This is the Report of the European Day of People with Disabilities 2008. It includes summaries of the speeches and discussions at the two-day conferece held in Brussels on 1st and 2nd in December 2008. In this wide-ranging conference, Mr. Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director ENAT, gave a presentation about Accessible Tourism in the third session (Day 2).
This Flash Eurobarometer survey (Flash Eurobarometer 258 on the “Survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism”) was conducted at the request of Directorate General Enterprise and Industry to collect citizens' ‟...views, details of holidays and travel in 2007 and 2008 and their plans regarding holidays in 2009." The report includes the average results for the EU and highlights variances in responses based on the interviewees' country of residence, their socio-demographic background and fundamental attitudes towards holidays and travel. It also examined how EU citizens chose a holiday destination. Tourism accessibility issues are not considered in the survey but some data on older people's responses are included.
This guide, drafted in cooperation with the European Disability Forum(EDF), is one of several initiatives undertaken by the Disability Working Group of the European Standing Conference of Co-operatives Mutual Societies, Associations and Foundations (CEP-CMAF) aimed at raising
awareness and promoting the integration of people with disabilities and disability issues in society as a whole and in Social Economy enterprises and organisations in particular.
Doha, 22 April 2009. At the Qatar Summit on Tourism Development organised by the UN World Tourism Organisation, ENAT Member, Ibrahim Abu-Helil (Jordan), presented the case for boosting human resources development in Accessible Tourism throughout the Arab region.
Moving a large bureaucracy, like the European Commission (EC), into new areas of policy-making can be a rather slow process. Although the EC has supported "Design for All" initiatives for over 10 years, design as such is not an official part of the EU policy agenda. Now the Commission has launched a public consultation to gather opinions about making design an integral part of European innovation policy.
Large sections of the tourism industry are hit by the downturn in consumer spending as the recession spreads through the global economy. Employees in the hotel and restaurant sector of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism unions (EFFAT) call on EU Member States to protect jobs and improve training and infrastructure to renew the sector in the current crisis.
Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish consultancy group, ProA Solutions has launched a user survey about access in rail travel. The survey, which is being conducted for RENFE, the Spanish National Railway, aims to shed light on the accessibility of different countries’ railway systems and the users’ perceptions.
A coalition of the CDU and CSU parties introduced a motion in the German Bundestag on 4 March 2009 with the aim of promoting and strengthening the barrier-free design of public infrastructure and the provision of transport services, so as to encourage more accessible tourism offers throughout the country.
Madame Sudre, Chair of the EP Intergroup on Tourism brought together key players in the tourism sector on 18 February 2009 to review the consequences of the global economic downturn for the European tourism industry. Analyses, prognoses and possible actions were presented by the European Commission, HOTREC, Social Partners and others.
The publication, "International Best Practices in Universal Design: A Global Review" has been named as one of the world's 100 "Best Practices" for 2008 by United Nations - Habitat - Dubai International Award for Best Practices. The Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) has distributed the publication to over 5000 people worldwide. It compares accessibility codes and standards from around the world and is available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Serbian and the alternate DAISY format.
OAKLAND, California - Under a settlement announced on 26th January, Hotels.com and Expedia.com, two of the world's leading online travel companies, have agreed to add features to their online travel reservation systems so that millions of travelers with disabilities can use their online services to search for and reserve hotel rooms that have the accommodations they need.
South African tourism authorities are knuckling down to the issue of accessible tourism during a month-long visit of leading US disability expert Scott Rains. Dr Rains, a wheelchair-user for 37 years and an advocate for the rights of disabled travellers, will be meeting South Africa's largest disability organisations and tourism bodies during his month-long visit to the country. The aim of his trip is to evaluate the quality of the South African tourism product for disabled and older travellers – and ultimately to build awareness of the importance of good access to the country's tourism industry as a whole.
