Tourism for all with friendly design pilot program

This year, four friendly-design familiarization trips are scheduled for special needs tourists and elderly travelers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and China. The first group of 15 from Hong Kong is travelling from 4 to 6 October 2019 to Pattaya, Ayutthaya, and Bangkok.

This pilot project will be showcased at the Friendly Design Expo 2019 to create awareness of Thailand as a suitable destination for tourists with special needs.

The project is initiated through public-private sector partnerships, between the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), Friendly Design Foundation, and Centra by Centara Government Complex Hotel and Convention Center Chaeng Watthana.

TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said, "The launching of this project shows the effort that we wish to make our country a better place for all tourists who wish to have some amazing experience in Thailand.”

Thailand became a party to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 28 August, 2008. This project also corresponds with TAT’s Thailand Tourism Strategies for 2018-2020.

Tourism for All recognizes people with disabilities, elderly people, and cross-generational families as an increasingly important tourism and travel market segment.