TEHRAN – A host of travel insiders, including physically challenged people, have discussed ways to promote assessable tourism on Kish Island.

On Friday, Kish Island hosted a workshop on assessable tourism attended by tour operators, tour guides, local officials, and some disabled people, CHTN reported.

Introduced by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the creation of the international “Accessible Tourism Destination” aims to make sure that a destination can be enjoyed by any tourist, including physically impaired people.

The UNWTO Recommendations on Accessible Tourism for All are meant to be used as a general, basic mainstreaming framework for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the physical environment, the transportation system, information, and communications channels, as well as to a wide range of public facilities and services.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of the world’s population (1 billion people) lives with some form of disability.

In addition to the disabled, accessibility is also of paramount importance when it comes to the rights of the world's aging population. As we get older, the chance of a permanent or temporary disability increases dramatically. Accessibility is a key element of any responsible and sustainable development policy that benefits not only people with disabilities but also society as a whole.

Over the past couple of decades, Kish has become a beach resort where visitors can enjoy the sea, sand, and the sun in a relaxed atmosphere. The island is home to a free-trade-zone area, with ever-growing hotels, shopping centers, apartment blocks, and retail complexes dominating the once-empty desert landscape.

AFM