Spain's tourist office publishes hotel accessibility guidelines at WTM London

Nothing in the document is binding. Hotels have no certification scheme to earn, no label to display and no deadline to meet.

For a disabled traveller, or whoever books on their behalf, the practical change is a move from one word to a spec sheet. The guidelines ask instead for measurements, current photographs and honest descriptions of the room, the bathroom and the route to the pool. A guest can then decide before paying. The only pressure on hotels is promotional. Miguel Sanz, director general of Turespaña, said suppliers that prioritise accessibility will have a better chance of collaborating with its marketing.

What hotels are now asked to publish

The guidelines set out what hotels and operators should publish. They do not sort properties into “accessible” and “inaccessible”.

The guidelines cover the whole stay. That includes arrival, bedrooms, bathrooms, digital booking, emergency planning and staff awareness. The guidelines address neurodiversity for the first time. José Manuel de Juan González is the Spanish Tourist Office's UK director. At the launch he said the report gives hotels in Spain and around the world the tools to communicate how accessible they are.

Why a word is the problem

The diagnosis is blunt. Disabled travellers too often see only the single word “accessible” and must then phone or email the hotel to find out what it means, according to the report.

That gap carries a cost. 42% of people with accessibility requirements said they avoided travelling abroad in 2024/25, the tourist office says. The UK is the largest source market for accessible international travellers to Spain, at 18% of visitors with accessibility needs. Harry Wales, an advisory board member and founder of Travelosophers, described the failure mode. A family arrives. The hotel described as accessible gets them into the room but not to the pool, the restaurant or the beach, he said. Sometimes they cannot use the bathroom at all.

“That isn't a holiday; it's a week of lost independence and dignity,” he said. The report shows hotels what to publish instead. He said they should measure it, photograph it and describe it honestly.

The commercial case behind it

The pitch is commercial as much as social. Estimates put the spending power of disabled people and their households in the UK, known as the Purple Pound, at £446 billion a year. Nearly one in four people in the UK are disabled, according to the report's case for change. Sanz put the argument in market terms. “The core attributes for selling a destination used to be safety, good weather, price, maybe food,” he said. “Accessibility is now one of those attributes, and is equally as important as security to travellers.”

He was equally direct about the incentive. “If a supplier wants that marketing reach, they will have a better chance of collaborating with us if they prioritise accessibility,” Sanz said.

Who wrote the guidelines

The guidelines came out of the Spain for All advisory board. It has met in regular working sessions since 2024. Its members include ABTA, TUI, Enable Holidays, Limitless Travel, Wheelie Good Travel, World Accessible Holidays, TUR4all, Impulsa Igualdad, Travelosophers, Snowball, JourneyEase and Blind Girl Adventures.

Paula Hansen, managing director of World Accessible Holidays and a member of the advisory board, said: “'Accessible' is not a description; 80 centimetres wide is.”

What happens next

The report launched at a press conference at WTM London. The event runs at ExCeL London from 3 to 5 November 2026. Turespaña has already presented the campaign to senior figures from Jet2holidays and On the Beach. Sanz said the response had been “very positive”. The change depends on hotels deciding that clearer information sells rooms.

Sanz framed the goal in broader terms. “Our ambition at the Spanish Tourist Office is to work towards a more inclusive travel industry where no one is left behind.”