Co-hosted by the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Rick Hansen Institute, Interdependence 2012 is an international four-day conference and exposition with a focus on creating accessible communities and furthering spinal cord injury (SCI) research for a cure. Abstracts are now invited for presentations in the theme session on "Making Communities Accessible for All". The two sub-themes are "Accessible and Inclusive Tourism" and "UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities".
Scandic, the Sweden-based hotel group, is intensifying its successful focus on improved accessibility. This year, over 100 new disabled rooms will be added to the portfolio and 2012 there will be even more to meet the large and growing demand. More and more companies and organisations seek rooms and conference facilities that are accessible to all.
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.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is convinced that the facilitation of tourist travel by persons with disabilities is a vital element of any responsible and sustainable tourism development policy. Announcing a new tri-lateral agreement with external partners, Fundación ONCE and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the UNWTO aims to provide guidance in this area to policy makers, destinations and tourist enterprises.
London 20 January 2011. The most comprehensive business case for accessible tourism in England launches today. The booklet, entitled ‘At Your Service’, has been created through a joint partnership between the Government’s Accessible Tourism Stakeholder Forum and VisitEngland with the aim of inspiring tourism businesses to improve accessibility for customers in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games & Paralympic Games.
In a first for New Zealand, The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology has created a Research Programme Area in Access Tourism, headed by Sandra Rhodda.
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.
