Economic aspects of Accessible Tourism

Svayam- Global Centre for

Accessible Tourism

Sminu Jindal-Founder of Svayam

• Svayam - an Initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust has been working towards providing independence and dignity to people with reduced mobility.

• Svayam aspires to make India

barrier free and provide universal access to all.

• Svayam has taken the lead to make the public places universally accessible and barrier free to all and focuses on Public Infrastructure, Transportation Systems & Tourism Products & Services for people with reduced mobility.

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Tourism as a driver of economic growth

• Today tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of

– 6.23% to the national GDP and

– providing 8.78% of the total employment.

A Growing Demand For Tourism

World Economic Forum has ranked Indian travel and tourism industry 5th in the long-term (10 year) growth

Travel & Tourism is expected to be a second largest employer in the world by 2019.

India ranks 9th in terms of international tourist arrivals.

Ministry of Tourism targets inflow of foreign tourists from 6.5 million to 25 million in next 10 years.

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Tourism Statistics - Growing Demand

Source: India Tourism Statistics – 2013, Government of India.

Age wise break up of FTAs

indicating demand for Access

The proportion of FTAs aged 55 or above show an increase from 11.5% in 1996 to about 21.7% in 2013, indicating the demand of accessibility as old age mimics most disabilities:

Source: Statistics from India Tourism 2011, 2013

Accessible Tourism : a significant & untapped business opportunity

• Globally, over 1 billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability.

• People with reduced mobility are becoming a growing group of consumers of travel and other leisure-oriented services.

• Elderly and disabled share the common need of accessibility, which currently remains unaddressed to a large extent.

• Access improvements not only benefit these groups but families with young children who are also becoming an important segment of the growing tourist market.

Svayam facilitated first ever research on Accessible Tourism with Govt. of India (2010) titled “Problem & Prospects of Accessible Tourism in India”

Study brought out following Issues faced by Tourists with reduced

mobility

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Problems during tour booking

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Problems at place of Stay

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Problems at Attractions (Heritage)

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Factors to influence travel plans

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Demand for equitable access

Access to leisure and holidaying is everybody’s birth right.

Elderly and persons with disabilities

have the same motivations to travel as rest of the population.

They have the wherewithal and time to enjoy leisure. FTA data reveals close to 22% travelers are age 55 and above.

Barriers in access dissuades elderly and people with reduced mobility from visiting a tourist attraction – a market opportunity that remained untapped.

World Demographics : Silver Innings

The proportion of people over 60 years is growing faster than any other age group.

World Over 1 in 10 people are

over 60 years old.

By 2050 the figure will be higher than 1 in 5

The increase is pegged from 673

million in 2005 to 2 billion.

• Only wheelchairs users need an accessible environment!

• Any place can be made accessible by merely making a ramp at the entrance!

• Providing accessibility is an expensive affair!

Common Misconceptions

Ground Reality!!

Accessibility is often low on the priority list of policy makers and local authorities.

Accessibility is considered as an optional requirement & not a necessity.

Low awareness levels, lack of trained manpower in the field and absence of monitoring & implementation further add to the woes.

Despite guidelines from Min. of Tourism, the hospitality players are yet to explore this untapped market and except for 5 star hotels & some Heritage attractions, accessibility remains a concern.

Medical Tourism & Access

• Indian Medical tourism sector is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30%, making it a $2 billion industry by 2015.

• As medical treatment costs in the developed world balloon - with the United States leading the way - more and more Westerners are finding the prospect of international travel for medical care increasingly appealing.

Data of tourism inflow on medical tourism

• Confederation of Indian Industry reported that 150,000 medical tourists came to India in 2005, based on feedback from the organization's member hospitals. The number grew to 200,000 by 2008.

• A separate study by ASSOCHAM reported that the year 2011 saw 850,000 medical tourists in India and projected that by 2015 this number would rise to 3,200,000.

• Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain.

• The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, eye surgery and hip replacement. India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine.

• Lower treatment cost does not necessarily mean lower healthcare standards. There are 21 JCI accredited hospitals in India and growing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India

Two segments of Medical Tourism

• Medical tourism or travel for health comprises of two different segments.

(1) people who travel to other countries for rejuvenation; (luxury)

(2)people who travel for curative care that is not available in their country (economy)

Estimated at $78.6 billion as of 2012, the sector has emerged as one of the largest sectors in India and is poised to grow at an annual rate of 15 per cent to reach about USD 158.2 billion by 2017,

Top 10 Countries of FTA in India & Medical tourism as purpose

Linkages between Medical Tourism & Accessibility

• People visiting for medical tourism do greatly benefit from accessibility as they need :

• Accessible transport/ para transport

• Accessible & economical stay options as they often have to stay longer for follow ups.

• Access in hospitals/ toilets

• Nearby tourist attractions, Markets do tend to loose out on this potential group.

Heritage Tourism & Access

Elderly and disabled facing difficulties in negotiating steps at Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi

Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad

Sikendra –Akbar’s Tomb, Agra

Wheelchair users generally had to be manually lifted in absence

of ramp at Taj Mahal, Agra

Inaccessible Jetty at Dal Lake, Srinagar

Lack of alternative modes of access make heritage sites difficult to reach at Ellora Caves, Aurangabad

Inaccessible ticket counter due to stepped entry

Bibi ka Maqbara, Aurangabad

Deeg Palace, Jaipur

Inaccessible drinking water facility Hazratbal Mosque,

Srinagar

Sunk in toilets without any ramp entry at Ellora Caves, Aurangabad

Bridging the Divide at World Heritage Sites

• To provide equitable access in all spheres of socio-economic & cultural life, Svayam joined hands with ASI as Access Consultants to assist them in making the World Heritage Sites in India accessible to all visitors alike.

• Svayam undertook access audits with actively handholding the process of implementing access solutions for providing accessibility at heritage sites.

‘Qutub Minar’ in New Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri ’ in Agra

are among several World Heritage Sites that Svayam & Archaeological Survey of India have made accessible to

all including the elderly and disabled.

Impact of Access Audit – Taj Mahal, Agra

Pre-audit scenario Post audit scenario

Impact of Access Audit - Qutub Minar, New Delhi

Post audit scenario Pre-audit scenario

Impact of Access Audit – Fatehpur Sikri, Agra

Post audit scenario Pre-audit scenario

Impact of Access Audit- Red Fort, Delhi

Post audit scenario Pre-audit scenario

Impact of Access Improvements at Qutub Minar

Recent reports suggest that after the Qutub Minar was made accessible, footfall of visitors has increased substantially.

For the year 2009, the revenue earned through ticket sales at the Qutub Minar stood at Rs 10.41 crore, much higher than that collected for the Red Fort (Rs 5.5 crore) and Humayun’s Tomb (Rs 4.8 crore).

Source: Mail Today

Awards & Recognition

National Tourism Award for making Fatehpur Sikri Group of Monuments,

Agra” accessible.

National Tourism Award for making Qutub Minar, Delhi

accessible.

Potential benefits accessible tourism infrastructure

Enhanced visitors experience and satisfaction.

Increase in footfall and likelihood of repeat visits.

Provides equality of recreation opportunities.

Mainstreaming of marginalized groups/social inclusion.

Economic empowerment of local population / tourism industry due to revenue generation.

Sectors that Govt. is now working on

National Flagship Campaign

• Accessible India Campaign 2015 by Govt. of India

• Covers all major sectors – Institutional

– Physical

– Economic

– Tourism

– Medical Care

– Web access & ICT

Conclusion – the way forward

An accessible environment is key to inclusion.

Accessibility at heritage & tourism sites allows disabled and non-disabled visitors to enjoy the experience together.

Need for affirmative policies, sensitive infrastructure planning based on universal design standards, effective implementation & enforcement.

Given the rising numbers of elders with sufficient disposable income & abundant time to travel places & spend on tourism services & products particularly in off season, its imperative that Industry took note of it & start aligning now in their own interests.

Svayam, works very closely with policy makers and the governments with Govt. to help India encash upon the economic opportunities that

is offered by silver hair globe trotters