At MITA International Meeting for Accessible Tourism OF GITANDO.ALL - The basis for the development of accessible tourism and leading European tourism.
(Madrid, Spain, 26 February 2014). The protection of children from all forms of exploitation, the fight against trafficking, anti-poaching and accessible tourism for all are among the work priorities defined by the newly formed World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE). The Committee met at UNWTO headquarters to identify the major challenges facing responsible tourism and define its Action Plan for the coming four years.
The UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism honours tourism initiatives that contribute to advance tourism through knowledge and innovation, in line with the principles of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Under the theme, "Tourism, Culture and Transportation. A Common Strategy at the International Level", the 1st World Summit on Destinations for All will be held in Montreal in October 2014. The Summit aims to establish an international strategy to develop inclusive tourism.
The UNWTO "Recommendations on Accessible Tourism for All” (2013) have been approved and endorsed by the General Assembly. Updated from the 2005 version, the recommendations outline a form of tourism that involves a collaborative process among stakeholders to enable people with access requirements to function independently through universally designed tourism products, services and environments. These recommendations were developed within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2007.
To all who have shown their support to our crowdfunding campaign so far by contributing financially and in many other ways, we say thank you. To the many others who have not done so yet, we ask for your support to get closer to our goal.
On 6 June 2014 the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, Tourism and Cultural Instruments Unit held a conference for tourism stakeholders where the results of three specially commissioned studies on Tourism Accessibility in Europe were presented and discussed by a distinguished panel of tourism practitioners and stakeholders. Speakers' presentations are available for download on this page in PDF format.
AIPD, Italy, in partnership with the National Down Syndrome Ireland and the Associação Portuguesa de Portadores de Trissomia 21, developed three 'easy-reading' guidebooks for visitors to three European capitals: Rome, Dublin and Lisbon.
The project "Development and marketing of accessible facilities and services within the meaning of Tourism for All in Germany" is a collaborative project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economy and Technology of the German Department of Tourism (DSFT) Berlin eV and the National Coordination Office for Tourism for All Association (NatKo).