Developing infrastructure for people with special needs is a win-win situation for the disabled, whether residents or tourists, and the travel and tourism sector in the region, said HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines and Group.

Sheikh Ahmed made the statement during his address to the day-long Third International Tourism Development Forum for People with Special Needs in the Middle East, organised in Dubai on May 15.

“From the humanitarian viewpoint, the existence of more than 30 million individuals with special needs in the Middle East necessitates for the concerned parties, namely airports, airlines, hotels, transport and tourist agencies and others, to develop special services. It calls for the setting up of new facilities that cater to special needs people to enable them to feel part of the society.

On the economic side, ignoring the needs of this segment of tourists means the sector loses out not just on the 30 million special needs tourists but an equal number if not more of those who accompany them. For the Middle East’s tourism industry as a whole, this translates into a loss of US$ 3 billion annually,” Sheikh Ahmed told the Forum.

Developing tourism for people with special needs will create more jobs; provide a boost to passenger movement thereby benefiting airlines and airports, tour operators, hotels and the travel trade at large. For the tourists with special needs as well as the travel industry, this is a win-win situation.

Considering this as well as our aspirations to build an integrated tourism industry and boosting the sector’s revenues in the region in general and Dubai in particular, it is high time we invest in developing special needs infrastructure to fulfil the travel and tourism needs of this segment of the society, he said.

The Forum, which is the only event of its kind in the region, once again highlighted the need for developing infrastructure to support tourism for special needs people in the region, Sheikh Ahmed added.

The Forum featured presentations by international experts in the field of special needs travel and tourism, notable among them were Jean-Luc Proveniers, ACI representative and Passenger Process and Service Manager, The Brussels Airports Company; Dr. Riadd Tappuni, UN expert on urban planning, and Ibrahim Kamaal, Gulf Area Country Manager, IATA.

The presentations focused on international regulations on special needs facilities at airports, passenger processing models and an insight into how airports friendly to special needs travellers can be developed. Urban planning for Dubai and the local government’s vision for a city that is friendly to special needs people, services and facilities that airlines can offer to people with special needs and the impact of these on passenger throughput were also major topics covered at the Forum.

Defining the scope of special needs tourism, Proveniers pointed out that numerous factors combine to heighten the importance of this segment of tourists worldwide. He said that, to begin with, people with disabilities are more independent to travel today as compared to the situation a few years ago. Considering that reduced mobility is not always connected to disabilities, but could also arise as a result of old age, and the fact that the global population of elderly people was on the rise, people with special needs are becoming an important group to focus on for the travel and tourism industry.

Proveniers’ presentation focused on the need for an infrastructure that fulfils the seamless travel principle for greater convenience of special needs travellers. He also highlighted the regulations adopted in the European Union to eliminate discrimination against special needs travellers, the document on code of good conduct issued by the European Aviation Authorities, their new role in providing relevant services and the accountability involved, as well as the specific situation in this regard at the Brussels Airport.

Dr. Tappuni’s presentation dealt with … “,” he told the Forum.

Organised by Dubai-based Media Hub International, the event lays emphasis on enhancing the position of the Middle East in general and of UAE in particular as a major destination for special needs tourists. The Forum seeks to achieve these objectives by developing the infrastructure, enhancing the quality of services required by individuals with special needs and by developing the logistics and regulations that serve the immediate and future needs of disabled individuals.

Participants at the Forum called upon the travel and tourism sector in the region to acknowledge the economic and humanitarian significance of tourism for people with special needs; and urges governments as well as key market players in the private sector to join hands as strategic partners in planning the future of this segment of tourism in the Middle East.

The Forum received a shot in the arm even before it convened when on May 14 the DCA announced plans to open in July this year 20 check-in counters for people with special needs, particularly wheelchair-bound passengers, at Dubai International Airport.

“The initiative aims at encouraging special needs tourism in the emirate,” Jamal Al Hai, Chairman of the Board of DCA, said at a press briefing on the Forum.

“We are trying our best to make the Dubai airport more user-friendly for special needs people. We have coordinated with an international consultant so we can effectively address the concerns of passengers with specific requirements,” Al Hai said.

In addition to this, he said the DIA would soon have three additional car parking areas dedicated to people with special needs.

“We have set up courses for airport staff, which train them on how to be more responsive to the demands of this group of travellers. We also keep conducting surveys inside the airport in order to get people's feedback on how we can improve our facilities and services,” Al Hai said.

Al Hai mentioned that special needs tourism was expected to grow further in the coming years provided the government and private sector address the issue on infrastructure and service development in the tourism sector. “Our objective is to establish Dubai as a city that cares for tourists with special needs. Huge financial investments have been made on infrastructure development at the airport, hotels, airlines and transportation,” he said.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has recently provided the Dubai Airport with 10 mini-vans to be used as metered taxis for tourists with special needs and their family members, Al Hai noted.

According to Al Hai Dubai received around 300,000 tourists with special needs in 2005. “The figure increased to 400,000 in 2006 and is anticipated to touch half a million tourists this year,” he noted.

Around 500 participants from across the Gulf region attended the Forum. Dr Abdelrahim Abdelwahed, Business Media Consultant of Media Hub International, said the event sought to encourage more tourists with special needs to travel. “To meet their demand, we have to at least meet the basic infrastructure requirements. We have sought the cooperation of hotels, tourism boards, and government departments in addressing this issue,” he said.

Abdelwahed said that compared with countries in Europe, the Middle East still had a long way to go in this regard. “Slowly, however, the region is taking its ground in addressing the needs of people with special needs due to the joint efforts of the government and the private sector. Our aim is to help special needs tourists to enjoy tourism and feel they are part of the mainstream society,” he said.

Describing the forum as a promising chance and qualitative addition for developing tourism in the region, Abdelwahed said that the tourism and travelling sectors can add billions of dollars annually to their revenues by just providing basic facilities for people with special needs.

 “There are over 30 million special needs people in the Arab World alone. Considering that special needs tourists need travelling companions more often than not, and that they need to spend more than an average tourist, it is estimated that this segment is worth US$ 3 billion annually,” he explained.

The opportunities for regional tourism are not limited to disabled people just in the region. Abdelwahed explained, “There are almost 700 million special needs people worldwide. There are approximately 55 million special needs people in the US and well over 40 million in Europe. According to 2002 statistics, disabled citizens in the US spent $13.6 billion in around 31.7 million trips, generating over 100,000 jobs in hospitality, and tourism and travel industry. With the flow of tourists to the UAE from the West on the rise, the Emirate’s tourism industry and allied service sectors stand to benefit immensely by catering to the special needs tourists.”

The issue has acquired greater significance for the region in general and the UAE in particular with huge investments being directed into the tourism sector. Dubai is preparing to accommodate more than 15 million tourists by the year 2010, a goal for the accomplishment of which the emirate has already launched numerous gigantic projects with budgets exceeding Dh800 billion in all.

Efforts are already being made in the UAE to attract special needs tourists. Consistent with the country’s great interest in the tourism sector, revenues from which are expected to increase to US $ 46 billion by 2015, the UAE, according to the World Tourism and Travel report, is also proactive in highlighting the humane face of the tourism industry through translating the principle of "tourism for all".

The seven Emirates across country are working to provide better services to tourists with special needs and attract more tourists from this segment. A big chunk of these efforts are connected with hospitality industry with investments in hotel properties exceeding Dh60 billion.

The new investments are at the heart of the country’s drive to boost tourism, mainly by expanding the existing hotel capacity by another 90 thousand rooms by the end of the year 2010. Almost 50 thousand of these will be in Dubai, 18 thousand in Abu Dhabi, and 10 thousand each in Sharjah and Fujairah. A large number of hotels projects are also under study in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

Dubai is developing infrastructure for tourists with special needs to strengthen the city’s image as a friendly destination for this segment of tourists. As part of this plan the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai has made it mandatory for five-star hotels, more than 42 of the total 306 hotels operating in the Emirate, to customise about 2 per cent of their rooms for people with special needs.

Based on the projects that have been disclosed until today, airports in the region will be able to accommodate an additional 300 million passengers by the year 2020, and more than 200 new hotels will be built to add 100,000 rooms to what is available now. The number of visitors to the region is expected to increase to nearly 150 million, thus increasing the number of flights and aircraft fleets by 150% until the year 2025.