Eight cities have been shortlisted for the prestigious European Access City Award 2012. With 114 entries from 23 EU countries, the jurors had a challenging task identifying the finalists.
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".
VisitEngland, the national tourist board, has launched a new version of the Access Statement Online Tool, aimed at helping businesses cater for visitors with access needs. This new version is specifically tailored for pubs and has been created in partnership with the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC. The Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec announces that the organization Kéroul has been granted $50,000 in non-repayable funding for the implementation of its commercialization plan for The Accessible Road for 2011-2012.
Fourteen of Spain’s most prominent tourism businesses have signed their commitment to the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism at the first International Congress on Ethics and Tourism, which was officially closed by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias (Madrid, Spain, 15-16, September).
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.
Showing its commitment to put into effect Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Italian Ministry of Tourism has created a Manifesto promoting Accessible Tourism. ENAT is the first international NGO to support the manifesto.
Accessibility is not just about improving your welcome for customers with a range of access needs, or ticking the right boxes – it simply makes good business sense. Here are 5 tips for improving your business.
Boomers, many of whom came of age holding a protest sign, are joining forces with disability and senior groups to add muscle to the cause of increased accessibility in travel. “They don’t intend to let hip replacements and insulin shots stop them from traveling,” says Rains. “Nor will they be pandered to, stigmatized, or written off.”
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.
A visit to a museum, whether of art, local history or technology, is just as worthwhile for the blind and partially sighted as it is for visitors without visual impairments. In order to make it easier for the blind and partially sighted to visit museums and exhibitions autonomously, the Coordination Unit on Tourism of the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (Reg. Ass.) took the public discussion on this topic into consideration and then proceeded to make the following recommendations at its annual conference in Essen in 2010.
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.
