Universal tourism, or tourism accessible to all people regardless of age, nationality, disability and other factors that may discourage leisurely travel, is starting to gain wider recognition in Japan.
According to a report on Japan Times, SPI (Japan) Inc. is a company that arranges universal tours conducted by so-called travel helpers, or people who have nursing-care skills and basic knowledge of travel-related services. In fact, SPI has coordinators who conduct surveys and make arrangements for tours, while travel helpers are trained to cope with unexpected incidents during their work.
The number of tours, according to the report, has been gradually increasing over the years. Since the launch of this special service in 1995, 450 tours were conducted in 2018. Considering the graying population in Japan, where the number of people aged 65 and older is expected to reach 37.2 million by 2030 and peak at 39.3 million by 2042, such services will only increase in demand.
There are government aids coming also. In 2017, the government announced the Universal Design 2020 Action Plan to promote the creation of barrier-free train stations and other facilities. Last year, the Japan Tourism Agency also prepared a manual for ‘barrier-free mindset’ education to help hotel staff eliminate discrimination and prejudice.