There are million-dollar strategies to turn B.C. into an accessible tourism destination. Then there is Hugh Tollett, who does it for free. Before Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. won the right to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tollett believed the mountain resort town needed to find a way to be more accommodating of people with disabilities. But now he's concerned that without a bump from the Paralympics, the strong business case for putting resources into accessible tourism collapses and puts his work at risk.
Brian Seaman of Tourism for All UK reports: On Friday the 12th March, ITB Berlin, the largest tourism trade exhibition of its kind, hosted a two hour workshop on accessible tourism. Panellists discussed how Europe is meeting the needs of disabled visitors, followed by in-depth Questions and Answers.
Three West Country businesses have been shortlisted for the first UK tourism award recognising attractions with access for disabled visitors. The new Rough Guide to Accessible Britain Awards named the Totnes Rare Breeds Farm, alongside the South Devon Railway and the Eden Project in Cornwall.
The Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, organized by WHO/Europe and hosted by Italy, (10 - 12 March 2010) focuses on protecting children's health in a changing environment. But an estimated 345 children across Europe will die from an injury during the three day Ministerial Conference and this will happen despite the fact that we know what works to prevent many of these injuries, writes the European Child Safety Alliance.
ENAT joins the world's biggest travel trade show this week at ITB Berlin, where ENAT President Lilian Müller will meet delegates and speak on the subject of Accessible Tourism for All. She is joined by Mr. Mohammed Al-Taranweh, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and other distinguished speakers.
Belgian, Bert van Driel became a wheelchair user in 2007. However, he wanted to remain active. Bert realised that active wheelchair users need to carefully plan any activity. During this process, he noticed that most on-line information is not accurate and outdated. Bert started the non-profit organisation "Access on Wheels" in 2009 as an independent forum by and for wheelchair users.
ENAT Members, Accessible Portugal in partnership with Lousã City Council, won the Portuguese National Stage of this year's European Enterprise Awards on the February 10th 2010.
Margaret Hodge, Member of Parliament and Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Sport launched today a leaflet setting out the advantages for businesses of preparing themselves to welcome both domestic and foreign visitors with access needs at the forthcoming London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
TourismSouthEast in the United Kingdom reviews some of the ways in which businesses can invest to make their facilities and services accessible for all. For relatively small costs it is possible to offer accommodation that is suitable for everybody. The podcast offers tips and advice to help businesses tap into the accessible tourism market, worth some 40 billion pounds a year.
The main aim of the project ITTI is to improve accessibility of tourism services through tailored training for tourism employees on working with disabled and elderly guests, and to increase the competitiveness of tourism facilities and tourism workers on the labour market.
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