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 general objective of the project "TOURISM INCLUSIVE - Competencies for Care of People with Disabilities" was to conduct a study that may contribute to the achievement of national policy of inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly in regard to their access to tourism services by: The identification of specific needs of people with disabilities, on the reception - service - service; The identification of skills, in terms of care and service necessary to meet those needs; The construction of a "package" of training aimed at developing these specific skills.
Showing its commitment to put into effect Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Italian Ministry of Tourism has created a Manifesto promoting Accessible Tourism. ENAT is the first international NGO to support the manifesto.
Projects to improve the accessibility of the Algarve for visitors and residents with restricted mobility continue to be put in place – but the changes being made to make the region accessible for all are not being put in place fast enough according to industry experts.
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.
Boomers, many of whom came of age holding a protest sign, are joining forces with disability and senior groups to add muscle to the cause of increased accessibility in travel. “They don’t intend to let hip replacements and insulin shots stop them from traveling,” says Rains. “Nor will they be pandered to, stigmatized, or written off.”
In a unique partnership – the first of its kind anywhere in the UK – Capability Scotland and VisitScotland have teamed up this summer to explore disabled people’s experiences of being a tourist in Scotland.
Put your city on the European map as a proactive supporter of accessibility for persons with disabilities. The Access City Award sets out to showcase and reward cities with over 50,000 inhabitants which take exemplary initiatives to improve accessibility in the urban environment.
Accessible tourism has been identified as a relatively untapped tourism market, which has not been capitalised on in South Africa. If you have travelled to South Africa, it would be appreciated if you could complete a questionnaire prepared by the "Urban-Econ" tourism consulting firm.
Brussels 15 April 2011. Last week flight passenger Shuaib Chalklen was refused to board flight number LX353 London- Geneva on the grounds of his disability.
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".
This study, commissioned by the Government of Ontario, examines the potential economic impact of achieving substantially higher levels of accessibility. In 2010, the Province will introduce five proposed standards through which the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 will be implemented. These standards are intended to achieve substantially higher levels of acessibility. Our study reviews the economic impact of increased accessibility on individuals, on markets, and on social units. We find that there are opportunities at all three levels to realize non-trivial economic gains through enabling a higher number of Ontarians to participate fully in the province’s economy.
