The latest report into the topic, “Advancing Accessible Tourism for Destinations, Companies, and People”, produced with the Government of San Marino and AccessibleEU, showcases 25 good practices in accessibility championed by Belgium, Czechia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. It also provides insights into accessibility improvements in culture- and nature-based tourism, festivals and pilgrimage routes, urban and rural experiences, sports and mega events, shopping tourism and transportation.
The report was officially launched at the 2025 FITUR international tourism trade fair. FITUR also served as the platform for continued public-private dialogue into further promoting inclusive and accessible tourism for all.
Governments and businesses share vision for accessible tourism
A special side event, hosted by UN Tourism and AccessibleEU with support from the ONCE Foundation, the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), and ILUNION Accesibilidad, celebrated two decades of achievements in accessible tourism.
The seminar “Accessible Tourism: Harnessing the Benefits of Inclusive Destinations for Companies and People” featured debates engaging high-level policymakers from UN Tourism Member States, including Ecuador, Italy, and Portugal, alongside accessibility leaders from Málaga and Berlin, part of the UN Tourism International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).
Governments and promotion boards emphasized the importance of:
Improving information and communication about accessible offerings to enhance visitors’ comfort, safety, and length of stay;
Strengthening transnational cooperation to size up the global accessible tourism market and monitor its constant growth;
Promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the sector; and
Utilizing innovation and data to raise public awareness and attract investments.
Private sector working side by side with destinations
UN Tourism’s Affiliate Members and strategic partners in sustainability agenda – the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WHSA) – along with leading tour operators and transportation companies like IMPULSA Igualdad (Spain), Sage Travelling (USA), and Holmeswood Coaches (UK), called for:
Harmonizing accessibility standards and simplifying their implementation across the industry;
Leveraging technology and universal marketing platforms to promote accessible experiences;
Measuring the impacts of accessibility advancements on employees, customers, and key stakeholders; and
Embedding accessibility into core business strategies.
About UN Tourism
The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Our Priorities
Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.
Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.
Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.
Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members’ competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.
Advancing tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.
Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.
Our Structure
Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.
Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.
Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism’s 500 plus Affiliate members.
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