Scandic has become the first hotel chain to gather all its information for guests with special needs in one place. Every hotel’s homepage now provides answers to the 80 most common questions.
The 2nd ENAT International Congress takes place in Vienna on 30th September to 1st October 2009. Book before 30th June, to secure your place, and save 20% on the normal fee. Reduced rates for ENAT Members.
Large sections of the tourism industry are hit by the downturn in consumer spending as the recession spreads through the global economy. Employees in the hotel and restaurant sector of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism unions (EFFAT) call on EU Member States to protect jobs and improve training and infrastructure to renew the sector in the current crisis.
Madame Sudre, Chair of the EP Intergroup on Tourism brought together key players in the tourism sector on 18 February 2009 to review the consequences of the global economic downturn for the European tourism industry. Analyses, prognoses and possible actions were presented by the European Commission, HOTREC, Social Partners and others.
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.
OAKLAND, California - Under a settlement announced on 26th January, Hotels.com and Expedia.com, two of the world's leading online travel companies, have agreed to add features to their online travel reservation systems so that millions of travelers with disabilities can use their online services to search for and reserve hotel rooms that have the accommodations they need.
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.
The UK's Disability Discrimination Act has been in force since 1995, with enforcement measures fully implemented since 2004. This article looks at where we are now as a country offering accessible tourism, what more needs to be done and the opportunities that exist, especially in view of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. It also outlines the role of a new project – Open Britain – being launched in July 2009 by Tourism for All UK and disability charity RADAR.
A study prepared for presentation at ITB Asia, 24 October 2008, Singapore. With the search for new, long-term oriented, equitable and sustainable social and economic systems now robustly under way, the travel & tourism industry is
extremely well placed to prove that it can be a part of the solution. This study is meant to draw attention to the importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia Pacific travel & tourism industry. If travel
& tourism is just as important an economic sector as telecommunications, agriculture and manufacturing, it important to recognise the immense contribution of its SMEs to job creation, foreign exchange earnings and poverty
alleviation, as well as their contribution to creativity and innovation.
The 'Respecting Disabilities and Differences' online training session looks at some of the ways you could make your business more accessible to attract a wider range of visitors. It looks at how accessibility affects everyone today in general, then offers suggestions to help you make the best changes for your business.
Profit through Access is a brand new online training course. Designed for tourism businesses, it will help you to attract a wider range of visitors and improve your profits.
The 18-month CETA Project has been established by ENAT and its partners in the framework of the European Union's programme "...to support initiatives of public and private bodies, or their existing networks, to contribute to enhancing the sustainability and competitiveness of European Tourism especially for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, while allowing for wider economic, social and environmental benefits to be gained.” (European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, Tourism Unit, 2008).
