Located in the central region of Portugal, Lousã is an area which epitomises the unspoilt beauty of the Serra da Lousã mountain landscape. Following an initiative to host the first National Accessible Tourism Conference in April 2007, Lousã civil society organised a Task Force to plan for the development of Lousã as the first Accessible Tourism Destination in Portugal. The project aims to serve as an example both nationally and internationally. The website which is currently in Portuguese, will be available in English, French and Spanish in due course.
At the beginning of 2008, CenterKontura prepared a one-year experimental development Project called SPIT, which was supported by the Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities.
The "Flag of Towns and Cities for All" offers to municipalities the opportunity to join a growing group of towns and cities that have committed themselves to improve ther public space, their facilities, transport, buildings and services, improving the life quality of their citizens and visitors.
ENAT is putting forward plans to develop a 'Consensus Document' of specifications for accessible transport and tourism services for disabled people. The proposal aims to bring together industry, public authorities, disability NGOs and consumer organisations under the auspices of a CEN Workshop Agreement to identify good practices and agree on a set of basic guidelines. A draft document describing the planned 14-month workshop and how to participate is now available for downloading. Interested organisations are invited to provide their comments on this draft by 30th November 2008.
Physically challenged and elderly persons might soon find it easier to access tourist destinations in India as the Government intends to make them barrier-free for the benefit of this section of tourists. The Indian Tourism Ministry has made it mandatory that all tourist facilities, which are being created with Central Government financial assistance, should be barrier-free, the tourism secretary, Mr Shilabhadra Banerjee, said on 24 October at a Training Workshop for Government managers and engineers.
The British Standards Institute has published "BS EN 15565:2008 Tourism services. Requirements for the provision of professional tourist guide training and qualification programmes".
Following the invitation of the ENAT international Board, travel writer and educator, Dr. Scott Rains has been made a 'Lifetime Honorary Associate Member’ of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).
The Design for All Foundation, based in Barcelona, (Spain) and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ensuring long-term cooperation between the two associations for the promotion of better access for all citizens in Europe.
Today the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has taken up Honorary Associate Membership of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) with Observer status in meetings of the association. In a letter to ENAT, Marina Diotallevi, Chief of the 'Cultural, Social and Ethical Aspects of Tourism' Section at UNWTO expressed how she looks forward to the organisations' renewed cooperation for the promotion of accessible tourism for all.
Two new studies produced by ENAT research staff are now available for download from the ENAT website. The first report, " Rights of Tourists with Disabilities in the European Union Framework" examines the key legislation and the way in which the rights of people with disabilities are being extended and safeguarded. The second report, "Services and Facilities for Accessible Tourism in Europe" presents definitions of accessible tourism, the target public and their specific needs, and an overview of services and facilities that tourism providers can adopt to improve accessibility. Both reports include many examples of good practice drawn from several European countries, illustrating a range of accessible tourism and travel services.
The Disability Directory is intended as guidance for all museums and galleries in improving their services to disabled people. With the wider implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act a legal duty is added to the obligation that in any case exists for all museums and galleries to have appropriate policies and plans in place to ensure access to their collections and services for all.
The title of this report refers to 2010, the year which was set as the end-point of the European Disability Action Plan. The plan was launched in 2003, to combat discrimination and improve the participation of disabled citizens in European society. The report examines European tourism policy developments over the past two decades and argues that new policies are needed to make tourism accessible for all on a much wider scale. This is due to three critical factors: global competition, demographic ageing - with more older and disabled citizens wanting to travel, and
the strengthening of disability rights, which will bring increased demand for accessible tourism services. The report presents new policy objectives and targets, and a 'Road Map' for how accessible tourism policies might be implemented across Europe in the years ahead.
