Inclusive tourism is the creation of an enabling environment that should meet the needs of all people, regardless of their abilities, disabled or non-disabled, temporarily or otherwise (mobility, hearing, visual or intellectual), families traveling with children, or elderly people, especially in light of the increasing aging of the global population (in 2050, the elderly over 60 years old will make up 22 percent of the global population – about a quarter of the world’s population). Accordingly, the project “Tourism for All in Lebanon: A New Approach to Inclusive Socio-Economic Development” was launched in partnership between the Lebanese Wheelchair Union and the European Network for Inclusive Tourism (ENAT), under the European Union-funded Afkar 3 program, managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Development.

Although the tourism sector in the country, the means and mechanisms for inclusion are still lacking. As a result, people with disabilities or even the elderly are unable to take advantage of the sector, whether as tourists, business owners, or workers. whether they are tourists, business owners, or even workers. The lack of of inclusion and flexibility in the tourism sector is reflected by

• The government and relevant authorities are largely ineffective in implementing Law 220/2000 on the rights of persons with disabilities
• Stakeholders in the tourism sector have little capacity to incorporate disability standards, due to a lack of resources, tools and skills and the prevalence of stereotypical attitudes towards disability
• The need to empower people with disabilities and their organizations about the importance of tourism in promoting socio-economic development