Globally, the family tourism segment in the hotel industry continues to be one of the strongest and most demanding in the sector. With a large and growing audience, it is increasingly necessary to revalue the importance of maintaining high general safety standards, but also those focused on children.
Family tourism has characteristics such as seeking group fun, learning, and connection with nature, among others. One of the most delicate aspects is having a safe destination. The destination encompasses many global aspects that can be controlled at the management level. When it comes to accommodation, it involves a list of key criteria to make that space safe for families in relation to infrastructure and services, safeguarding the physical and mental integrity of children and generating an environment of evident inclusion.
There are several ISO standards that touch on points related to general safety, which have a cross-impact on children, such as:
- ISO 21401:2018 Tourism and related services
- ISO 31000:2018 Risk management
- ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems
- ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems
- ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems
- ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems
The ISO 21902 standard: Accessible Tourism for All, launched in 2021, is a guide that can help hotel companies define accessibility and universal design criteria. According to a report published by UN Tourism, UNE Standardization Spain, and the ONCE Foundation, accessibility in tourism is about:
- Equality, diversity, and inclusion
- Environments where both tourists and the local population enjoy
- Improvements in comfort, innovation, and people’s quality of life
- Infrastructure, products, and services for all people, among others
The last element related to infrastructure, products, and services can provide a space to define specific criteria focused on the safety of children visiting tourist accommodations.
The ISO 21902 standard also contemplates 11 areas in which companies in the accommodation, restaurant, meetings, and conventions sectors must act:
- Market research
- Leadership and management at a strategic level
- Accessibility diagnosis
- Planning
- Common areas
- Rooms
- Bars, cafeterias, and restaurants
- Meeting and convention venues
- Product development
- Labor inclusion
- Marketing, feedback, and evaluation
Some actions derived from these areas would then imply:
- Conducting a detailed analysis of the barriers and concerns of families visiting accommodations with their children
- Prioritizing the accessibility of families
- Thinking about accessibility when designing a new product by applying the principles of design for all
- Designing accessible experiences
Although large hotel chains have specific programs dedicated to promoting child safety in their facilities, redesigning the customer experience to include this satisfaction indicator would be an added value.
Safe Kids Worldwide is a non-profit organization that works to reduce unintentional injuries in children aged 0 to 14 and to create equitable and sustained systems that support injury prevention. Strategic alliances with organizations like Safe Kids Worldwide could contribute to promoting child safety in the hotel sector, uniting efforts to create more inclusive and accessible spaces.
Reviving the momentum of the “Accessible Tourism Destination” (ATD) distinction, which was launched in 2019 by UN Tourism and the ONCE Foundation to recognize and promote accessible tourist destinations, would be of great value.
Although in the field of child safety there is a component of responsibility on the part of parents or guardians, it would be advisable to create specific certifications on this topic in tourist accommodations, enhance existing certifications, design quality seals, websites with search criteria for accommodations and spaces that promote child safety, as well as constant training of service personnel.The issue of child safety in the hotel sector is imperative. Designing a strategic vision with commitment and leadership that motivates a deep reflection on the necessary actions to meet the criteria of accessible tourism—connected to a consensual decision to transform the customer experience, particularly for families—can reach transcendental levels
