Perez Zeledon is a canton belonging to the province of San Jose with a population of approximately 150,000 people, divided into twelve districts. Of peasant tradition, it is a mainly rural territory, bordered by the Talamanca mountain range in which stands out the Cerro Chirripó, the highest point of the country. Its natural exuberance formed by rivers, waterfalls and evergreen mountains, make the municipality a tourist destination of high value for the country.

Costa Rica has a population of 22.5% of people with disabilities (INEC, 2019). Despite the benefits of Pérez Zeledón as a nature destination, the lack of accessibility is a problem that affects the development of tourism ventures as it reduces the chances of obtaining a greater flow of tourists and imposes physical and attitudinal barriers to inclusive tourism. There are three main reasons why the lack of tourism accessibility persists in the canton and the country in general: 1) the lack of knowledge about disability and the potential of accessible tourism; 2) the geographic conditions of the canton and the scarce public and private inclusive infrastructure; 3) the insufficient information available on places with accessibility conditions that allow people with disabilities to make decisions about their trips and enjoyment of their free time.

The problem of accessibility is not limited to the tourist experience. In Costa Rica, 75% of people with disabilities of working age are willing to work (State of the Nation Report, 2011), but their condition becomes a barrier to access fair employment. Accessible experiences in tourism can favor the inclusion of people with disabilities in various positions, a reality that has begun to be addressed in the canton. During 2022, the first travel agency in Pérez Zeledón, led by an organization of people with disabilities called Morpho Center for Independent Living, is expected to be created.

It is worth mentioning three initiatives that converge, which have made it possible to visualize the problem and provide solutions. On the one hand, 12 social organizations in Perez Zeledon that bring together people with physical, cognitive, blind, ASD, deaf, and older adults, have been working on the campaign "Perez Zeledon, Accessible Canton" directing their efforts in four areas: i) health, ii) training, iii) information and outreach, and iv) recreation and sports. These initiatives supported by the local government and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (CONAPDIS) make it possible to understand tourism and recreation as a particular focus of attention in accessibility. On the other hand, the Tourism Management Plan 2019-2021 and soon the Cantonal Public Policy of Tourism 2023-2027 will also have as one of its main axes the Inclusion and Accessibility. Finally, the creation of an Accessible Tourism Network was initiated, an inter-institutional work strategy to materialize actions to support this type of tourism.

• Strengthening of the Accessible Tourism Network: strategies will be promoted to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in tourism through an inter-institutional network composed of different local actors.

• Training for tourism companies in the canton: training spaces will be provided for local tourism entrepreneurs to learn about accessible tourism through experiential, participatory and innovative strategies.

• Verification of the tourist accessibility of the destination: a unified inventory of the enterprises, natural attractions and cultural spaces of the canton will be established to promote improvement actions in terms of social inclusion and market tourist destinations according to accessibility levels.

• Creation of the PZaccessible app: support will be provided to tourists with information on costs, activities, attractions and tours of the inventoried places, through an inclusive technological application. 

Direct Results

• It is expected to have a complete diagnosis of 60 companies in the canton according to accessibility levels, allowing better information for decision making.
• Encourage the development of new accessible business models and therefore the growth of the destination.
• The consolidation of a participatory, intersectoral and interinstitutional network to support accessible tourism in Pérez Zeledón is expected to be achieved through the participation of 12 active members.
• Increased integration of the tourism sector with organizations and tourists of people with disabilities.
• Greater social inclusion is expected as a result of a physical adaptation and an improvement in customer service for clients with disabilities through the training of 180 people in accessible tourism.
• More investment is expected in the accessible tourism market niche through the training of 60 tourism companies.
• Development of an accessible tourism app in the municipality.

Expected Impact

• Grow by 10% in 2 years the visitation of people with disabilities both from the canton and tourists from other cantons of the country (measured through the registration of visitors from tourism companies).
• Increase by 40% the number of business people in the municipality trained in accessible tourism in the canton within one year.
• Reduce by 20% the physical and attitudinal accessibility gaps of tourism businesses, through the verification of sites and technical support to 100% of the surveyed businesses within two years.
• Improve the communication of the tourism offer of 100% of the accessible businesses in Pérez Zeledón by means of an app. In addition to providing updated and complete information to 100% of tourists with and without disabilities that visit the canton in real time.

• Consejo Nacional de Personas con Discapacidad (CONAPDIS).
• Asociación Quetzal
• Asociación Centro de Vida Independiente Morpho.
• Inclusiva Laboral
• Asociación de amputados de Pérez Zeledón
• Hogar Emanuel
• Foro consultivo
• Asociación TEA de Pérez Zeledón
• Asociación Personas sordas
• Asociación Inclusiva Laboral
• Asociación de Padres de Familia y Amigos de la Persona con Discapacidad de Pérez Zeledón (ASOPAFAM).

• Gregory López Calderón, Tourism Management Office of the Municipality of Pérez Zeledón (glopez@mpz.go.cr) - Costa Rica
• Roberval Tavares de Almeida, Founder of the Osa Socio-Environmental Center and in charge of the Inclusive Tourism Consortium of the Americas +506 6394 2848 (centrosocioambientalosa@hotmail.com) - Costa Rica