Towards Inclusive Tourism: Comparative Disability Law Reform in Malaysia and Australia

This article compares disability laws and inclusive tourism policies in Malaysia and Australia. It aims to identify legal gaps, implementation challenges, and best practices that affect accessible tourism for persons with disabilities. Accessible tourism is now widely recognized as a basic human right under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Therefore, governments are under increasing pressure to introduce effective laws and policies that ensure equal access and participation for persons with disabilities. However, despite these international commitments, differences still exist between countries in terms of enforcement, accessibility standards, and tourism policy implementation. Using a qualitative comparative legal approach, this study examines laws, policy documents, accessibility standards, and previous research related to disability rights and tourism governance in Malaysia and Australia. The study compares Malaysia’s Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 and Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act 1992, including related building regulations and enforcement systems. It also explores the importance of universal design, digital accessibility, stakeholder involvement, and institutional responsibility in creating inclusive tourism experiences. The findings show that Malaysia has introduced laws and guidelines to improve accessibility, but implementation remains weak due to poor enforcement, limited monitoring, weak coordination, and low awareness within the tourism industry. In contrast, Australia has a stronger and more effective system supported by enforceable anti-discrimination laws, mandatory accessibility standards, legal complaint mechanisms, and coordinated governance between federal and state authorities. These measures have contributed to stronger compliance and greater inclusion of persons with disabilities within tourism infrastructure and services. The article concludes that Malaysia can improve inclusive tourism by introducing stronger laws, mandatory accessibility standards, regular access checks, better cooperation among stakeholders, and policies that involve persons with disabilities. Promoting accessible tourism is important for ensuring social inclusion, protecting human rights, and supporting sustainable tourism growth.

Persons with disabilities, Disability, Accessible tourism, Accessibility, Tourism

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