In times of demographic change and under consideration of the fact that at present 70% of the 46 million handicapped people living in Europe would be able to travel, the importance of ‘Accessible Tourism for All’ comes clear. Therefore, it is the aim of this M.A. thesis to analyse this topic.
After a short introduction, the first part deals with the experiences already made with
accessible tourism in Europe by presenting certain organisations acting in this field and by
giving an overview of their projects.
In the second part the actual demand, the existing offer and the positive and negative effects of accessible tourism will be discussed.
In the third part the specific travel behaviour of blind and visually impaired people will finally be analysed. In order to gain information on this topic, a survey was carried out among people
concerned.
This M.A thesis was submitted to University of Paderborn, Germany in the Faculty of Cultural Science - Geography. The thesis is in German.
On 3rd December 2001, the European Commission, together with the European Disability Forum, took "Discrimination By Design" as the theme of the Conference to celebrate the European Day of Disabled People. This background document was prepared to explain the concept of Design for All and its importance as an approach for making the world accessible to people with disabilities. The document is available in 11 languages. Author: Ivor Ambrose.
In Thailand, the Disabled Peoples' International - Asia Pacific (DPI-AP) and the Asia Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) and partners organised the Second International Forum on Accessible Tourism (ICAT 2007) from 22-24 November 2007.
In its updated European Disability Action Plan 2008-2009, published on 26 November 2007, the European Commission notes the formation of ENAT as a targetted action to improve accessibility to tourism for people with disabilities. The EC also makes proposals to improve access to goods and services by developing statistical services for monitoring accessibility and encouraging new standards.
At a congress held last week by the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), over 200 representatives from international disability organisations, tourist boards and private enterprise came to the overwhelming conclusion that accessible tourism is the fastest-growing business opportunity in the tourism industry.
This week the Marina d'Or beachside holiday resort in the Region of Valencia, Spain welcomes some 200 delegates at the ENAT International Congress on Tourism for All, organised by Fundación ONCE and supported by the European Commission. Guest speakers from North and South America, as well as Australia will complement European presenters from all sectors of the tourism industry, public authorities, NGOs and centres of research and education.
Avis Rent A Car System announced a new pilot program that will give customers the ability to rent a mobility scooter and have it waiting in the trunk of their next rental vehicle or delivered to the customer’s location.
The Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad (Royal Board on Disability) with the collaboration of Polibea Turismo has organized Accessible Tourism Training Courses given at Spanish Tourism Colleges.
For rent in the summer months, this house that you can view at www.unnidejong.com , is fully equipped with all facilities for anyone with or without a disability. We also are on call for anyone wanting to build or change a house to make it wheel chair friendly. Please contact for photos and more details. This house was featured in the OKIA magazine of July 2005 for being a traditional house but also wheel chair friendly.
