The first international certification programme for accessible tourism destinations has been developed and carried out in Lousã, Portugal by the Belgian Accessibility Office, Toegangelijkheidsbureau (TGB). The Certification Programme is a completely new destination management tool which provides an accurate measure of the excellence of an accessible tourism destination, based on strictly defined criteria.
The general objective of the project "TOURISM INCLUSIVE - Competencies for Care of People with Disabilities" was to conduct a study that may contribute to the achievement of national policy of inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly in regard to their access to tourism services by: The identification of specific needs of people with disabilities, on the reception - service - service; The identification of skills, in terms of care and service necessary to meet those needs; The construction of a "package" of training aimed at developing these specific skills.
Showing its commitment to put into effect Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Italian Ministry of Tourism has created a Manifesto promoting Accessible Tourism. ENAT is the first international NGO to support the manifesto.
Accessibility is not just about improving your welcome for customers with a range of access needs, or ticking the right boxes – it simply makes good business sense. Here are 5 tips for improving your business.
Boomers, many of whom came of age holding a protest sign, are joining forces with disability and senior groups to add muscle to the cause of increased accessibility in travel. “They don’t intend to let hip replacements and insulin shots stop them from traveling,” says Rains. “Nor will they be pandered to, stigmatized, or written off.”
Put your city on the European map as a proactive supporter of accessibility for persons with disabilities. The Access City Award sets out to showcase and reward cities with over 50,000 inhabitants which take exemplary initiatives to improve accessibility in the urban environment.
Accessible tourism has been identified as a relatively untapped tourism market, which has not been capitalised on in South Africa. If you have travelled to South Africa, it would be appreciated if you could complete a questionnaire prepared by the "Urban-Econ" tourism consulting firm.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is convinced that the facilitation of tourist travel by persons with disabilities is a vital element of any responsible and sustainable tourism development policy. Announcing a new tri-lateral agreement with external partners, Fundación ONCE and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the UNWTO aims to provide guidance in this area to policy makers, destinations and tourist enterprises.
As a result of the activities of the Foundation " Ne spirai / Don’t Stop” the "Cluster for accessible tourism (CAT)” was founded, with the core purpose of promoting business and development of accessible tourism in Bulgaria with the brand "Bulgaria for All".
The Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (CERMI) and ONCE Foundation presented the Eurotaxi White Paper "A Taxi for All" in Málaga on 2nd February 2011. The paper analyzes the main issues and lines of action for the design of taxis and implementation of accessible taxi services in all Spanish municipalities.
February marks the end of ELMA’s first year in action and It will also mark the beginning of a new era for ELMA. The future of ELMA looks bright and it is now hoped that the next steps for ELMA will bring local enterprise closer so that together we may move into developing an Accessible Vuokatti… A VUOKATTI FOR ALL!
This study, commissioned by the Government of Ontario, examines the potential economic impact of achieving substantially higher levels of accessibility. In 2010, the Province will introduce five proposed standards through which the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 will be implemented. These standards are intended to achieve substantially higher levels of acessibility. Our study reviews the economic impact of increased accessibility on individuals, on markets, and on social units. We find that there are opportunities at all three levels to realize non-trivial economic gains through enabling a higher number of Ontarians to participate fully in the province’s economy.
