This document is the transcript of a speech given by Prime Minister David Thompson at the first "Fully Accessible Barbados" awards ceremony hosted by the Barbados Council for the Disabled. In the speech, Thompson congratulates the organizers for their efforts in making Barbados more accessible and inclusive. He highlights the business opportunities of catering to travelers with disabilities, who represent a large potential market. Thompson also outlines progress that has been made in Barbados to improve accessibility and notes that continued efforts are needed to promote equal rights and opportunities for the disabled.

1. FEATURE ADDRESS
BY
HON DAVID THOMPSON Q.C, M.P
PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS
AT
THE FIRST
“FULLY ACCESSIBLE BARBADOS” AWARDS CEREMONY
OF
THE BARBADOS COUNCIL FOR THE DISABLED
ON
SUNDAY 31ST MAY
AT
THE HILTON HOTEL

2. Congratulations to the Barbados Council for the
Disabled and all those who have worked closely
with this umbrella organization for Persons with
Disabilities, particularly the National Disability Unit
of the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency
Empowerment, Rural and Urban Development, the
Barbados Tourism Authority, the Barbados Hotel
and Tourism Association and all the other
Government and Non-Governmental organizations
represented, for organizing this spectacular event
tonight.
Tonight’s ceremony is one of those watershed
occasions when we can together remove the
remaining obstacles in the way of making Barbados
better.
Tonight we are giving public recognition to those
institutions which have gone beyond platitudes and
done something constructive to remove barriers in
the way of citizens and visitors to Barbados
enjoying their constitutional and God-given rights.
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3. I am therefore delighted to address this audience
which represents the key players in a possible
revolution that can transform our perception of
people with disabilities.
Tonight’s ceremony is a classic example of how
“Team Barbados” can take a good idea and create
a win-win situation for us all.
It is an excellent example of how every Barbadian
as individuals in their own right or as members of
organizations can make a contribution to the
wholesome development of Barbados.
In November 2005 a project called Fully Accessible
Barbados was launched. Its goals and objective
were to:
• Raise the quantity and quality of services
available to persons with disabilities.
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4. • Achieve an all inclusive society, where there is
recognition that people with disabilities are
potential customers.
• Encourage the necessary changes in our
structural environment to enable persons with
disabilities, both visitors and residents, to have
access to all facilities.
• Achieve international standards of access.
• Attract more visitors to Barbados.
It promised to pursue these goals by:
• Making awards to public and private sector
institutions that have made their facilities and
services accessible for all.
• Promoting Barbados as an inclusive society.
• Raising the awareness of the local business
community to the benefits of receiving an
access award.
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5. • Raising the standard of service delivery by
incorporating a “universal design” that gives
access to as many people as possible
regardless of age, ability or situation.
The plan was to make Barbadians more aware of
how we routinely discriminate against people who
are differently able.
Hence the movement systematically set out to
shock the average person into realizing how the
traditional perception of people with disabilities lead
us to think that they are in some way sub-human
and should be debarred from public places and
locked away out of sight.
Little did we know that within a matter of four years
this new awareness would create unforeseen
opportunities for us to diversify our tourism product
and generate desperately needed foreign exchange
in one of the worst global economic recessions in
80 years.
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6. The truth is that there are more people with
disabilities than we think; and what’s more we all
are prone to some form of disability.
It has been estimated by the United Nations that
around 10 per cent of the world’s population, or 650
million people, live with a disability. That’s the
world’s largest minority.
In countries with life expectancies over 70 years,
individuals spend on average about 8 years, or 11.5
per cent, of their life span living with disabilities.
Barbados with a life expectancy of over 75 years
has to face up to the challenges of disability.
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7. The Barbados Council for the Disabled has listed
several categories of people that could be
considered “disabled”. They include:
• The physically challenged
• The deaf and hearing impaired
• The blind and visually impaired
• The intellectually challenged
• Persons with respiratory challenges
The number of disabled people in Barbados has
been estimated to be 14,000. The population of
Barbados is an aging population and it means that
people over 55 years of age are likely to develop
ailments that place them in one or more of the
categories listed above.
You can appreciate that disability is therefore a
serious and growing national problem. The
proportion of people aged 55 years and over in
Barbados is about 25% and rising.
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8. I became aware of the routine discrimination
against people with disabilities in November 2005 –
not due to my age but - when I injured my ankle at
the St. Philip Carnival. I found it difficult to access
facilities which were essential for me to do my work
and other activities which I had previously taken for
granted, such as going to a restaurant. Nearly
everywhere I went there were formidable obstacles.
I just could not exercise my human rights. (Trinidad)
When you take into consideration the fact that
Barbados is a service economy that relies heavily
on tourism, you would realize that we not only deny
many of our clients their rights, but also fail to
capitalize on business opportunities that are staring
us in the face.
As you know, tourism is one of the pillars of our
economy, with countless satellite industries. A
sagging tourism industry sends ripples throughout
the economy.
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9. Right now we are experiencing challenges due to
the global recession. The numbers of visitors from
our major source countries have fallen in recent
months.
In addition to this we anticipate that the lifting of
restrictions on travel to Cuba by the Obama
Administration will have a negative effect on the
numbers coming from the USA.
There is therefore a pressing need for us to
diversify our tourism product by finding niches in
which we have an absolute advantage. Indeed the
statistics show that in catering to the needs of the
various categories of people with disabilities, we are
not just creating niches but penetrating a huge
demographic with enormous spending power.
Statistics from the tourism sector show that more
than a quarter of all tourism trips are taken by
people over 55.
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10. This is an age group that is most likely to have the
spending power and the time to take overseas
holidays.
Making your facilities more accessible to this group
is one of the most effective means of penetrating
this growing market.
Let us start with the United Kingdom, from where
most of our visitors come. According to statistics
from the Council for the Disabled:
• There are approximately 10 million persons
with disabilities living in the UK with an
estimated £80 billion purchasing power.
• In England alone, over 2.7 million persons with
disabilities travel annually.
• The Disability Discrimination Act places a duty
on services providers and facilities not to
discriminate against persons with disabilities.
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11. • The Act stipulates that service providers take
reasonable steps to remove, alter, or avoid
physical features that make it impossible or
unreasonably difficult for a person with a
disability to use the service.
• The National Accessible Scheme aims to help
service providers within the UK tourism industry
make their services more accessible, allowing
more disabled people to use them.
• This scheme has been extremely beneficial in
promoting travel and vacation within the United
Kingdom.
In the USA, where the second largest number of our
visitors originates:
• The US Census Bureau reported in 2005 that 1
in 5 US Residents reported some form of
disability.
• Approximately 20.9 million families have at
least 1 member with a disability.
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12. • Vacations taken by people with disabilities rose
50% from 2002.
• Overall, adults with disabilities take about 2
trips every 2 years and each trip generally lasts
5 days.
• 71% of adults with disabilities have travelled at
least once in the past 2 years.
• This includes 21 million pleasure/leisure
travellers and 5 million travellers who combine
business and pleasure.
• Adults with disabilities, spend an estimated
$13.6 billion a year on travel.
• The Caribbean is ranked fourth behind
Canada, Mexico and Europe, as their most
popular international destination.
In Canada:
• The Conference Board of Canada reported in
2001 that the combined annual disposable
income of working aged Canadians with
disabilities was Can. $25 billion.
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13. • Some States provide grants to ensure that
people with disabilities, mobility impairments
and other challenges can enjoy holidays like
the rest of their compatriots.
Similarly in the Caribbean, where the third largest
number of our visitors resides, there is also a huge
demand for holidays by disabled people who do not
travel abroad because of the fear of discrimination.
I therefore want to congratulate the Barbados
Council for the Disabled, the National Disability
Unit, the Barbados Tourism Authority and the
Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association for
opening our eyes to this huge market.
What’s fascinating about this market is that the
demand is highly elastic. Keep in mind that:
(1) Persons with disabilities usually travel with
care-givers, family or friends.
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14. (2) The location of conferences is frequently
selected with accessibility in mind.
(3) Hotel users say they would stay in hotels 2
more times per year if hotels were to
accommodate their needs as a person with a
disability.
(4) This means that hotel spending by the
disability community could at least double if
hotels were to make the necessary changes.
(5) The same is true for the Airline Industry.
(6) 85% of those who travel say that they share
their travel experiences with others,
indicating a powerful network among
travellers with disabilities.
It is therefore abundantly clear that an Accessible
Barbados will attract new and repeat business.
Let me stress that time is of the essence in
capturing this market.
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15. Singapore, which for many Barbadians, including
the Father of Independence, the Right Excellent
Errol Walton Barrow, offers a model which we could
follow.
In April 2009, Singapore went after this growing
accessible tourism market by opening its doors to
the 3rd International Conference on Accessible
Tourism (ICAT 2009) which aimed to bring People
with Disabilities to the heart of a more inclusive
global society.
With the theme "Tourism Unlimited: Access for All“,
the event endeavoured to break down barriers to
accessibility and allow free mobility for all. This
event promoted accessible tourism in the Asia-
Pacific region.
Singapore, with its strategic location, made a
promise to become a “Global City for All” where
unlimited access is achieved through specially
designed buildings and facilities.
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16. Barbados has also made some strides to become
fully accessible. We have looked carefully at the
hindrances and made some progress in removing
them. For example:
a) In 2002 a White Paper on Disabilities was
adopted by Parliament. The Government
committed itself to the development of policies
and programmes to protect and empower
disabled and socially disadvantaged persons.
• I can assure you that my Government
through the Ministry of Social Care,
Constituency Empowerment, Urban and
Rural Development will place this White
Paper top of the priority list in this financial
year. It is currently being reviewed in order
to arrive at an Action Plan as a precursor
to the drawing up of legislation.
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17. b) A Building Code has been under discussion for
many years. Included in it are provisions to set
and regulate standards including those for
people with disabilities. The objective is to
remove all physical barriers to access by the
disabled in all new and refurbished buildings
• I can assure you that this Code is being
seriously considered by the Ministry of
Public Works.
c) Barbados became a signatory to the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in July 2007. It pledged to create an
environment in Barbados conducive to the
integration and inclusion of persons with
disabilities at every level of society from
nursery to old age.
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18. • I can assure you that my Government
through the Ministry of Social Care is
working assiduously to ensure that
Barbados is in a position to ratify this
enlightened Convention as soon as
possible.
d) In order to make Barbados fully accessible,
recognition of the rights of people with
disabilities must become the norm.
• My Government is working towards
introducing legislation banning
discrimination against people with
disabilities.
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19. Tonight’s Awards Ceremony affords me the
opportunity to highlight the work of the trendsetters.
I congratulate each and every one of you for
voluntarily demonstrating what can be done for both
ethical and business reasons.
Tonight we are focussing on the tourism sector,
mainly……
• Hotels
• Restaurants and Bars
• Recreational Facilities
But I can assure you that for reasons that are
consistent with my Government’s policy of
protecting and empowering the most vulnerable
members of society, we shall at a later point turn
the spotlight on the facilities of every service
provider in Barbados.
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20. These will include:
• Conference centers
• Retail outlets
• Employment in the public and private sectors
• Churches
• Educational and training establishments
• Transport vehicles.
What is amazing is that these changes in attitudes
and in the physical structures used by our clients (a)
do not cost an exorbitant amount and (b) do not
take away anything from other users.
With respect to (a), service providers only need to
make changes that are 'reasonable'. These might
include simple changes to layout, improved
signage, information and staff training. Once the
Building Code is completed, my Government will
consider what tax concessions could be given to get
landlords to comply with the requirements.
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21. With respect to (b), these changes improve the
facilities and the quality of life for all. I am sure that
most of us, at some time or another took our trolleys
loaded with luggage into the only toilets at the
airport which could accommodate these wide
carriers. Similarly, faucets that do not require
endless turning make life easier for all of us.
Improving our physical and service environment is a
prerequisite for achieving developed country status.
Barbados cannot improve its Human Development
Index without taking into consideration the needs of
the disadvantaged. In the final analysis the measure
of the progress of a civilization is how it treats its
most vulnerable members.
My message to you tonight is that what is good for
people with disabilities is good for Barbados.
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22. I therefore end by again congratulating the first
winners of the Fully Accessible Barbados Awards.
Thank you for setting the standards which I hope
many others will try to emulate.
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