Mobility Unesco Sustainable Tourism

Short description of project

The Mobility Unesco Sustainable Tourism (MUST) project is configured as a specific action aimed at reducing the restrictions still existing between disabled and non-travellers and at increasing awareness among tourism operators, for them to develop a methodology that could support the creation and promotion of accessible routes in other destinations.

In particular, it aims at building an organized system, with the main objective of enhancing and promoting the accessible tourism, by responding to the needs of an ever growing group of attentive and sensitive consumers, meeting their expectations. It is therefore proposed, as a specific action, the creation of a tour package which includes a tour of the four major world heritage UNESCO sites in Sicily which meet the criteria of accessibility based on the philosophy of '"Universal Accessibility".

A fundamental element of the project is the way in which the visitors will be assisted, from the making their reservation to their return home. The package will be marked by all the services which are necessary to the journey: hotel reservation, transfer through appropriate means, specialized tourist guides for different disabilities or accompaniment, catering, possibility of purchasing the package on line, customer care. Therefore, the package will be realized thanks to the support of ICT and Internet, which today has a huge influence on the choice of the destination: the project foresees the construction of a dedicated website, tailored to the features of the target group.

Main objectives

The project aims at outlining a model which could be replicable in similar contexts and which could become a point of reference for future actions.

Moreover, it wants to identify and build the network "Unesco without barriers” in order to raise awareness among tourism operators in the implementation of tours and activities concerning accessible tourism. One of the objectives is to create a package that includes tours and itineraries accessible to all categories of travellers, through the four UNESCO sites such as Mount Etna, the Sicilian active volcano, the sites of the late Baroque of the Val di Noto, the mosaics of Piazza Armerina and the Aeolian Islands.

The project aims at designing and implementing an online portal without barriers for the visitors of the UNESCO sites. It will focus on the implementation of a strategic and operational marketing plan, within a three years period, where appropriate strategies for the promotion and marketing of the package are defined, with the aim of reaching the target market of people with disabilities and of giving wide visibility and dissemination of the realized product.

The foreseen workpackages are:

• Preparatory activity
• Coordination and monitoring
• Identification of the target group and creation of the network “Unesco without barriers”
• Training of the tourism operators
• Marketing Plan
• Info-Mediation for the Accessible tourism: a website for the tourism without barriers of the Unesco sites
• Communication Plan and dissemination of the results

Lead partner/coordinator: ERREQUADRO s.r.l. (Italy)

Partners:

• Fondazione Patrimonio UNESCO Sicilia (Italy)
• Logos s.r.l. Comunicazione e Immagine (Italy) Your Sicily (Italy)
• Centro Servizi Volontariato di Palermo (Italy) Sicilia Insolita Crilutravel cooperativa

Contact:
Email: anello@errequadro.com
Website: www.errequadro.com

Download the Project Summary in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

European Commission funded project, reference page:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/offer/accessible/index_en.htm