Social tourism is “all of the relationships and phenomena resulting from participation in tourism, and in particular from the participation of social strata with modest incomes. This participation is made possible, or facilitated, by measures of a well-defined social nature.
Social tourism “refers to programmes, events, and activities that enable all population groups – and particularly youth, families, retirees, individuals with modest incomes, and individuals with restricted physical capacity – to enjoy tourism, while also attending to the quality of relations between visitors and host communities”. It also refers to measures taken by governments in various countries to encourage holiday travel – a right often won through struggle by labour unions, associations, and community groups”.
Social tourism is organised in some countries by associations, cooperatives and trade unions, and its objective is to make travel truly more accessible to the greatest number, in particular to the most underprivileged stratums”.
Family’s Coop: Family holidays have obviously changed over the last few decades because of the evolution of the family structure, mainly characterized by the smaller and smaller size of families, and the increase in the number of single parent families.
Young people’s Coop: Today, young travellers (15-25 years old) make up for more than 20% of international tourist arrivals.
Seniors and retired Coop members: The demographic evolution over the last few years has been characterized by a rapid growth rate of the over 60 year olds. This reality, which can be explained by both the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in the number of births, will only become more marked in the future
Disabled people or people with reduced mobility of Coop families: The obstacles that disabled people come across when organizing and enjoying tourist trips are not only architectonic obstacles, but also obstacles connected to negative attitudes and behaviours. Even more than in other fields, it is fundamental to train the tourism industry staff to increase its awareness of special needs of disabled people, of adaptation measures needed for accessibility, and of the way to provide appropriate services to these clients, taking into account the different kinds of disabilities.
Coop Services Ltd has recently become a strategic partner in a social tourism project and is offering special discounts to those eligible. Contact us for more details. Coop Services Ltd is also a member of the International Organisation of Social Tourism (OITS). This is an international non-profit association, whose aim is to promote access to tourism for all, and more particularly for low-income population groups.
With its worldwide network of members, the OITS is nowadays considered the true world organization of social tourism.
OITS members include associations, trade unions, cooperatives, private organizations, as well as public authorities in charge of tourism.