Brian Seaman of Tourism for All UK reports: On Friday the 12th March, ITB Berlin, the largest tourism trade exhibition of its kind, hosted a two hour workshop on accessible tourism. Panellists discussed how Europe is meeting the needs of disabled visitors, followed by in-depth Questions and Answers.
ENAT joins the world's biggest travel trade show this week at ITB Berlin, where ENAT President Lilian Müller will meet delegates and speak on the subject of Accessible Tourism for All. She is joined by Mr. Mohammed Al-Taranweh, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and other distinguished speakers.
Belgian, Bert van Driel became a wheelchair user in 2007. However, he wanted to remain active. Bert realised that active wheelchair users need to carefully plan any activity. During this process, he noticed that most on-line information is not accurate and outdated. Bert started the non-profit organisation "Access on Wheels" in 2009 as an independent forum by and for wheelchair users.
Indian Non-Governmental Organisation, Svayam, requests experts and stakeholders to give their comments on a Draft Research Study on Problems and Prospects of Accessible Tourism in India. This is the first study of its kind commissioned by the Indian Government.
From 1914 to 1918 the 'Westhoek', West-Flanders, was the scene of the Great War. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of more than 20 nationalities fell in this conflict. After the often pointless battles and vast destruction, the Westhoek rose from its ashes. Today the Westhoek wants to spread a message of peace to visitors from all over the world.
Margaret Hodge, Member of Parliament and Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Sport launched today a leaflet setting out the advantages for businesses of preparing themselves to welcome both domestic and foreign visitors with access needs at the forthcoming London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
TourismSouthEast in the United Kingdom reviews some of the ways in which businesses can invest to make their facilities and services accessible for all. For relatively small costs it is possible to offer accommodation that is suitable for everybody. The podcast offers tips and advice to help businesses tap into the accessible tourism market, worth some 40 billion pounds a year.
Catharine McNally is founder and president of Keen Guides, a company that creates and sells downloadable tours for the smart phone filled with images, audio, video and text. A museum lover who has been deaf since she was an infant, McNally hopes her company will make cultural outings a more enjoyable and accessible for everyone, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The main aim of the project ITTI is to improve accessibility of tourism services through tailored training for tourism employees on working with disabled and elderly guests, and to increase the competitiveness of tourism facilities and tourism workers on the labour market.
No sensible person in business makes life more difficult for their customers. The most successful businesses make life easier. The information in this leaflet will make both your life easier and your business more successful.
EDF considers that the developments of terminology and classification standards are necessary in these areas as a pre-requisite for any future initiative on access to transport and tourism services. Clarifying the definition of disability on one hand, and of accessibility to transport and tourism services on the other, is crucial. EDF underlines the importance of basing all standardisation initiatives on the social model of disability and on a human rights approach.
