Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish consultancy group, ProA Solutions has launched a user survey about access in rail travel. The survey, which is being conducted for RENFE, the Spanish National Railway, aims to shed light on the accessibility of different countries’ railway systems and the users’ perceptions.
Today sees the launch of accessible.travel - a new on-line booking site for people with disabilities and others who need to know about the accessibility of venues and hotels before they travel. The site is run by Craig Grimes, a wheelchair user and determined traveller, adventurer and consultant to the tourism industry.
Two French athletes who travelled to South Africa to compete in the annual Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge, held on Saturday 14 February in the historic town of George in the Western Cape, have returned home victorious with gold and silver medals. Denis Lemeunier was the first to cross the finishing line of the 42.2 km wheelchair marathon in a time of 1:42:48.
Bonn, Germany – On 3 February, the first Paralympic Winter World Cup will take place in Solleftea, Sweden, bringing together over 200 athletes representing 26 countries from around the world. The Paralympic Winter World Cup will be an exciting event for elite winter sport athletes with a disability and one of the biggest international biannual multi-sport competitions outside of the Paralympic Winter Games.
The publication, "International Best Practices in Universal Design: A Global Review" has been named as one of the world's 100 "Best Practices" for 2008 by United Nations - Habitat - Dubai International Award for Best Practices. The Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) has distributed the publication to over 5000 people worldwide. It compares accessibility codes and standards from around the world and is available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Serbian and the alternate DAISY format.
South African tourism authorities are knuckling down to the issue of accessible tourism during a month-long visit of leading US disability expert Scott Rains. Dr Rains, a wheelchair-user for 37 years and an advocate for the rights of disabled travellers, will be meeting South Africa's largest disability organisations and tourism bodies during his month-long visit to the country. The aim of his trip is to evaluate the quality of the South African tourism product for disabled and older travellers – and ultimately to build awareness of the importance of good access to the country's tourism industry as a whole.
This guide, drafted in cooperation with the European Disability Forum(EDF), is one of several initiatives undertaken by the Disability Working Group of the European Standing Conference of Co-operatives Mutual Societies, Associations and Foundations (CEP-CMAF) aimed at raising
awareness and promoting the integration of people with disabilities and disability issues in society as a whole and in Social Economy enterprises and organisations in particular.
There are more than 700 million people with some kind of disability worldwide. Although handicapped they love travelling as much as anyone of us. Accessible tourism is not only about wide doors and greater signs – it is also about people. Come and learn about the trends in accessible tourism and about the ways how to deal with seniors and travellers with disabilities.
On 12 July 2005, a Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre Research workshop was held at the New South Wales Department of State and Regional Development, titled Setting a Research Agenda for Disability and Tourism. This report outlines the background to disability and tourism in both the
Australian and overseas settings, and details the process used for the workshop, which has led, in turn, to the prioritised research agenda that forms an integral part of this report.
This document profiles key Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) research into disability and accessible tourism perspectives and issues, an important and growing component of the Australian tourism landscape. The publication, available only in PDF format and free of charge, has been developed with the visitor, service provider, planning agency and industry operator in mind, bringing together summaries, statistics, key findings and recommendations in an easily accessible format.
To better serve the over 1.2 million Americans of short stature - defined as people 4' 10" and under with the medical condition of dwarfism, Microtel Inns & Suites now provides accessibility products preferred by Little People at all of our over 300 hotels currently open worldwide.
The accessibility of services we offer is a condition for all people to take part in tourist activities. Providers of accessible services must take into account that we live in a plural and diverse society, as requirements are not equal for all people. Tourism activities should be organized in a way that ensures that people who wish to participate in them can do so freely and voluntarily, in terms of comfort and dignity. This Guidebook explains the methods for ensuring accessible tourism through applying design criteria, management approaches and information strategies.
