‘Spain for All’ ambassador Ade Adepitan has outlined his desire to make the destination the best there has ever been for disabled travellers.
The TV presenter and wheelchair basketball player was named in March as the figurehead for the campaign, which aims to underline the country’s commitment to improving accessibility and social inclusivity within the travel and tourism sector.
Speaking on a panel at World Travel Market 2024, Adepitan hailed the success of the initiative so far and said Spain has the potential to become the “blueprint” for improving accessibility for tourists across the globe.
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“My mission as ambassador for the Spain for All campaign is to say to disabled travellers, ‘We see you’. We are not just trying to make Spain the best tourist destination right now, but the best tourist destination of all time,” he told attendees.
“We want to be the leaders and the blueprint for all other nations to follow.”
Adepitan said that “when the world becomes fully accessible,” people will look back at Spain’s campaign and see “this was where the seeds were planted,” adding: “This is what’s going to transform the tourism industry, not just in Spain but all over the world.”
The Paralympic bronze medallist said the decision to become ambassador for the initiative was a “no-brainer” because of his love of the country and his longstanding goal to “open up the world” for disabled travellers.
“The planet has been closed off to people with disabilities for so long,” he said. “As a kid, travel didn’t feel like something people with disabilities could do; it didn’t seem like it was for us. And that was heartbreaking.
“It became my mission over time to travel the world and to try and open up the world for people with disabilities.”
Adepitan encouraged business leaders not to be afraid of making mistakes when it comes to trying to make their companies more accessible.
“I don’t want people to not try to become [more] accessible because they’re worried about making mistakes – it’s about what you do to rectify that,” he said.
His views were echoed by panel moderator Angus Drummond, chief executive of disabled-friendly specialist Limitless Travel.
He said: “I think we’d all agree that we’d much rather you tried [to make improvements] and made a mistake, than to never try at all and close yourselves off.”
Picture credit: Sarah Lucy Brown