPA invited representatives of the Courtyard by Marriott, Blessed Rentals, the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) and the Town and Country Development Planning Office to speak on the topic.

 

The event started with the Operations Manager of the BCD, Roseanna Tudor, who presented a promotional video detailing the vacation experience of a disabled visitor to Barbados and also highlighted several of the fully accessible businesses and locations on the island. Although it highlighted that Barbados can accommodate disabled visitors, there are still some challenges as it relates to accommodation, transportation and accessibility to various shopping centres, roadways and places of interests. 

 

Administration Project Officer, Roseann Foster-Vaughan, who took on the role of “tourist” in the promotional video, said that the country has made some progress to become fully acces-sible, however there was still more work to be done. 

 

The symposium ended with another presentation from Ms. Tudor, who spoke on the topic “Becoming accessible”; a disability sensitivity training session; and a tour of Marriott’s accessible room. The Courtyard by Marriott, which hosted the symposium, is one of the few hotels which has a hotel room, elevators, conference rooms and other facilities fitted to accommodate people with disabilities.