Integration of universal design into sustainability standards and certification schemes for tourism - Status and recommendations

This report summarizes main findings from the project "Integrating universal design in sustainable tourism certification schemes" funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs. In the project, we have analyzed a selection of Norwegian and international standards for universal design, along with a selection of sustainable tourism certification schemes used in Norway. The main finding is that these schemes integrate universal design principles and criteria to a very limited extent, and that they can benefit from building on standards which – all together – accommodate a wide range of measures and user groups. Despite this, findings show that both standards and schemes refer often to physical design measures, as well as address the physical environment to a greater extent than the social or organizational environment. Also, measures are primarily about guests and little about employees, while the needs of various user groups are mentioned scantly in both universal design standards and sustainable tourism schemes. There is also a lack of a consistent use of definitions. The report discusses recommendations and proposes a set of criteria and indicators for better integration of universal design in schemes for sustainable tourism.