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 European network of cities, EUROCITIES, has established a Working Group on Barrier-Free Cities for All. The Group is chaired by Ms. Barbara Berninger, City of Berlin.
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.
The European Greenways Association announces the 5th European Greenways Award, 2011. This award, recognising the promotion and development of non-motorized routes in European countries and regions, was created in 2003 (1st EGA) and, since then, has been held biennially.
Finding accessible hotel accommodation and facilities for disabled people in Britain has been made a little easier. Guoman and Thistle Hotels have been successfully engaging with Tourism for All during the past 18 months to enhance the information they provide to potential disabled guests.
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".
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!
British celebrity, Stephen Fry is backing a fantastic, new development that has made the reporting of inaccessible websites a simple, one click process. The Fix the Web project is harnessing volunteer energy to tackle reports of web accessibility problems. Disabled people can now report sites to volunteer technicians using a toolbar, called the ATBar, developed by researchers from the School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton.
This spring, Certu (the Centre for Studies on Urban planning, Transport and Public facilities, France) will publish a study about practices improving access for all in 11 European cities. This analysis is part of a comprehensive review led by Certu to identify interesting examples of accessibility practices in Europe.
Tourism is dedicated to catering for the preferences of a wide range of customers, but
genuinely inclusive travel, whether for business or for leisure, can be hard to find. Ivor Ambrose is Managing Director of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT),
a not-for-profit association which promotes accessible tourism. Here he sets out key issues and case studies showing inclusive tourism in action. Meanwhile Sandra Cooper’s description of her stay in an exceptional destination illustrates some of the possibilities available.
This book of readings by Italian and international authors was prepared in 2010 by the Italian Institute of Tourism for All in order to provide an overview of historical developments, current trends and perspectives on the future of accessible tourism. The text is in Italian and English.
A slide presentation with the main results of a Study on EU accessible tourism standards, by Ivor Ambrose, Pilar Soret and Carolina Vicens given at the Fundación ONCE International Congress on Tourism for All, Valladolid, Spain, 26 November 2010.
