Wednesday, December 7, 2011
WITH the growing number of persons with disabilities (PWDs) who travel for leisure, the tourism sector should implement a barrier-free environment, a tourism official said yesterday.
Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Maria Victoria Jasmin said the PWD sector is “a potential source of income for tourism stakeholders.”
“PWDs are a special market segment needing attention,” she said during a forum in Cebu City yesterday.
The country, Jasmin pointed out, is targeting 10 million tourists by 2016 and one of DOT’s strategies to achieve this is to tap the PWDs.
“We wish to tap this high-yield market segment,” she added.
Shalaine Marie Sun-Lucero of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 said the PWDs are “one of the fastest growing tourism market opportunities.”
“Accessible tourism matters a lot,” she said at the forum, which was organized by the DOT and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) and was attended by the stakeholders in the tourism sector.
New rules
To promote barrier-free tourism, Jasmin said the DOT is finalizing new rules and regulations on the accommodation of tourists.
“We are hoping to roll out the new standards by the second quarter of next year,” she said.
“The DOT has upped the ante,” she added.
Accessibility specialist Adela Avila-Kono said barrier-free tourism will generate greater returns on investment by reaching out to a previously untapped market, such as the PWDs and older persons.
She said older persons and PWDs are becoming a growing group of consumers of travel, sports and other leisure.
“There is money in this sector,” Kono said.
She, however, lamented that PWDs still face difficulties in the area of transportation and accommodation.
Jasmin said creating a barrier-free environment is not only limited to hotels. She said it also covers malls, restaurants, movie houses and other facilities.
Rizaldo Sanchez of NCDA said there are approximately 650 million PWDs, roughly 10 percent of the world population.
He noted that 80 percent of the PWD population lives in developing countries.
Human rights
PWDs are entitled to human rights, which are enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said Sanchez.
He said any PWD whose rights are violated can file a case in the court, as the convention, which the Philippines had ratified, is legally binding.
The rights of PWDs, he added, are also protected under national laws, which include the Batas Pambansa 344 and Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for PWDs.
Passed in 1983, BP 344, or the Accessibility Law, requires buildings and public utilities to install structural facilities or features aimed to enhance the mobility of PWDs.
Jasmin said the government gives tax incentives to establishments that implement the law.
“We need to draw attention not only to the lack of facilities but also to the inappropriateness of the facilities,” she said.
“We still have a long way to go,” she added.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on December 07, 2011.
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