No matter what season of the year we’re in. Even if they’re brief, holiday periods are much appreciated by everybody, including persons with disabilities. In that sense, service providers in this domain need to be familiar with the concept of accessibility so our communities can enjoy touristic activities on an equal basis with others. This was the message conveyed by the participants of the AccessibleEU Consortium’s hybrid event on harnessing the benefits of inclusive destinations hosted on 23rd January in Madrid (Spain).
“When conceiving tourism in an accessible way, there are many factors to be considered, such as the built environment, mobility and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)”, stated Inmaculada Placencia, Senior Expert in Disability and Inclusion at the European Commission. “This idea has already been taken into consideration in the context of the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030”, she added. In line with this, Igor Stefanovic, Director for Institutional Relations, Partnerships and Advocacy at UN Tourism, pinpointed the relevance of governance and monitoring when it comes to bringing progress in this domain.
The importance of using consistent policymaking was also widely discussed. “Conceiving inclusive touristic destinations requires the presence of proper legislation and funding”, highlighted Teresa Ferreira, from the Department of Tourism Resources at Turismo de Portugal . “At the same time, all stakeholders involved in this process must also be taken into account”, she added. Following that philosophy, Jonathan Gómez, the Head of Malaga’s Tourism Board, explained that people with disabilities in the Spanish city are involved in the development of an accessible tourism strategy. Furthermore, panelists underlined how digital tools can help with providing feedback from tourists with disabilities. “Thanks to Social Media platforms, persons with disabilities can share with us their lived experiences and then, contribute to make touristic experiences more inclusive“, said Stelena Angelova, from Impulsa Igualdad.
Education as an awareness-raising tool
While the feedback from our communities plays a key role in making progress, companies within the tourism industry must also train their staff properly on the principles of accessibility and inclusion. Mateo Estrella, Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism, explained that businesses are open for change in his country. Furthermore, he analysed the added value of employing persons with disabilities so they can contribute with their expertise in that process.
In general, making touristic initiatives more inclusive in line to the principles enshrined in article 30 of the UNCRPD requires a collective effort in a diversity of areas. “As of now, we need to work on areas such as facilities, customer services and information; these are the domains where we need to remove barriers”, highlighted John Sage, from Sage Travelling. Overall, all panelists also agreed on the need to share good practices to bring down those obstacles and foster knowledge exchange so our communities can make the most out of their holidays.