The UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism honours tourism initiatives that contribute to advance tourism through knowledge and innovation, in line with the principles of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
On November 6th, Visit Flanders was awarded the ‘Amadeus & WTM Travel Experience Award’ for its provision in Accessible Tourism. The judges praised the efforts that Flanders has made to become an accessible holiday destination for everyone, particularly for Flanders Fields, prior to the Great War Commemoration.
Under the theme, "Tourism, Culture and Transportation. A Common Strategy at the International Level", the 1st World Summit on Destinations for All will be held in Montreal in October 2014. The Summit aims to establish an international strategy to develop inclusive tourism.
The UNWTO "Recommendations on Accessible Tourism for All” (2013) have been approved and endorsed by the General Assembly. Updated from the 2005 version, the recommendations outline a form of tourism that involves a collaborative process among stakeholders to enable people with access requirements to function independently through universally designed tourism products, services and environments. These recommendations were developed within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2007.
Ferrara, 27 August 2013. On the 19th of August, at the stand of the Republic of San Marino at the Rimini Meeting, the agreement was presented between the Republic of San Marino and Village for all - V4A® that will bring the “Republic of Titan” into the market of Accessible Tourism.
The project "Development and marketing of accessible facilities and services within the meaning of Tourism for All in Germany" is a collaborative project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economy and Technology of the German Department of Tourism (DSFT) Berlin eV and the National Coordination Office for Tourism for All Association (NatKo).
In Autumn 2013 two volunteers from Jaccede, the Eurotrotters, are coming to Europe to spread the accessibility message and create a human platform for exchange to complement the virtual tools offered by Jaccede to all people with limited mobility and concerned citizens.
The project fits in with the call to “promote transnational thematic tourism” products in the European Union to develop sustainable tourism. For the first time, greenways have been included in the grant programme of the European Commission’s General Directorate of Tourism (2011), indicating that they are an area regarded to have great potential and value for the development of sustainable tourism within Europe.
