World Summit “Destinations for All” ENAT President's Message, 14th March 2025
World Summit “Destinations for All”
Dear Friends,
In my last conversation with you I anticipated that, this year, a major international event will take place in Turin, Italy.
The World Summit Destinations for All has reached its 3rd edition and will be hosted in the City of Turin, Piedmont Region by our ENAT member, CPD - Consulta per le Persone in Difficoltà and IsITT - Istituto Italiano Turismo per Tutti.
After the previous editions held in Montreal and Brussels, the 3rd World Summit on Accessible Tourism will be held for the first time in Italy, from 5th to 7th October 2025. The host city, Torino (Turin), has been selected by the European Commission as one of two winners as a “2025 European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism”, recognising its outstanding achievements in accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage and creativity, as an exceptional tourism destination.
The World Summit will be a unique occasion of absolute resonance on the international scene that will bring together leaders, experts and leading representatives from different sectors, including economics, innovation, technology, environment, to discuss the most topical and urgent issues related to the promotion of Tourism for All at home and abroad.
The Summit's declared objective is to foster dialogue and cooperation on extremely topical issues that no longer only concern established tourist destinations, but the entire system that presides over the organisation and management of cities, with a view to generating a positive impact at global level.
The Summit brings together at the highest level the most important players operating in the field of ‘Destinations for All’ and ratifies the commitment to ensure that a different culture on tourism grows in every corner of the planet, one that positively influences the concept of welcoming everyone, respecting both the people and the territories that host them.
Organisations, associations, institutions and businesses providing accessible tourism services, together with tourism, culture, heritage and institutional sector operators, have a unique opportunity to meet, discuss and build collaborations at a global level, offering their contribution in terms of experience and know-how so that the quality of the offer grows with a view to market and improve services that go beyond the dimension of the nations themselves.
The cardinal principle is that accessibility is a fundamental right that concerns everyone, regardless of their characteristics, and that institutions and tourist services - today more than ever - are called upon to orient themselves in the most functional directions to guarantee a barrier-free experience for all visitors.
‘Destinations for All’ therefore aims to promote tourist venues such as municipalities, cities, regions and cultural sites, where anyone can participate in all the activities offered without obstacles and in complete autonomy.
The first summit, organised in Montréal in 2014 with the participation of organisations including Kéroul, UNWTO, UN and European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), highlighted the benefits of developing accessible solutions for destinations, tourists and citizens. The event was attended by more than 360 experts from 31 countries, culminating in the adoption of the Declaration ‘A World for Everyone’, an action plan to promote accessibility of tourism infrastructure and services internationally.
The second summit, held in Brussels in 2018, was attended by more than 400 delegates from 42 countries. Organised by Kéroul and Collectif Accessibilité Wallonie-Bruxelles (CAWaB), it presented an in-depth scientific programme on the importance of tourism accessibility in key areas such as public transport, national strategies, information and planning, sports and leisure, air transport and adventure tourism.
The third summit, in Italy, is organised and promoted by CPD and IsITT with the participation of Kéroul, CAWaB and ENAT and with the patronage of Confesercenti Nazionale and will have as one of its main objectives the sharing of good practices to create a global network on the concept of Destinations for All and ensuring a barrier-free tourism experience along the entire accessibility chain, including the transport system.
The new edition of this major event that will take place in Turin from 5th to 7th October 2025 was announced today at a press conference at the Borsa Mediterranea del Turismo “BMT2025” Tourism Fair in the Adriatic Hall in Pavilion 4 of the Fiera d'Oltremare in Naples.
On this very occasion, the official start of Registration for participants at the Summit commenced and the call for abstracts was opened.
Registration of participants will open on the 14th of March and the call for abstracts will close on the 15th of May.
All relevant information can be found on the event website:
https://www.destinationsforall2025.org/
I hope to be able to meet many of you in Turin in October!
Anna Grazia Laura, Rome.
14th March 2025
Email: president@enat.eu
Download this President's Message in PDF format.
The World Summit “Destinations for All” is included in the ENAT (Google) Calendar of Accessible Tourism Events.
Share our hashtag: #destinationsforallturin2025