Arona, Tenerife, Spain

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Arona one of the first and best examples of Accessible Tourism in Spain.

Aerila view of Los Cristianos, Arona, TenerifePhoto Los Cristianos, Arona, Tenerife. By Mataparda, licensed under the terms of the cc-by-sa-2.0.

Arona one of the first and best examples of Accessible Tourism in Spain. Arona is divided in four clearly defined areas.

  • Playa de Las Americas, which presents a good quality tourist offer.
  • Playa de Los Cristianos, the commercial and cultural driving force of the town.
  • Playa de Las Galletas-Costa del Silencio, offering peaceful walks and beautiful gardens and Arona Rural, conjuring up the traditional Canary Islands.
  • Punta Salemas, the southernmost point on the island of Tenerife.

The case of Arona is quite unique due to two reasons; firstly, it was a destination made under the demand of tourists with disabilities that travelled to the municipality back in the 1960’s and secondly the destination has evolved over time to continuously remove barriers and encourage accessibility in the tourism sector.

Arona benefits from the underlying conditions of 3S tourism, Sun, Sea and Sand, with good weather beaches. However, it has been assisted through the effort of different entities (Arona municipality and Tourism Board, ONCE Foundation, SIMPROMI, and different private business) so that the municipality has been actively involved in implementing and monitoring accessibility measures.

It is noticeable how the tourism chain works in this destination and offers a wide range of possibilities to make the stay in Arona safe, comfortable and enjoyable for all. This includes , for instance, the assistive service for people with disabilities in Tenerife airport with around 200.000 services every year, the different options for transport, including the adapted taxis (Eurotaxis), to accessible accommodation, beaches and shopping centres and a wide range of sports and activities adapted for everybody.

This is, like other successful cases of accessible tourism in Spain like Ávila, Madrid or Barcelona, (among others) shows that one of the key factors for the achievement of accessibility in the tourism sector is the involvment of the DMO, together with the support of representatives of people with disabilities and the private sector.

Download the Arona Accessible Tourism Case Study in PDF format, produced by ENAT and Partners for the European Commission (2015).