Certified Travel Assistants Help Elderly, Disabled Tourists; Organizations Around Japan Establish Training Programs

By Yuki Miyashita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

20:06 JST, September 23, 2024

SAPPORO — Various programs to certify helpers for elderly and disabled travelers have been established as part of efforts to promote so-called universal tourism, which gives everyone the ability to travel.

Certification systems have been created by a variety of tourism and welfare organizations, as well as private, public and administrative bodies, to attract elderly tourists who have difficulty walking and engaging in other movements.

About 20 residents of Omu, Hokkaido, were training in August to be certified as travel assistants. They learned ways to help people using a wheelchair, for example moving over steps in a wheelchair, and ate meals with an eye mask as part of their training.

“I learned how to help the elderly and families with small children,” said Fukiko Miura, 52, an official of the town’s tourist association.

The Japan Universal Design and Tourism Association in Sapporo began introducing the travel assistant certification system in 2012. About 1,300 people involved in tourism and welfare nationwide have been certified. Recently, the number of applicants has exceeded the available slots.

Mie Iwasaki, 68, of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that causes vision loss. But with the help of a travel assistant, Iwasaki went to Sapporo to enjoy walking among the ginkgo trees at Hokkaido University and visiting downtown Sapporo.

“Usually I can’t walk outside at night because I’m afraid of cars, but I was able to enjoy an Italian dinner,” Iwasaki said.

Four employees at the front desk and a restaurant at the New Otani Inn Sapporo also underwent the training.

“Assistance services are important knowledge that will help customers choose this hotel. This effort has motivated the staff and given them confidence,” one of the employees said.

Similar programs exist throughout the nation.

Nihon Kaigoryoko Supporters Kyokai, a Tokyo-based association that provides caregiving for travelers, launched a travel assistance certificate system in 2019. Those trained under the program must have worked in a nursing home or other facility, and about 440 people have participated so far.

In fiscal 2022, the Hyogo prefectural government established a certificate system named Hyogo Universal Tourism Concierge.

“The elderly population is increasing in Asia. To attract visitors to Japan, we have to operate from the viewpoint of supporting the elderly and physically disabled,” an official of the prefecture said.

According to an estimate released by the Japan Tourism Agency in 2023, the annual market size for universal tourism is 29.55 million people, including the elderly and the physically challenged. In monetary terms, the annual value is ¥2.126 trillion.

Universal tourism is being promoted by the central government as well. At of the end of July, there were 2,081 hotels and restaurants nationwide that had been recognized under the Japan Agency’s Barrier-Free Mindset Certification System for Tourism Facilities.

Such locations are meant to be barrier-free in terms of software, for example using tablets for written communication.

As the environment improves, the economic benefits are expected to increase.

“If an environment can be created in which anyone can enjoy traveling with a sense of safety, this will be an advantage in attracting domestic and international tourists,” said Sayo Wada, a professor at Sapporo International University Junior College.

“I think facilities will acquire qualifications in accelerating numbers to differentiate themselves,” she said.