Accessible facilities and services help to promote social and environmental sustainability and also give an advantage to local communities. Accessible services for tourists support local citizens with access requirements, and vice versa.

In order to ensure a consistent and appropriate level of service for customers with specific access requirements, a range of accessibility checks or “audits” must be carried out at various points in the service delivery chain, broadly indicated by these four headings:

1. Information provision (including online, print, phone, face-to-face and alternative formats), booking/reservations/ticketing and payment provisions;
2. Transfers/transportation;
3. Built environment and facilities;
4. Services and activities at the venue.  

In the design of all the above provisions, tourism operators in EU Member States must first and foremost comply with national or regional legal requirements or regulations related to the accessibility of information, transportation, buildings, environments and facilities, goods and services for persons with disabilities.

Operators must also comply with any prevailing legislation which requires that persons with disabilities must not be subject to discrimination, either directly or indirectly.

For this reason, it is necessary for operators to know the relevant legislation and to apply it in the design of their facilities and services, making all “reasonable” efforts to fulfil such requirements. Failure to do so may lead to legal claims being brought against the operator by persons who, because of their disability, are prevented or hindered in using the services that are offered to other (non-disabled) customers.  

In practice, providing services for customers with access requirements is not only a matter of following the legal access requirements, which are often considered as “minimum requirements”. Operators must also be aware of customers’ specific and different requirements related to their condition and abilities, and consider how to provide suitable services which meet their requirements in equitable ways, ensuring their comfort, convenience and safety.

Essentially, accessibility should not be regarded only as a legal obligation but also as contributing to the quality of the offer and, therefore, providing an economic opportunity for the tourism enterprise.

As a general principle, when assessing the accessibility of tourism infrastructure and services, it is necessary to consider whether these will present barriers to the visitors with different disabilities and/or specific access requirements.

By evaluating the environment and services, the tourism operator is able to develop an Accessibility Action Plan to help remove and/or overcome the barriers that hinder customers in  participating in the tourist experience. The Action Plan will specify the measures needed and provide a schedule for improving the accessibility of facilities and customer service at all the relevant points where standards are not met – or where facilities and practices could be improved.