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

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

• 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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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.

8

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.

9

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.

10

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.

11

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.

12

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.

13

(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.

14

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.

15

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.

16

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.

17

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.

18

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.

19

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.

20

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.

21

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.

22