Presentation by Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director of ENAT, at the "Accessi Tourisme Simposium. Building Accessible Destinations", Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
The Study on the Competitiveness of the EU tourism industry - with specific focus on the accommodation and tour operator & travel agent industries - was commissioned by the Commission and run by Ecorys. Disclaimer : The views and propositions expressed in the study are those of the experts and do not necessarily represent any official view of the European Commission or any other organisations mentioned in the Report.
Within the framework of of the European Union's Operational Programme of Territorial Cooperation between Spain, France and Andorra 2007-2013 (Interreg IV A), the project Accessi Tourisme is a triennial project of cross-border cooperation on Accessible Tourism, between the Department of Turisme de Catalonia and its conterparts, the Departmental Committee of Eastern Pyrenees Tourism, and the Elsa Fundació NGO.
The Mediate Project aims to establish a common European methodology for measuring accessibility. This will lead to the development of a self-assessment tool that can be used by policy makers to identify areas where upgrading will improve the accessibility of public transport in their city. In this way, Mediate will contribute to the provision of better and easier access for all.
The ETCAATS project has two main aims: 1). to develop an online training course in accessible tourism from existing innovative content selected from previous Swedish work and supplemented with other international training materials; and 2). to develop a ‘Road map’ for an EU certification system for the area of accessible tourism vocational training, in line with the European Qualifications Framework. The target groups for the course include employers and personnel in the tourism industry.
The project aims to create new learning packages for on-line delivery, promote ’The Accessible City’ concept and improve the skills, knowledge and awareness of companies and employees associated with the tourism sector.
Participants from 15 Asian-Pacific countries adopted a declaration at a regional United Nations meeting in Japan, laying out 20 recommendations aimed at improving accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Scandic Hotels is a hotel chain which emphasises good access for all its guests in every hotel. This televised report by AXESS TV, Sweden was broadcast by CNN on 10 October 2009.
The Vienna University of Technology is conducting a survey of European architectural education to find out to what extent accessible building design is included in the curricula of architecture courses. Please fill in the on-line questionnaire.
Over 30 of the presentations and speeches given at the 2nd ENAT International Congress in Vienna are now available for downloading. They include keynote addresses, workshop reports and case studies from many countries on a variety of subjects.
In the run-up to the ENAT International Congress in Vienna, the ENAT Board announces its "Code of Good Conduct" commitment label for accessible tourism. Members attending the Congress will be able to sign-up and receive their certificates personally from ENAT President, Lilian Müller, on 1st October.
