DETUROPE - The Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism 2026, 18(1):74-107 | DOI: 10.32725/det.2026.004

Accessible Tourism in Hungary – The Present Situation and Development Possibilities

Zoltán Raffay^a,b

^a aAssociate professor, University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing and Tourism, Pécs, Hungary; ORCID number: 0000-0001-6546-9633; phone: +36 20 9290723, corresponding author

^b bAssociate professor, Constantin the Philosopher University in Nitra, Faculty of Central European Studies, Department of Tourism, Nitra, Slovakia

Approximately 15% of the world’s population live with some form of disability, and this proportion is expected to rise in the future. Despite undoubted progress in recent decades, the participation of people with physical, organoleptic, intellectual etc. disabilities in tourism is often blocked by different mental, physical, organisational etc. barriers, or the lack of interest and attention on the part of tourism service providers, even in countries with a relatively high level of socio-economic development, and so the tourism sector is losing a significant economic opportunity, while accessibility is opening up a potential new customer base. Based on statistical data, the findings in international and Hungarian literature, and the results of several international studies and researches done with the participation of the author, the paper demonstrates the achievements of accessible (or inclusive) tourism so far and outlines some possible solutions for making the tourism sector more inclusive. It also proves that the increased inclusion of people with disabilities is a largely untapped economic opportunity, and also a moral obligation of the majority societies, and he demonstrates some best practices in the field of accessible tourism, from different European countries and especially Hungary. The overall conclusion of the paper is that accessible tourism may improve the performance of tourism by the inclusion of a large and until now largely unutilised segment, provided that more attention is paid to their special needs and the provision of accessibility becomes a mainstream attitude in the tourism industry.

Keywords: accessibility, disabilities, inclusive tourism, sensitisation

Received: November 29, 2024; Revised: February 10, 2026; Accepted: May 12, 2026; Published: May 16, 2026  Show citation