PD-Candidate and researcher at Inholland University for Applied Sciences
Veroniek Maat is a researcher, lecturer and tourism professional specialising in accessible and inclusive tourism. She is currently pursuing a Professional Doctorate in Tourism, Disability & Inclusion at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, where her research focuses on co-designing equitable accessible travel chains and fostering collaboration across the tourism system.
With more than 15 years of experience in accessible tourism, Veroniek founded Accessible Travel Netherlands in 2010, developing and organising accessible holidays, tours and travel services for people with disabilities. She sold the company in 2020 and has since combined her practical experience with research and education.
Veroniek is passionate about turning knowledge into practical change. She works with tourism professionals, educators and stakeholders to integrate accessibility and inclusion into tourism practice and education. Her work explores how tourism organisations can move beyond individual adaptations towards more systemic, collaborative approaches to accessible travel.
In 2026, she published All Aboard: Driving the Transition to Accessible Tourism – Insights and Tools for Action, a practical book for tourism professionals and educators.
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“I believe IWTTF is important because it creates space for conversations that the travel industry urgently needs to have, not only about who is represented within our industry, but also about who gets to experience travel and whose needs, perspectives and stories shape the products we create. For me, diversifying travel means looking beyond the ‘average traveller’ and recognising the many different ways people experience and participate in travel. Accessibility is an essential part of that conversation, as are gender equality and the empowerment of women and LGBTQI+ people, whose voices and opportunities are still too often limited in many parts of the world. IWTTF brings together people from different backgrounds and parts of the industry to challenge existing assumptions, amplify diverse perspectives and, importantly, turn dialogue into action. That is what makes it such a valuable platform for creating positive change in travel.”