Ostrava, Czech Republic, 26 August 2018. Download our free reports. The EU funded Elevator Project, has run for 3 years and is now coming to an end. A key driver for the project was recognising that for people with disabilities to be able to participate in tourism, the tourism sector must have a good understanding of this growing market. In addition, the performance of well-trained professionals is fundamental when serving people with access requirements.
The "ALL FOR ALL - Portuguese Tourism", launched by Turismo de Portugal and addressed to all national tourism players, seeks to mobilize a concerted action to make Portugal a tourist destination increasingly accessible to all.
8 May 2018. This study has undertaken literature reviews, user and experts’ questionnaires, interviews and workshop surveys, analysis of EU legislation, SWOT and Multi-Criteria Analysis, identification of best practices and analyses of case studies. This has led to a mapping of accessibility across the EU Member States (identifying relevant state clusters) for three different sectors: local transport, long-distance transport, and tourism. Specific policies, research priorities and recommendations are made per state clusters and for the EU, which can enhance accessibility in each of the three sectors.
The SABER project (“SAntiago, St. BEnedict, Routes Universal”) intends to create an accessible tourism offer by improving facilities and services along two existing itineraries of EU relevance: the “Way of St. James” in Spain, the most popular pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, and the “St. Benedict Way” in Italy.
The Pantou Accessible Tourism Directory was established initially as a data collection tool for a European Commission study of the supply of accessible tourism in Europe in 2014. It lists tourism suppliers who are able to offer accessible tourism services to customers with specific access needs, older persons, people with disabilities, families with young children and those who have a long-term health condition. Since the end of March, 2017 the Pantou Directory has been opened up to include accessible tourism suppliers based in any country - not only those located in Europe. Suppliers may register free of charge.
The Municipality of Ayia Napa, from the Cypriot side, and the Municipality of Rethymno with the National Confederation of Disabled People (NCDP), from the Greek side, after the approval of their proposal submitted under the third call of "Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Greece Cyprus 2007-2013", implements the project entitled "Agia Napa - Rethymno: Universally Accessible Cities" (acronym “Accessible Cities”).
The BRENDAIT Project is the conception and application of a pilot methodology to dynamize the transformation of a territory into an accessible and inclusive tourist destination.
Access Angels, a project funded by the EU ERASMUS+ programme involving 4 member States, aims to train youth volunteers to act as assistants to visitors with access requirements in rural areas in Europe.