The signage is inspired by the principles of universal accessibility and has lettering, icons and profiles in relief, highly legible characters, sans serif fonts, color contrasts, intuitive icons, materials that are pleasant to the touch and resistant to atmospheric agents.

In the upper part it takes up the real profiles of the coasts but above all presents simple information in Italian, English, Arbereshe, Hebrew, Arabic and Braille. The Arbereshe language is also present because the Municipality of Campomarino is one of the 4 Molise Municipalities of Albanian origin. It is the first time in the national and international panorama that these characteristics are used and it is truly commendable that the Mayors of the 3 Municipalities, together with the Molise Region and the CEAM (Episcopal Conference of Abruzzo and Molise), have wanted signs that favour centrality in the design of people regardless of their physical, sensorial, personal, cultural, linguistic and religious characteristics. Everyone will therefore be able to use it autonomously and simply by exploring it tactually.

In addition to carrying out the function of facilitating the understanding of places and mobility, it symbolically orientates towards universal dialogue and acceptance according to the principles of our Constitutional Charter and the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

The conception and design of the signs were handled by ITRIA (Intercultural and accessible tourist-religious itineraries) in the persons of Dino Angelaccio and Nunzia Lattanzio who involved an innovative and interesting Molise company from Termoli, the Tecnografica3d by Alessandro Lacerenza, in the realization.

This activity is part of the European project Tourism4All which sees the Molise Region as the leader in the promotion of a network of accessible tourist destinations that encourages seasonal adjustment and promotes social inclusion involving as many as 14 partners, 7 Italians (Molise Region, Veneto, Puglia, Irecoop Veneto, Delta 2000, Coop Sociale ODOS) and 7 Croatians (Croatian camping association, city of Buje and city of Zadar, Gal Brac, Aspira University, Sibenik Tourism Agency and RERA - Dalmatian Development Institute).

It should be emphasized that the Molise Region, together with the Municipality of Castel del Giudice and the Pastoral Care of Tourism, Sport and Leisure Abruzzo-Molise, excellently led by Mario Ialenti, has also started the InterculturalMolise project, experimenting for the first time universal accessibility together with the multiculturalism and interreligious dialogue in the creation of a tourist-cultural product capable of recounting the interaction between Christian, Islamic and Jewish culture and religion through the traces and memory of the immense material and immaterial cultural heritage present in practically all territorial realities.

The 3 Mayors of the Municipalities of Petacciato, Campomarino and Montenero di Bisaccia, the Molise Regional Tourism Councilor Vincenzo Cotugno, ITRIA, Tecnografica3d, S.E. will participate in the presentation event on 27 August. Other speakers include: Mons, De Luca, Bishop of the Diocese of Termoli - Larino, Rabbi Emeritus Umberto Piperno, a representative of the Islamic community and one of the Arbereshe community, Pasquale Di Lena expert in food and wine and Anna Gioria, journalist and blogger expert in accessibility and disability.

Download the Programme in PDF format from the right-hand panel. (English version). 

The language of the event will be Italian.

Further information: Dino Angelaccio, Email: angelacciod@gmail.com

The European Disability Forum invites you to an online discussion on the Web Accessibility Directive, co-organised with Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission.

The Web Accessibility Directive, adopted in 2016, sets 23 September 2020 as the date by which all public sector websites across the EU will have to be accessible for persons with disabilities. So, the online event will mark this important milestone for digital accessibility and participation in the EU.

Key stakeholders will highlight achievements and remaining challenges in terms of practical implementation of web accessibility from different perspectives, including policy makers, Member States, activists, users, academia and accessibility professionals.

Please register through this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8130383120502176781

The programme will become available on the EDF webpage soon. Register now and save your spot (places are limited).

The online event will be public, free-of-charge, and recorded. International sign interpretation and live captioning will be provided.

Contact: Mher Hakobyan (EDF Accessibility Officer) mher.hakobyan@edf-feph.org

Web Accessibility Resources by European Disability Forum

• Web Accessibility Directive transposition toolkit (pdf)
• Web accessibility resources
• W3C/WAI free introduction course to web accessibility

 

Tapooz Travel (Laurent Roffe).

Each video lasts about 30 minutes. 

Watch on YouTube / Facebook.

 

 

12 August 2020. Punsri's latest company, Cloud of Goods, grew to become one of a lead providers of mobility equipment to travelers across the USA. He brings a unique perspective to the business development of a service company dedicated to serving the needs of wheelchair users. Punsri was visiting his family Sri Lanka when the pandemic started. He is still there and describes how well the island nation has coped with the crisis. Punsri and Laurent discuss what the actors in the tourism industry need to do to address the future challenges of accessible travel.

 

29th July 2020.
The country's commitments to biodiversity and ecotourism are well known. As Natalia explains, equating accessibility with sustainability adds another dimension to the attraction of Costa Rica as an accessible destination. As a wheelchair user herself and a champion on the national adaptive surfing team, Natalia brings a unique point of view and passion to her work. She talks about the current challenges and the prospects for the possible reopening of the country on August 1st.

 

24th July 2020
Veroniek talks about the challenges of reopening of the country to tourism in the Covid-19 era and the opportunities for the future of accessible tourism in the region.

 

 

19th July 2020
Turismo acessivel is a leading accessible travel company in the region with destinations in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. The company recently added Portugal and will start to offer trips to the USA in collaboration with Tapooz Travel as soon as it is safe to do so.

 

 

(accessible travel consultant / disability advocate), 6th July 2020.
Global Voices in discussion with Marie-Odile Vincent. One of the best known voices of accessible travel in France and beyond, Marie-Odile talks about the challenges of living in Paris as a wheelchair-user during the pandemic as well as her personal and professional views for the future. Apart from her work as an accessible travel consultant, Marie-Odile is a champion of accessibility rights.

 

Stefano Sghinolfi / Rome and Italy Group (incoming to Italy), 26 June 2020.
We interviewed Stefano Sghinolfi, manager of the Rome and Italy Group about challenges and opportunities for accessible travel in Italy in the era of Covid-19.

 

 

Ingrid Roelofs / VZ travel in the Netherlands (outgoing to multiple Euro destinations)  29th June 2020
Coming from a medical background, Ingrid has developed a great travel model to address the demands of her elderly guests, many with more demanding physical limitations. Matching a traveler with health-care trained traveling companion is only one element of her success. As Europe reopens for tourism, Ingrid is already selling trips to selected destinations with a meticulous attention to safety and well-being.

 

The Spanish Representative Platform for People with Physical Disabilities, PREDIF, and the Region of Valencia Tourist Board will once again be partnering to bring about the 2nd TUR4all Congress on the theme of "Accessibility at Smart Tourism Destinations".

From 9th to 30th November 2020, a total of 20 webinars will be held, highlighting the Autonomous Region of Valencia as an accessible destination and the Smart Tourism Destination (STD) model will be made available to Spain, Europe, and Latin America.

The webinar series is organised with the collaboration of SEGITTUR (Spanish State-Owned Trading Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies), ENAT (European Network for Accessible Tourism), ISTO (International Social Tourism Organisation), the Latin American Inclusive Tourism Magazine and Accessible Portugal. 

Themed sessions on the following topics:

• Accessibility insignias and certificates
• Accessibility management
• Accommodation
• Active tourism
• Complementary tourism services and products
• Cultural and natural heritage sites
• Employment and entrepreneurship
• Inland tourism
• Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) tourism
• New technologies
• Promoting accessibility
• Public transport services
• Restaurants
• Signage and directions in an urban environment
• Sun, sand and sea tourism
• Theatres and shows
• Tourism offices
• Urban tourism
• Workplace inclusivity

Programming

The event will consist of 6 webinars per week, over four weeks, each one lasting 90 minutes.

Webinars start on 9 of November and continue through to 30 November, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

• First webinar: Mon, Wed and Fri from 12:30 to 14:00
• Second webinar: Mon, Wed and Fri from 14:00 to 15:30

Languages

• Spanish subtitles
• Spanish Sign Language Interpreting
• English-Spanish simultaneous translation

Call for Best Practices

If you would like to present best practices or the experience of your destination or business at the congress, simply fill out the form available on www.congreso.tur4all.com and send in your application before 20 September 2020 to congreso@tur4all.com.

Downloads

Download the Congress Announcement (PDF) and Call for Papers form (PDF), in English or Spanish, from the right-hand panel. 

Read more: Full Announcement, Madrid 28 July 2020

The Spanish Representative Platform for People with Physical Disabilities, PREDIF, and the Region of Valencia Tourist Board will once again be partnering to bring about the 2nd TUR4all Congress: Accessibility at Smart Tourism Destinations, resulting from an agreement signed by both entities to promote Accessible Tourism in the region. The event will take place “virtually” given the current health situation and will start on 9 November. The aims of the 2nd TUR4all Congress are primarily to give prominence to the Valencia Region as an accessible destination and to promote the STD model in Spain, Europe, and Latin America.

The concept of a Smart Tourism Destination (STD) is a recent development, but it has become one of the key differentiating factors in such a competitive sector as tourism. Furthermore, it is an opportunity for destinations who aim to get this accreditation to create sites where  technology, people and the surroundings establish and maintain a suitable balance.

For PREDIF, having accessibility as one of the cornerstones of an STD makes complete sense. A tourist destination cannot ignore the needs of people who are their clients and new technologies are the tools that can facilitate a satisfactory and inclusive experience.

The Region of Valencia Tourist Board is a leader in the deployment of the STD Model in Spain. Since 2014,  the Valencian Institute of Tourism Technologies (INVATTUR) has been developing the Valencia Region Smart Tourism Destinations (DTI-CV) project to define the smart tourism destination model, and to set out the strategic guidelines to adapt the Region of Valencia’s tourism innovation system to the development of the STD.

The 2nd edition of the TUR4all International Congress falls within the activities of the DTI-CV network, spearheaded by the accessibility workgroup, which PREDIF is part of, and in which the following destinations are actively involved: Vinarós, La Vila Joiosa and Alcoy.

There will be a total of 20 sessions to promote accessibility best practices of smart tourism destinations across different fields: accessibility management, promoting accessibility, new technologies, signage and directions in an urban environment, accessibility insignias and certificates, public transport services, tourism offices, sun, sand and sea tourism, inland tourism, urban tourism, MICE tourism, active tourism, accommodation, restaurants, complementary tourism services and products, theatres and shows, cultural and natural heritage sites as well as workplace inclusivity and employment and entrepreneurship.

IIf you would like to present best practices or the experience of your destination or business at the congress, simply fill out the form available on www.congreso.tur4all.com and send in your application before 20 September 2020 to congreso@tur4all.com.

An assessment committee made up of international experts in accessibility and tourism will review the examples of best practices put forward by destinations and businesses.

Collaborating in the organisation of the congress are SEGITTUR (Spanish State-Owned Trading Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies), ENAT (European Network for Accessible Tourism), ISTO (International Social Tourism Organisation), the Latin American Inclusive Tourism Magazine and Accessible Portugal.

About PREDIF

PREDIF, the Spanish Representative Platform for People with Physical Disabilities, is a Spanish state approved non-profit organisation that represents, runs programmes and promotes activities on behalf of more than 100,000 people with physical disabilities. It boasts more than 30 years of expertise in this field through its member federations: ASPAYM, COAMIFICOA, ECOM as well as 8 PREDIF regional offices.

PREDIF is presently acknowledged as a benchmark for accessible tourism, chairing the Inclusive Tourism and Leisure Commission of CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities), and its accessibility protocols and criteria have the consensus of the entire disability sector. Similarly, in recent years PREDIF has been developing personal assistance projects, becoming an authority in this field too, in addition to coordinating CERMI’s Personal Assistance and Independent Living Work Group.
 

 

 

 

EU cities are invited to take part in the Access City Award 2021, the EU Prize for cities accessible to persons with disabilities and elderly people.

European cities over 50 000 inhabitants have the opportunity to present their designed actions and strategies to become barrier-free and better places for everyone to live and work.
The selection process will have two stages:

• national juries will evaluate the applications at a national level;
• an EU jury will then assess the shortlisted applications

Video announcement by European Commission
 

Celebrating the 11th Access City Award

This new edition of the Access City Award will take into account the current global situation and a special mention “Accessibility of public services in times of pandemic” will be created to reward cities’ efforts.

For the second year in a row, a financial prize will reward the first, second and third place winners of the competition (please note that special mentions are not entitled to a financial prize).

For full details about how to enter, visit the webpage of the European Commission Access City Award 2021

 

The warmth, enthusiasm, skill and sheer determination of our colleagues - Sylvana, Rona, Haneen, Bachar and all the LUPD team - impressed us so much, creating strong bonds of friendship between us, as well as firm collegial trust.


At this very painful and anxious moment, with multiple crises overwhelming the country, we send our best wishes to all at LUPD and to the Lebanese people.

We hope for the revival of the country’s economy, with peace and safety for the whole Lebanese society. From our particular vantage point, we wish for the revival of tourism - with accessibility for all - and we look forward to promoting Lebanon as a welcoming, accessible destination, with its unique natural and cultural treasures.  

Further information

LUPD is a grassroots organisation built by and for people with disabilities. We believe that we have an important role to play in arriving at our vision of society by working with people with disabilities, a population that has been traditionally marginalised. As such, our specific mission is the following:
• To defend the rights of people with disabilities; more specifically to work towards their access to equal opportunities and a quality life and to ensure that their basic needs (health, education, employment, socio-economic integration, freedom of choice) are fully respected and guaranteed;
• To eradicate marginalisation and gender discrimination from the lives of people with physical disabilities;
• To mobilise people with physical disabilities to speak on their own behalf;
• To promote the spread of a culture of inclusion and right of participation

Read More at: https://www.daleel-madani.org/civil-society-directory/lebanese-union-people-physical-disabilities

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is calling on destinations to recognize the needs of travellers with disabilities or specific access requirements as they open up to visitors again.

In  partnership  with  the  ONCE  Foundation  of  Spain  and  the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the United Nations specialized agency has released new guideline to ensure accessibility and inclusivity as the responsible restart of tourism gets underway.

According to the newest data from UNWTO, 40% of global destinations have now eased restrictions on travel introduced in response to COVID0-19.

Now, with tourism steadily returning, UNWTO has joined disabled people’s organizations and organizations from across civil society to design a basic set of recommendations aimed at maintaining the ethos of “Accessible Tourism for All” in the new reality.

Accessibility means opportunity

These Guidelines, produced in collaboration with ONCE Foundation and ENAT show that simple, thoughtful measures can make a real difference for travellers – and in return, allow destinations to welcome this wide and diverse demographic as they look to recover from COVID-19. 

The “Reopening Tourism for Travellers with Disabilities” guide also notes the opportunities available to destinations that take steps to accommodate the specific needs of persons with disabilities, those with specific access requirements and seniors. This is particularly relevant now since tourism has been among the hardest hit of all major economic sectors, with businesses big and small at risk.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Much progress has been made in making tourism more accessible to all. As we guide the responsible restart of tourism, we must make sure that this progress is not rolled back. Instead, it must be stepped up as it will benefit everyone. These Guidelines, produced in collaboration with ONCE Foundation and ENAT show that simple, thoughtful measures can make a real difference for travellers – and in return, allow destinations to welcome this wide and diverse demographic as they look to recover from COVID-19.”

Fundación ONCE Vice-President, Alberto Durán, underlined: “We are making great efforts to help everyone enjoy travel and tourism. It is fundamental that we use this time of change to sensitize all stakeholders to the need to include persons with disabilities and their families in tourism, leaving no one behind. These clients can help businesses stay afloat in these challenging times, representing opportunities for all."

ENAT President, Anna Grazia Laura stated: “These practical guidelines for curbing the spread of COVID-19, with due regard for accessibility and inclusion within tourism, can contribute to global efforts to reassure all visitors, benefitting tourists, businesses and destinations alike"."

Guidelines for whole of the sector

The Guidelines are a set of basic recommendations addressed at different stakeholders working across the whole of the tourism value chain. All are aimed at helping stakeholders, including accommodation providers, bars, restaurants and tourism offices, adjust to new health and sanitary demands without reducing accessibility.

The recommendations cover four distinct areas:

• Travel Planning and Protocols: Including steps to guarantee seamless travel, and for making relevant information available and accessible to all
• Transportation: Including the importance of upskilling employees, adjusting protocols for passengers with disabilities/access requirements at airports and stations, as well as the provision and hygienic upkeep of mobility equipment
• Accommodation, Bars and Restaurants: Focusing on accessibility to cater for different needs of clients, guaranteeing social distancing, and enhanced hygiene procedures in all tourism-related establishments
• Tourist Activities: Including recommendations to help destinations and attractions adapt existing protocols by taking into account accessibility issues related to queuing, health and safety measures, and new venue capacities.

This Press Release and the full set of recommendations, “Reopening Tourism for Travellers with Disabilities: How to Provide Safety Without Imposing Unnecessary Obstacles” can be downloaded in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

 

 

 

This applies to businesses up to 249 employees (full-time equivalent) and individuals who may be self-employed, students, pensioners, retired or unemployed.  (Any automated requests for payment received in this period can be ignored).

ENAT Members who have already paid their annual fee between 1st January and 30th June 2020 will have their membership extended without charge for one year from their renewal date in 2021. 

New (or returning) SME and Individual members joining ENAT in the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 will have one year's free membership from the date of joining.

Other member categories (Public sector organisations, International bodies and NGOs), are required to pay the Annual Membership Fee as normal.

We hope that this period of free membership will provide a “cushion” for many members against financial difficulties at this time and will allow members to maintain and grow their networking activities with other ENAT members from near and far.

Sign up for ENAT Membership now

Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director, ENAT

 

2 July 2020, 17.00 hours CEST. Online (Zoom Webinar).

Presentation of the results of the European Research Project EDUCA4ALL.

We will learn about the results of the EDUCA4ALL project and enjoy a panel discussion in which experts in University teaching from all over the world share their points of view regarding the implementation of universal accessibility in the curricular contents of the architecture and civil engineering studies in their universities.

To participate, enter HERE and register.

Programme:

17:00h Welcome by Felipe Samarán

17:05h Presentation of the Conference and the EDUCA4ALL Project by Jesús Hernández

17:15h EDUCA4ALL Project: Content objectives and results by Delfín Jiménez

17:30h A success story: Summer course at the UFV by Felipe Samarán

17:45h Discussion Table: Teaching Accessibility in university education
Participants:

• UCL. Educa4all partner and investigator. Nick Tyler
• CRUE. Maribel Campo
• UPM-UNED-UJA Accessibility teacher, Miguel A. Valero
• Pontificia Univ. Javeriana Accessibility teacher, Ricardo Becerra

Moderator: Fundación ONCE - Project coordinator José Luis Borau

19:00h “Barriers or challenges, disabled or champions” Javier Fesser

20:00h Closure of the meeting.  Felipe Samarán

Download the Programme from the right-hand panel in PDF format.

 

Fundación ONCE is a Founding Full Member of ENAT

 

 

SAVE THE DATE: 24.6.2020.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions on travel, the ENAT Annual General Assembly will be held as an Online Meeting on Wednesday 24th June from 10:00 to 12:00 hours, Central Europe Summer Time.

ENAT Full Members will receive an information pack by email, with the Agenda, Background Documents and Draft Decisions (for discussion), in accordance with the new Belgian legislation governing online meetings of non-profit associations.

ENAT Associate Members may also attend the online meeting but have no voting rights. 

Register

 

RESTAT will gather a multidisciplinary partnership consisting of 6 partners from five countries under the lead of Municipality of Tusa and will develop four principal Outputs:

• A Practical Skills and Employment Context Mapping research study (IO1) to identify a set of desirable AT skills most likely to be accumulated on-the-job, plus a set of Prospective Job Mobility Opportunities for professionals with skills in AT. It will establish the compass for successive outputs.
• A Skills Endorsing Tool (IO2) to objectively evaluate, recognize and even classify the level of skills tourism workers have regarding AT through successful completion of a series of testing devices.
• An Upskilling Course (IO3) with 04 Specific Training module of intermediate level, useful for both tourism workers and managers in rendering their services more professional, well-planned, entertaining and tailor-made to different special needs.
• A Career Guidance Tool (IO4) to boost Employability and Job Mobility of Tourism Professionals point them to the most suitable career options basing on both of their validated skills and personal characteristics.

Applying a holistic approach, all four Intellectual Outputs (IO) will be linked to each other in an organic manner, i.e. the development of the next Output shall depend on and continue from the findings and result of the previous one.

IO1 will follow the Delphi method when conducting questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, using a panel of experts and peer-review to allow more converging final answers.

IO2 will use a rich, ample battery of modular tests of various formats using interactive graphics that ensure a front-end, user-friendly experience in order to produce an objective assessment integrable to other skills passports.

IO3 will employ a MOOC-like format, including multiple forms (texts, videos, webinars lectures, virtual groups, exercises, and tests) for each training module.

IO4 will provide an innovative profiling software that combines skills and personality in giving the right career guidance advice. In addition, each output development will strictly follow the EQAVET circle to allow test, revision, and improvement.

Regarding Target groups of participants, RESTAT shall strive to involve the following four groups in both implementation and dissemination activities:

A – Tourism managers and VET providers aspiring to increase services and quality;

B – Tourism workers and professionals (including seasonal ones);

C – Central and Local authorities seeking strategic development options;

D – Employers, job agencies and advocacy groups.

In the long run, RESTAT aims to make AT a vibrant economic sector in smaller towns’ context with the well-prepared workforce to enforce sustainable development, responsible tourism and the social value of equal opportunity.

It also aspires to contribute to Europe’s harmonization schemes for recognizing, validating and better-utilizing workers’ skills and qualifications.

Partners

The Municipality of Tusa, Italy
New Horizons, Italy
ECTE, Greece
Foundation Universitat Jaume I Empresa, Spain
Handy Club Ostrava, Czech Republic
Rogepa, Romania

Further information

RESTAT Website

 

Passenger wearing facemask at airport. (Stock photo)

Brussels, 20 May 2020. The European Tourism Manifesto alliance, the voice of the European travel and tourism sector, has issued the following statement on the European Commission’s guidance on how to safely resume travel and reboot Europe's tourism in 2020 and beyond.

European travel and tourism is one of the ecosystems most affected by the coronavirus crisis. The European Tourism Manifesto alliance welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of a comprehensive package on Tourism and Transport on 13 May 2020 which acknowledges the importance of the travel and tourism sector for the economy and employment in Europe, and it proposes a coordinated approach to the lifting of travel restrictions and safely and gradually re- establishing transportation links and tourism activities.

This package represents a first and important step to facilitate travel in Europe, support the sector’s recovery from this unprecedented crisis and enable a more sustainable tourism ecosystem in the future.

Saving the summer season in Europe

We call on national governments to urgently follow the European Commission’s recommendations to lift travel restrictions in a coordinated way and implement harmonised health and safety protocols. As soon as the health situation allows, it is crucial to restart leisure and business travel in 2020 to save at least part of the summer season and support the millions of livelihoods that depend on our sector.

However, we need a well-coordinated and timely approach across the EU to re-establish effective operations, remove travel barriers and re-build confidence in travel. Unilateral and fragmented measures should be avoided as they would only lead to confusion and disruption for travellers and businesses alike.

WTTC research shows that at least 6.4 million jobs will be impacted across the EU this year if a coordinated approach for the travel and tourism sector is not followed.

Governments should implement harmonised protocols for health and safety that seek to protect all travellers including those from vulnerable groups, senior travellers and people with disabilities or long- term health conditions, as well the workers providing services in travel and tourism.

The alliance remains open to work with the Commission and Member States to ensure that recommendations are turned into concrete actions that are workable and feasible for all players, big and small, and for all leisure and business travellers. In this regard, we commend the commitment already made by several EU governments to coordinate the lifting of border controls and work on a common understanding of health-related standards and procedures as published in a joint statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain on 18 May 2020. We ask governments to carefully reflect before deciding whether all arrivals need to self-isolate and before encouraging domestic tourism only.

Travellers will be deterred from embarking on trips of any kind if a blanket quarantine is imposed when they arrive at the destination of their choice and then again when going back to their original destination. According to a survey carried out by IATA in April 2020, 69% of recent travellers would not consider travelling if it involved a 14-day quarantine period. Quarantine requirements for travellers can be avoided if Member States follow the guidelines proposed by the European Commission.

We welcome the Commission’s proposal to set up a dedicated website with a map combining real- time information related to tourism and we call for its swift launch. Such a website should map information from Member States and stakeholders of the tourism value chain, including detailed and up-to-date information on the situation of the borders of all EU countries (air, land, sea borders), travel restrictions, public health and safety measures, and available tourism services including openings of tourist attractions and events across the EU. This will facilitate business planning as well as travel planning of prospective visitors. However, businesses (especially microenterprises and SMEs) should not be burdened with a requirement to provide more information as they are fighting to survive and those who will open will be subject to additional workload to follow strict health and safety procedures. With the holiday season about to start in a few weeks, this website must be operative as soon as possible, even if with – initially – limited content.

Support Measures for the sector

We welcome the Commission’s proposed financial measures which shall be adapted to the needs of players of all sizes and made available to all types of workers.

The European Commission’s communication acknowledges the sector is in a critical situation and proposes several financial rescue programmes. The Commission and Member States shall make sure that also small businesses (such as microenterprises) can easily access and benefit from this financial support. Moreover, the SURE mechanism should be implemented as soon as possible as workers cannot wait any longer. This instrument must cover all workers, including those with non-standard forms of employment who are so far widely excluded from short-term arrangements or other forms of state wage compensation schemes.

We urge EU,national and regional governments to continue to aid and assist the tourism ecosystem to overcome this crisis and strengthen its resilience in the long run. Support for leisure and business travel must be included in recovery plans and actions of all affected economies. Destinations, businesses, private owners, workers (including students and people with disabilities), entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals need to get through this devastating period and prepare tomorrow’s tourism.

Availability of liquidity remains a big issue. Therefore, further action from the EU and governments including direct grants is fundamental to help them during the recovery phase and after.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control, governments should focus on attracting all types of visitors back, from markets worldwide (including group travel, low-income and disabled travellers), and offering them reassurance that it is safe to explore and visit their destinations. To activate a prompt recovery, it is crucial to reinstate trust and confidence in travelling and rebuild the demand by supporting destinations and tourist attractions, increasing budgets for promotion, marketing and product development purposes, and by supporting public-private partnerships.

We believe that the next step shall be a proposal from the European Commission on a wider economic package for travel and tourism recovery to benefit all workers, including those with non-standard forms of employment, as well as economic operators of all sizes.

Tourism of tomorrow

We applaud the European Commission’s vision to create a sustainable future for the travel and tourism ecosystem, which is in line with our long-established policy priorities.

This crisis creates a downturn, but also an opportunity for change, for a new beginning in tourism across Europe. We shall use this opportunity to create a more resilient and sustainable destination Europe in the future, which is better for our communities and our visitors and all those providing tourism and travel services. This is why the European Tourism Manifesto alliance endorses the Commission’s ambition to strengthen the green and digital transformation of EU tourism and maintain Europe as the world's leading tourism destination in terms of value, quality, sustainability, and innovation.

This new long-term vision is in line with the policy priorities set out by the alliance long before this crisis began - remaining competitive, further digitalisation of the sector, good governance, joint promotion of Europe as a tourist destination, sustainability, improving skills and mutual recognition of qualifications, reducing seasonality and fostering connectivity. We are ready to work with the European Commission to accelerate the transformation to the tourism of tomorrow.

The organisations of the European Tourism Manifesto alliance look forward to continue working with, and supporting the European Commission, in identifying additional measures needed to guarantee a full-speed recovery of the sector from this unprecedented crisis.

We are ready to contribute to the European tourism convention regarding the European tourism of tomorrow and jointly start building a roadmap 2050 towards a sustainable, innovative, and resilient European tourism ecosystem (‘European Agenda for Tourism 2050’).

Tourism is an engine for economic recovery. However, it needs continuous support and strategic policy integration in order to contribute to the recovery and growth of economies. Working together is key to ensure that we have common rules and offer certainty to travellers.

 

 

A collection of Tourism sector News articles, Resources and Comment related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic gathered from the ENAT website and other sources.
ENAT is not responsible for the functioning or contents of external websites referenced on this page.  

Newest items are listed first.

News items

Travel Demand Recovery Dashboard. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a new in-depth data dashboard highlighting the recovery of travel demand across flights, hotels, world regions and tourism segments. The Covid-19 travel demand recovery dashboard also reveals the shifting intentions of travellers through online travel searches.

UNWTO, ONCE Foundation and ENAT Call for The Reopening of Tourism Destinations to Cater for the Needs of People With Disabilities. Download the new Guidelines for tourism businesses.
UNWTO-Fundacion ONCE - ENAT Guideline - Reopening Tourism for Travellers with Disabilities: How to provide safety without imposing unnecessary obstacles.  (PDF 2.30 MB)

COVID-19 Operational Guidance for Accommodation. TravelLife Accommodation Sustainability. (PDF Download) 

Practical information for tourists in the COVID-19 crisis, from Spain's official tourism website.
 

COVID-19 and sustainable tourism: Information resources and links. An evolving database of over 500 resources with insights and ideas, by Dr. Anna Spenceley on WordPress.

30/06/2020 European Council agrees to start lifting travel restrictions for residents of some third countries. The Council today adopted a recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU. Travel restrictions should be lifted for countries listed in the recommendation, with this list being reviewed and, as the case may be, updated every two weeks. Based on the criteria and conditions set out in the recommendation, as from 1 July member states should start lifting the travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries... (list follows - refer to link above).

EU Parliament requests further action to save EU tourism. MEPs call for additional measures to save the EU’s tourism and travel sector and make it future-proof after COVID-19 crisis. The Parliament wants EU support to serve as a tool to guide infrastructure and transport development and tourism towards more sustainable, innovative, resilient and high-quality products and services. The Parliament supports the concept of ‘safe and smart destinations’ to ensure the development of sustainable, responsible and accessible tourism.

Sri Lanka Tourism ready to welcome tourists from 1st Aug 2020 (Originally published, 05/06/2020).

'Re-open EU’, an interactive tool providing the information to confidently plan European travel and holidays, while staying healthy and safe. Lists National information on COVID-19 measures, Travel restrictions, Services and Health and Safety for all EU Member States.   

Greece opens to travellers - Useful information (Greek Travel Pages)


Coronavirus: Commission recommends partial and gradual lifting of travel restrictions to the EU after 30 June, based on common coordinated approach

Fáilte Ireland publishes operational guidelines with industry groups for safe re-opening


Health protocols for tourism businesses in Greece


EU Commission dedicated website on Coronavirus   On jobs and economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

International Labour Organisation issues guidance for safe, healthy, return to work during COVID-19

22/05/2020  Greek Travel Pages. Greek Hotels: Health Protocols for Greek Post-COVID-19 Restart Officially Announced.

European Commission Guidelines Are Paving The Way To Recovery For The European Tourism Sector From The COVID-19 Crisis. The European Tourism Manifesto alliance, the voice of the European travel and tourism sector, has issued the following statement on the European Commission’s guidance on how to safely resume travel and reboot Europe's tourism in 2020 and beyond.

Press release - COVID-19: MEPs to discuss way forward with Commissioners Breton and Gentiloni [European Parliament]. The Internal Market Committee will debate the EU’s exit strategy and the impact of COVID-19 on customs-related initiatives with Commissioners Breton and Gentiloni, respectively. Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Tourism and Transport: Commission's Guidance On How To Safely Resume Travel And Reboot Europe's Tourism In 2020 And Beyond  European Commission Press Release, Brussels, 13 May 2020. Today, the Commission presents a package of guidelines and recommendations to help Member States gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen, after months of lockdown, while respecting necessary health precautions. Includes European Commission documents for downloading. 

Covid-19 And Opoportunities for VR Based Economy Virtual reality-based technologies, using 360-degree videos of tourism destinations viewed on a VR headset can substitute for real trips and help tourists dream or plan for the next vacation. A new survey indicates an opportunity for creating a parallel economy for tourist guides as 360-video content providers.

An Inclusive Tourism Response to COVID-19 for Vulnerable Groups - UNWTO Just as the tourism sector is affected more than others by the current COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable groups within the sector are among the hardest hit. As laid down in the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics, the sector has a duty to promote the rights of the most vulnerable groups such as women, indigenous people and people with disabilities.

"Clean and Safe" stamp by Portugal Tourist Board.Press Release.  At a time when the recovery of the sector is being prepared, tourism enterprises, tourist entertainment companies and travel agencies have the option to request certification as a “Clean & Safe” establishment. Turismo de Portugal has created a stamp of approval to distinguish tourist activities which are compliant with hygiene and cleaning requirements for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and other possible infections, thus reinforcing the tourist’s confidence in the safety of the destination.  

17/03/2020  Tourism Sector Demands Urgent Supportive Measures to Reduce Devastating Impact of COVID-19 The European Tourism Manifesto alliance, the voice of the European travel and tourism sector, has issued the following statement on the implementation of urgent measures to limit the COVID-19 outbreak’s impact on the sector.  

European Commission Coordinated Economic Response To The COVID-19 Outbreak COVID-19, commonly known as the Coronavirus, is a severe public health emergency for citizens, societies and economies. Having spread from China, the pandemic has now provoked infections in all Member States. The European Commission presents the Communication on COVID-19 Virus Response, with a list of measures to contain virus and mitigate effects on businesses, employment and tourism.

Last updated: 26 August 2020

 

 

 

 

Brussels, 17 May 2020. Making PM² project management methodology accessible to the European Network of Accessible Tourism.

Brussels-based non-profit associations, ENAT and PM² Alliance have recently signed an MoU with the aim of sharing expertise and fostering closer relations among their members and partners. 

Over the last 12 years ENAT has built a strong reputation as a “champion” for the development and promotion of better access in the tourism sector for visitors with disabilities and/or other access requirements. Its associates and members include the UN World Tourism Organisation, national and regional tourist boards, tourism enterprises, educational institutions and organisations representing people with disabilities and other advocacy groups. ENAT has carried out numerous projects and studies for the EU Commission and European Parliament, and contributes to education and training for the tourism sector and development of accessible destinations and businesses in Europe and further afield.

The PM² Alliance asbl is an international, not-for-profit organisation with a broad membership across the member States of the EU. Through its activities, the PM² Alliance develops and fosters excellence in Project Management, creates and disseminates knowledge throughout its network for the enhancement of project management mindsets and practices, bringing peers together to exchange on the latest developments and promotes the wide adoption of the European PM² Methodology.

Speaking after signing their new Memorandum of Understanding, ENAT President, Anna Grazia Laura said:

• “We look forward to our cooperation with PM2 ALLIANCE and its members, especially as we develop our management of international projects. Tourism projects are always challenging, given the number and variety of stakeholders involved in this complex domain. We hope to make our outreach more effective and increase the impact of our members’ activities by linking up with this dynamic association of highly skilled PM practitioners.“

PM² Alliance founding member and President Nicos Kourounakis said:

• “The tourism sector plays an important role in the economic and social development of Europe. We can anticipate that many businesses and public bodies will need to make significant adjustments, due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. In our collaboration with ENAT, we hope to make a positive contribution to sustainable and inclusive tourism in the EU Member States and around the globe.”

ENAT is a non-profit association with almost 100 member organisations in five continents, It is the world’s leading network on accessible tourism, providing training and guidance to tourism authorities, businesses and destinations. working with the public sector, the tourism industry and NGOs to ensure accessible and inclusive tourism opportunities for all visitors.

PM² Alliance is an international, not-for-profit organisation with a broad membership across the Member States of the EU. Founded by PM² practitioners, the Alliance brings together individuals from institutions, companies and academia to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges while promoting the wider adoption of the PM² Methodology. As the world’s only society of its kind, the Alliance strengthens the community’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of professional excellence.

 

 

Making the world inclusive one step at the time, thanks to the experience of those people who are already doing it. The Masterclasses provide easy to implement best practices in making places and activities more inclusive. (And the ticket price supports local associations around the world in the field of inclusion).

Visit the Masterclasses Website for full details and registration

Programme

• 13/05/2020 Making a beach accessible for all: "I can" in Southern Apulia Enrica Rollo and Francesco Aprile, Association "2HE - Center for Human Health and Environment", 17:30 h - 19:00 h
• 15/05/2020 Making a travel destination accessible for all: a step by step guide from Flanders - FREE WEBINAR Pieter Ghijsels, Policy Advisor Accessibility, Visit Flanders 11:00 h - 12:30 h
• 22/05/2020 Adaptive outdoors for all: the experience of Making Trax Jezza Williams, Founder and Director, Making Trax 10:00 h - 11:30 h
• 25/05/2020 A truly inclusive museum: the experience of the MET in New York Rebecca McGinnis, Senior Managing Educator, Accessibility The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 16:30 h - 18:00 h
• 29/05/2020 Creating an adaptive ski success story in Andorra Scott Maugham, Adaptive ski and snowboard instructor, Arinsal, Andorra
• 02/06/2020 Accessibility in the hotel sector: the example of Scandic Hotels Magnus Berglund, Accessibility Manager, Scandic Hotels 15:00 h - 16:30 h

A Question and Answer session with the speaker will follow all webinars.

Destination Everywhere is an Associate Member of ENAT

 

 

We would like to know your views and experiences, especially regarding accessibility for people with disabilities and/or other access requirements.

Who can answer the survey?

• Survey for visitors
• Survey for tourism business owners/managers/employees
• Survey for policy-makers or public sector officials connected with the tourism sector.

We will use your insights to make a training programme for professionals and trainees in the tourism sector, helping them to become better at serving tourists who need accessible services, and so, improving their business.

• Your answers will be treated confidentially and will not be passed on to any third party.
• No individuals will be identifiable in the results.
• You may leave your email address at the end of the survey if you wish to stay in touch with the ACCESS-IT project or take part in a follow-up interview or group interview.

The Visitor Survey will take most people less than 10 minutes to complete. 

The Business and Public Sector surveys may take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. 

Choose your survey

Please choose one of the surveys below, according to your background - Visitor, Business owner/employee or Public Official).

Click on your preferred language to start open the survey form.

Visitor surveys:

• English
• български
• Català
• Deutsch
• Español
• Français
• Italiano
• Polskie

Tourism business owners and employees:

• English
• български
• Català
• Deutsch
• Español
• Italiano
• Polskie

Public sector officials:

• English
• български
• Català
• Deutsch
• Español
• Italiano
• Polskie

Thank you for your collaboration. Your participation is really appreciated!

Further information

ACCESS-IT. Innovation for Accessible Tourism in Natural and Rural Areas.
The Access-IT project seeks to address the competence gap on accessible tourism amomg SMEs in the toursm sector by offering a comprehensive training in the fields of accessible tourism, innovation and sustainable development of Natural and Rural Areas.

Funded by the EU ERASMUSplus Programme, Key Action 2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices. KA202 - Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training.
Start: December 2019
Finish: November 2021
Project Coordinator: SPOŁECZNA AKADEMIA NAUK (SAN), Poland.

Read about the ACCESS-IT project on the ENAT Project Page

Visit the ACCESS-IT project website

Follow ACCESS-IT project on Facebook

 

Photo: Using a Virtual Reality headset to experience remote destinations. (Google)

Virtual reality-based technologies, using 360-degree videos of tourism destinations viewed on a VR headset can substitute for real trips and help tourists dream or plan for the next vacation. A new survey indicates an opportunity for creating a parallel economy for tourist guides as 360-video content providers.

Global tourism is a trillion-dollar industry, representing in the order of 7% of global exports and contributing significantly to global gross domestic product (GDP). International arrivals and tourism receipts have been growing at an annual rate of 3 to 5%, outpacing the growth of international trade, and in 2019 exceeded EUR 1.29 billion and EUR1.57 trillion, respectively. The tourism industry is one of the business sectors most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) foresees a decline of international tourism of 60% to 80% compared to last year, amounting to losses of between EUR 840 billion to EUR 1.100 billion in export revenues worldwide, and the World Travel and Tourism Council has warned the pandemic could lead to a loss of 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism industry.

Some of those most affected by this will be small tourism operators and tourist guides.

Under lockdown conditions, tourism destinations and businesses across the world have intensified their efforts to place themselves on the screens of millions of customers, showing the delights of their scenery, attractions and tourism activities that may encourage visitors to their cities and regions, once the crisis subsides.

Restricted to our homes, new technologies can allow us to enjoy ‘virtual tourism’ as a way of substituting real trips – for a while – and to dream or plan for the next vacation.

Virtual reality-based technologies, using 360-degree videos of tourism destinations, viewed on a VR headset, offer the sense of ‘being there’, which undoubtedly stimulates the urge to travel and enjoy new experiences. Moreover, the immersive experience of places enables viewers to gain the confidence to travel by letting them explore and interact with the projected surroundings.

We should not overlook the importance of the human, interpersonal element in virtual tourism, and this is where tourist guides could play a crucial role as ‘360-content-providers’. With their deep knowledge of history, monuments, landscapes, stories and the cultural setting, tourist guides are specialists in communicating with visitors.

We propose that virtual reality-based tourism can provide an alternative or, more likely, an additional revenue stream for tourist guides, working in collaboration with tourism operators, destination managers and tourist boards. This would create a parallel revenue stream not only during this period of tourism decline but also in the long run as an enabler of, and alternative to, traditional tourism.

Tourist guides survey

Funded by Oi2Lab, the technology start-up, Kerckhoffs Ltd, UK, in collaboration with the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), carried out an online survey in order to understand the challenges and interest of tourist guides to take up VR-based tour guiding by becoming 360-degree-video content providers for a global Virtual Tourism platform, ‘Eyemmersive’ (EYEM).

The survey ran for three weeks in the global lockdown period, April-May 2020, and received responses from 64 tourist guides across the globe. 73% of the respondents are registered professional tourist guides from Europe.

Key observations

We found that

• 32.8 % of the registered tourist guides have previous experience of creating videos and documentaries. Interestingly, 93% of the respondents who said that they do not have any previous experience in video production, are willing to take part in training for VR content creation.
• 90% of respondents expressed their interest in taking part in a training programme for VR content creation.
• 95.3% of the respondents can provide tourist guiding in the English language. In second place comes French with 28.1% followed by Spanish (25%).
• Only 13% of the respondents have never heard about VR, and about 22% of the guides have also experienced VR in some form. This suggests that VR is not an entirely new paradigm to tourist guides.
• 73% of the respondents are ready to make a one-time investment if they see an opportunity of having a revenue from VR based tourism.
• Only 23% of the respondents currently have a second job, which means registered tourist guides may be at risk of losing their livelihood due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other situations where tourism is curtailed for a longer period.

VR traveller survey

In a previous survey by Kerckhoffs Ltd. carried out in September 2019, we asked travellers how VR might offer a better experience of travel and tourism.

We examined people's perceptions about experiencing immersive technologies (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Extended Reality) in relation to tourism and found that more than 50% of the respondents would be willing to pay for VR based tourism if it was offered to them.

More than 60% of the respondents would like to have VR based tourism at a cost of less than 5% of the actual travel cost per person, if they travelled to the destination.

Concluding remarks

Traditional tourism can never be replaced by VR based tourism; however, VR based tourism can be an enabler for traditional tourism, particularly post COVID-19 where the tourism industry needs rejuvenation.

VR technologies have been around for some time already but now we see a definite interest and potential for its wider use, and, particularly, for creating a parallel economy for tourist guides.

Consumers currently own 26 million virtual reality headsets globally, according to data from tech consulting firm Omdia (formerly Ovum). Another tech-watcher, Statista has projected a growth in the global sales of VR headsets to private consumers and educational institutions of 250%, with an estimated value of 16 billion US dollars by 2022, indicating that VR is moving steadily into the mainstream consumer market after its initial growth came mainly in the industrial, manufacturing and gaming sectors.

Just as the tourism industry needs to reinvent itself post COVID-19, the VR industry and particularly the VR market also needs a new domain to achieve its expected growth. Hence we predict there will be a great synergy between VR emerging technologies and tourism industry in the coming years.

Related content

Eyemmersive Project on ENAT website

 

 

As more than 25% of the world's population is currently in a prolonged state of "lockdown" due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, UNESCO and the UNWTO Academy have called for educational institutions and training content providers to share their free, online courses with students and teachers who are studying or working from home.

ENAT is pleased to contribute to this initiative by presenting four online courses developed by ENAT experts and project partners in recent years. The courses were developed with the support of the EU ERASMUS+ and Leonardo Lifelong Learning Programmes.

Go direct to course descriptions using internal page links, below:

#ETCAATS - European Training Certificate European Training Certificate Accessible for All in the Tourism Sector

#T-GUIDE - Tourist Guides for People with Learning and Intellectual Difficulties in Europe

#TAD - The Ability Advisor  (Recognised as "Best Practice" by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Commission).

#NEWSCAT - New Skills for Customised Accessible Tourism

The courses are at two levels: Vocational and Educational Training (VET)  for 18 - 30 year olds and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for professionals working in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. (Corresponding to European Qualifications Framework - Levels 4 and 5, Higher Education). 

It should be noted that the courses are not officially registered in EU National Qualifications Frameworks but one course, “T-GUIDE”, is accredited by ENAT in conjunction with FEG - The European Association of Tourist Guide Associations.  

All the on-line courses are designed for self-study (without the need for a tutor), offering assessment through online quizzes at the end of the course modules. Each of the courses would normally be supplemented with face-to-face training offered by ENAT Experts or by Staff of our partner organisations.  

All courses are free of charge.

Internet connection: For best performance you will require a fast internet connection as the course modules include short videos, which may be delivered by external websites. 

NOTE: Where external links are included in the courses, ENAT takes no responsibility for the content or functionality of external websites at the time they are used. 

The four projects listed below have been funded with support from the European Commission.

These online courses reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

ETCAATS - European Training Certificate European Training Certificate Accessible for All in the Tourism Sector

Level / Target trainees: Trainees and professionals in European Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMEs)
Modules: 4
Subject(s): 1. Introduction to Accessible Tourism, 2. Making your business accessible, 3. Understanding your customers, 4. Improving your facilities
Content last updated: 2018.
Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes plus quiz time  
Media: reading webpages, reading PDF downloads and watching on-line videos.
Certificate: Online certificate from ENAT, after successful completion of quizzes.   

Project Home page: https://www.etcaats.eu/

e-Learning course: http://www.accesstraining.eu/?i=accessibility-training.en.etcaats-course

Language: English

Info: Requires Initial registration at AccessTraining Website, with name and email address.
Developed with the support of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme "Leonardo da Vinci”.
Course Manager and support: ENAT asbl. www.accessibletourism.org
Technical partner: EWORX S.A. www.eworx.gr

T-GUIDE - Tourist Guides for People with Learning and Intellectual Difficulties in Europe

Level / Target trainees: Continuing Professional Development course for Professional Tourist Guides. (Uncertified Tourist Guides may also take the e-Learning course).  
Modules: 6
Subjects: 1. Introduction, 2. The Accessible Tourism Market, 3. Understanding disability, 4. Preparing for a tour, 5. On the tour, 6. Evaluation
Content last updated: 2018.
Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes plus quiz time. (Supplemented with 2-day Face-to-Face Training plus Self-Study Project and Portfolio submission).  
Media: reading webpages, reading PDF downloads and watching on-line videos.
Certificate: Certificate from ENAT-FEG, after successful completion of on-line and face-to-face training (No online certificate).    

Project Home page: https://www.t-guide.eu/

e-Learning course: http://www.accesstraining.eu/?i=t-guide.en.home

Language: English

Info: Requires initial registration at AccessTraining Website, with name and email address.
Developed with the support of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme "Leonardo da Vinci”.
Course Manager and support: ENAT asbl. www.accessibletourism.org in collaboration with FEG https://www.feg-touristguides.com/
Technical partner: EWORX S.A. www.eworx.gr

TAD - The Ability Advisor

Level / Target trainees: Vocational and Educational Training / Higher Education. Students seeking a supplementary qualification as “Ability Advisor"  
Modules: 6
Subjects: 1. Introduction to Accessible Tourism, 2. Access requirements of tourists…, 3. Customer Service, 4. How to Measure Accessibility…, 5. Accessibility of information…,
6. The Ability Advisor Role.  
Release date: 2019.
Time:  20 hours e-Learning, (Supplemented with Face-to-Face learning 40 hours, plus 20 hours Work-Based Learning)
Media: reading webpages, reading PDF downloads and watching on-line videos.
Certificate: Online Certificate from TAD, after completion of on-line training and passing quizzes.  

Project Home page: http://abilityadvisor.eu/about/

e-Learning course: https://learning.abilityadvisor.eu/

Languages: English, Lithuanian, Italian, Portuguese

Info: Requires initial registration at Learning.AbilityAdvisor Website, with name and email address.
Developed with the support of the European Union Programme, “ERASMUS-plus".
Course Manager and support: Panevezys Vocational Training Centre, Lithuania. http://www.paneveziodrmc.lt/
Technical partner: Panevezys Vocational Training Centre, Lithuania. http://www.paneveziodrmc.lt/

NEWSCAT - New Skills for Customised Accessible Tourism

Level / Target trainees: Vocational and Educational Training / Higher Education. Students seeking a supplementary qualification as “Customised Accessible Tourism Assistant"    
Modules: 3 plus Best Practices
Subjects: 1. Introduction, 2. Catering for tourists with disabilities, 3. Basic tools for the customized accessible tourism assistant, 4. Best Practices.
Release date: 2019.
Time:  Self-learning, open-ended.  
Media: reading webpages, reading PDF downloads and watching on-line videos.
Certificate: Certificate from NEWSCAT, after successful completion of on-line training.  

Project Home page: https://www.easpd.eu/en/content/newscat

e-Learning course: Register at https://dlot.eu and go to NEWSCAT https://dlot.eu/course/index.php?categoryid=19
Info: Requires initial registration at dlot.eu Website, with name and email address.
Developed with the support of the European Union Programme, “ERASMUS-plus".
Course Manager and support: Fundacion EMPLEA www.fundacionemplea.org
Technical partner: EASPD https://www.easpd.eu/

For additional "Self-Study" Reading Materials on Accessible Tourism in several languages, visit our other projects at:

• ENAT Projects and Good Practices.
• ELEVATOR Project Library

The ENAT Training Courses, above, are also listed on the website of UN World Toursm Organisation Academy: 

• UNWTO Academy - Partners' Online Training

ENAT Projects Portal

This page gives access to information and websites about ongoing or completed projects managed by ENAT or where ENAT is a partner.

Go to list of current ENAT projects.

Go to list of past ENAT projects.

Go to list of more Projects and Good Practices (not only ENAT projects)

New Proposals

If your organisation is preparing a European or transnational project proposal in the field of accessible tourism, you might like to consider including ENAT as a partner.

ENAT can bring European added-value to your proposal with:

• The ENAT multi-stakeholder, international members' network
• Experts and knowledge of good practices on a wide range of subjects
• Dissemination throughout the project life-cycle via the ENAT website or a dedicated project website
• Event organisation
• Evaluation, research, studies, surveys
• Proposal design: preparation, writing and editing. 

Download the ENAT Company Profile. (May 2019) PDF document, 185 Kb. 

For enquiries about partnering with ENAT, please use our Contact Page

 Current ENAT Projects

INVITE project funding scheme for SMEs, the Eyemmersive (EYEM) pilot project proposes to create a Digital Market Place for Immersive Tourism based on VR technologies. The service concept will provide a new source of income for professional tourist guides in destinations around the globe, delivering Eyemmersive™ local tourism content to extend the reach of tourism operators and provide a promotional opportunity towards independent travellers.

Start: April 2020
Finish: May/June 2020
Project Coordinator: Kerckhoffs Ltd, UK
Project page on ENAT website
Eyemmersive webpage

[logo pending]   INTOUR. INclusive TOURism Professions. European Curricula For Accessible Tourism Manager And Frontline Staff. The IN-TOUR project is financed unde the EU ERASMUS+ framework for cooperation in education and training ET 2020 and will focus on “graduates VET” for the Inclusive Tourism Manager profile (ITM) and “undergraduates VET” for the Inclusive Tourism Frontline Staff (ITFS), involving 3 Universities providing VET.

Start: January 2020
Finish: December 2022
Project Coordinator: Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla Onlus, Italy
Project Page on ENAT website
INTOUR Project Website (coming soon)

ACCESS-IT. Innovation for Accessible Tourism in Natural and Rural Areas. The Access-IT project seeks to address the competence gap on accessible tourism amomg SMEs in the toursm sector by offering a comprehensive training in the fields of accessible tourism, innovation and sustainable development of Natural and Rural Areas. Funded by the EU ERASMUSplus Programme, Key Action 2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices. KA202 - Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training.
Start: December 2019
Finish: November 2021
Project Coordinator: SPOŁECZNA AKADEMIA NAUK (SAN), Poland.
Project page on ENAT website
ACCESS-IT Project website http://accessitpro.eu/

IMPACTOUR. The main ambition of the IMPACTOUR project is to create an innovative and easy-to-use methodology and tool to measure and assess the impact of Cultural Tourism (CT) on European economic and social development and to improve Europe’s policies and practices on CT, strengthening its role as a sustainable driving force in the growth and economic development of European regions.
Start: January 2020
Finish: December 2022
Project Coordinator: UNINOVA, Portugal.
Project page on ENAT website
Project Website IMPACTOUR 

Games Without Barriers. A project focused on vocational and educational training on accessible tourism related to the catering and hospitality sector, in particular.
Start: December 2019
Finish: May 2022
Project Coordinator: INCIPIT, Italy.
Project page on ENAT website
Project Website Games Without Barriers

 Past ENAT Projects

The Ability Advisor - TAD. TAD is a project funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme under Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, (KA202 Strategic Partnerships for Vocational Education and Training), addressing accessible tourism. The project aims to contribute to making Europe a truly accessible destination for all visitors by training professionals in the tourism and hospitality sector through a work-based learning approach, looking at the issue from a new point of view.
Start: September 2017
Finish: December 2019
Project Coordinator: Public institution Panevezys Labour Market Training Centre - Lithuania.
Project page on ENAT website
Project Website TAD The Ability Advisor
TAD e-Learning course Website

Rare & Roll: Access China and Culture. The project, wholly financed by a grant from the Booking Cares Fund awarded to Ms. Xun Ji, a young disabled Chinese woman, will provide accessible tourism information services and cultural experience opportunities for both Chinese and foreign travellers with particular access needs, while at the same time engaging professionals in the travel industry, preparing them for the new caring economy.   
Start: May 2018
Finish: August 2019
Project Coordinators: Rare & Roll and ENAT
Project page on ENAT Website

Project Page Rare and Roll (in Chinese)

Newscat: New Skills for Customized Accessible Tourism. The project will provide tools and methodologies to improve the skills and competences of tourist guides and other professionnals in the tourist sector to deal with new demands and requirements of clients,  clients with specific access requirements, such as people with disabilities and seniors.
Start: September 2016
Finish: July 2019
Project page on ENAT website
Project Website at EASPD

Tourism for All in Lebanon: a new approach towards an inclusive socio-economic development for persons with disabilities. Europe Aid funded project under the Lebanese Government AFKAR III Programme, 'Reinforcing human rights and democracy in Lebanon - Active citizenship'. 
Start: July 2016
Finish: June 2018 (extended to October 2018)
Project Coordinator: Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union (LPHU)
Website: Lebanon Tourism 4 All

Access Angels aims to train youth volunteers to act as assistants to visitors with access requirements in rural areas in Europe.
Start: October 2016
Finish: September 2018
Project page on ENAT website
Project Website not active

 

ELEVATOR - Efficient movement to the higher quality staff and services in tourism for all. The project focuses on adult education and business development (business competencies) in the field of accessible tourism for all. The name of the project "Elevator“ represents the effort to raise the quality of human resources and services in tourism to a higher, more competitive level.

Project Coordinator: Kazuist, spol. s r.o. Czech Republic
Start: September 2015
Finish: August 2018
Project Website

Pantou.org The European Accessible Tourism Directory

The Pantou Accessible Tourism Directory was established initially as a data collection tool for a European Commission study of the supply of accessible tourism in Europe in 2014. It lists tourism suppliers who are able to offer accessible tourism services to customers with specific access requirements, including older persons, people with disabilities, families with young children and those who have a long-term health condition. Since the end of March, 2017 the Pantou Directory has been opened up to include accessible tourism suppliers based in any country - not only those located in Europe. Suppliers may register free of charge at https://pantou.org/register

Project Management: EWORX S.A., ENAT, VVA
Project Start: November 2013 to 2014. Second phase: December 2015 to March 2017. Third phase: (ENAT and EWORX), April 2017 - continuing.
Project Summary on ENAT Website
Pantou website: https://pantou.org

Transport and Tourism for Persons with Disabilities and Persons with Reduced Mobility. The scope of the study includes the state of play of accessibility in EU Member States of both transport services (local and long-distance) and tourist destinations for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility (PRMs). Commissioned by the European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies DG Internal Policies, Directorate B, carried out by CERTH (Greece) with sub-contractors: European Disability Forum (EDF) and European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).
Start: September 2017
Finish: February 2018
Project Coordinator/Contractor: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas / Hellenic Institute of Transport  - CERTH,  (Greece)
Project page on ENAT website

. (Project A.L.L.) The project is about creating and promoting a transnational accessible tourist product based on a common European heritage represented by the Lombards (or Longobards) who, in their migration from northern to southern Europe, played a major role in the spiritual and cultural development of Europe in its transition between Classicism and the Middle Ages.
Project Coordinator: Incipit Consulting Società Cooperativa (Italy)
Start: July 2016
Finish: January 2018
Project page on ENAT website
Project website

(Project ATTIMO). Project ATTIMO combines the idea of outdoor activities for all and cultural heritage tourism. Its main aim is developing cultural and leisure itineraries, focusing on accessibility and intermodality, building on an existing tourism offer in the area of Berici Hills, Italy and South and West Styria, Austria, combining outdoor trails and cycle routes.
Project Coordinator: TANDEM, Società cooperativa sociale integrate (ITALY)
Start: June 2016
Finish: December 2017
Project Page on ENAT website
Project website

APP TOUR YOU APP TOUR YOU (www.apptouryou.eu) is a European project funded by the Erasmus plus programme, strategic partnerships for Vocational and Educational Training (VET). It experiments with new models of training on accessible tourism and information targeted to SMEs and entrepreneurs in the field of tourism.
Project Coordinator: Tandem, Italy
Start: November 2015
Finish: September 2017
Project page on ENAT website

Project website

BRENDAIT. "Building a Regional Network for the Development of Accessible and Inclusive Tourism". The BRENDAIT Project is the conception and application of a pilot methodology to dynamize the transformation of a territory into an accessible and inclusive tourist destination.
Project Coordinator: PERFIL, Portugal
Start: September 2015
Finish: March 2017
Project page on ENAT Website

Europe Without Barriers: Accessible Tourism Itineraries & Training (EWB). The general objective of the EWB project is to create a network of entities able to promote and sell tour packages accessible to everyone. All services will be provided in a context where needs of people with special requirements should be attended to and resolved.

T-GuIDE is an initiative of nine organisations supported by the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme, ”Leonardo Da Vinci”. The initiative addresses two of today’s major societal challenges in Europe: to increase opportunities in the job market and to increase social inclusion. The aim is to produce an EU training model and Manual for training Tourist Guides in guiding people who have learning difficulties or other intellectual impairments.

Project Manager: Akademy Nauk, Poland.
Project Duration: November 2012 to April 2015.
Project Summary on ENAT Website
T-GuIDE Project Website

EU Study: Mapping and Performance Check of the Supply of Accessible Tourism Services in Europe.

This study, which started in February 2013, involved interviews with key stakeholders, desk research and surveys to identify "best practices" across the supply chains. In addition, a new European “Tourism for All online Register” service, Pantou.org was set up, enabling tourism suppliers to present their accessible accommodation, venues, attractions and services.

Project Duration: February 2013 to March 2015.
Link to: Project Summary and Reports on ENAT Website
Link to: Study Report and Annexes
Link to: 15 Case Studies of Accessible Tourism Destinations 
 

EU Study: Mapping the Skills and Training Needs to Improve Accessible Tourism Services in Europe.

The 12-month study, which started in February 2013, mapped the staff skills needs to improve accessibility and safety in the tourism services and analysed the availability of corresponding training in EU Member States as well as transferable training curricula and courses from other regions of the world.

Project Duration: February 2013 to January 2014.
Project Summary on ENAT Website
Report, June 2014.
20 Case Studies of Accessible Tourism Training

Financed by the European Commission and project partners, the ITA project will contribute to developing a new direction in the tourism sphere in Georgia. It aims to benefit, in particular, persons with disabilities and elderly citizens and contribute to the economic development of Georgia by involving directly civil society organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises and public sector bodies in training, development and dissemination activities.

Project Manager: NGO PARSA. Tbilisi, Georgia. Partner: ENAT
Project Duration: November 2012 to October 2013. (Extension to January 2014).
Project Summary on ENAT Website
 

eAccess+ Thematic Network

eAccess+ is a thematic network funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme, ICT PSP third call for proposals 2009:CIP-ICT-PSP-2009-3 Project Number: 250568.
The eAccess+ network aims to bridge the widening gap between the potential of ICT/AT and eAccessibility for people with disabilities and the ageing population on the one hand and the actual implementation of eAccessibility on the other hand.
eAccess+ is driven by 25 core members, coming from all over Europe. It is their task to involve all stakeholder groups at national level and to expand the network by recruiting a group of so called “Associated Partners”.

Lead Partner: University of Linz, Austria
Project duration: 2010 to 2013.
Project summary on ENAT Website
Project Home page: (Closed)

STEEP - Social Tourism European Exchanges Platform

The STEEP project aims at creating and developing a web‐based platform as a mechanism intended to facilitate transnational tourism particularly during the low season, and within the different Calypso target groups. It also aims to increase the competitiveness of tourism SME’s by facilitating business opportunities between intermediaries acting on behalf of clients.

Lead Partner: International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO-OITS)
Project Duration: 1 April 2012 to 31 July 2013.
Project Summary on ENAT website
Project website: www.eCalypso.eu

Lead Partner: Vellinge Kommune, Sweden
Project duration: 2009 to 2011
Project page on ENAT website
Project Home page: http://www.etcaats.eu
ETCAATS E-Learning course: http://www.accesstraining.eu

ATHENA - "Accessible Tourism – Humans, Education, New Approaches”
Lead Partner: KAZUIST, spol.s.r.o., Czech Republic
Project duration: 2009 to 2011

Project link on ENAT website
Project Home page: (Closed)

Lead partner: ŠENT Slovenian Association for Mental Health, Slovenia
Project duration: 2009 to 2011
Project page on ENAT website
Project Home page: (Closed)

CETA - "Competitiveness for European Tourism for All"
Lead Partner: ENAT, Belgium
Project duration: 2009 to 2010

Project page on ENAT website
Project Home page: (Closed)

More Projects

To view more projects, visit the section, Projects and Good Practices

Seagulls and blue sky

Rome, 31st July 2020.

Dear Friends,

At the end of June, for the first time in 12 years, we held our Annual General Assembly (AGA) online.

We were all still haunted by the COVID 19 and the safety rules of many countries did not allow us to travel and to meet, as usual, in Brussels.

In June it was possible to examine some of the problems that the pandemic has created to the economic structure of almost all the countries in the world with more realistic data. The shutdown of companies and commercial activities has created unexpected economic problems to employers, who risk not to open their activity again and to workers who, in a large majority, have lost or might lose their jobs. The tourism sector has thus been hit with a tremendous force.

This fact, combined with a general feeling of fear for possible additional outbreaks of COVID infection and the strict rules for social distancing, will discourage tourists from starting to travel again soon.

Consequently, in consideration of the difficulties that our Members are facing due to the pandemic influence on tourism activities, we presented the AGA with the proposal to waive some of the membership fees for the current year. This facility will be available for small and medium-sized private companies, self-employed and individual members only.

I am proud to say that the proposal was unanimously approved and the procedures to take advantage of this provision are clearly described on our website.

We hope to have contributed to encourage our members and continue to design and develop new tourism opportunities for all.

We hope that this opportunity will also attract new members who might then approach our network for the first time and feel confident to be part of our initiatives in the future.

To better serve our members and potential new members, we decided to set up an Online Community Website, which is currently under development by EWORX S.A. our Greek Founding Member. The ENAT Community website will allow all members to interact in a dynamic way, establishing, for example, regional groups or thematic groups to support regional member activities, foster new projects and share new ideas and insights. We will be informing all our members and stakeholders about this new development this autumn and hope that this Community will help to take ENAT to the global level we aspire to.

Fostering Tourism for all is also a goal in our Strategic Plan 2020-2024, which outlines the priorities that the Network has to address in the next five years. The Strategic Plan is a major commitment for all of us. Through different initiatives we will shape our future to be increasingly responsive to the requirements of our network and adaptive to external demands. The full text of our Strategic Plan will be published soon on the ENAT website.

We still have challenges in front of us due to the social and health situation. I am, however, confident that we will be able to face the near future with an open mind and identify the most promising opportunities to start working together again with confidence and reciprocal trust.
Anna Grazia Laura.

Download the President's July 2020 message in PDF format

The ENAT Newsletter was first produced as a series of PDF documents, for downloading, during 2007.

We now send out an E-Bulletin to members and subscribers. It is free of charge and goes out to all those who are interested in the latest developments in Accessible Tourism. 

ENAT Members receive additional exclusive bulletins and news items. 

Sign up at this webpage to receive the ENAT E-Bulletin.

Archived e-Bulletins and Newsletters

ENAT e-Bulletin 86. 26 August 2020. COVID-19, News and Events. Sent to 1430 subscribers

ENAT e-Bulletin 85. 1 July 2020. Membership Fees Waived. Sent to 1422 e-Bulletin subscribers

ENAT e-Bulletin 84. 17 June 2020. Annual General Assembly Call and News Sent to 1430 e-Bulletin subscribers.

ENAT e-Bulletin 83, 16 May 2020. News, COVID-19 Measures in Europe, Project News, Webinars. Sent to 1419 e-Bulletin Subscribers.

ENAT e-Bulletin 82. 6 April 2020. News, New Projects and Events (under Covid-19 lockdown). Sent to 1449 e-Bulletin Subscribers.

ENAT e-Bulletin 81, 21 January 2020. ENAT President's Message, News and Events. Sent to 1445 ENAT e-Bulletin Subscribers.

ENAT Announcement, 25 November 2019. Invitation to International Congress on Accessible Cruise Destinations, Valencia, Spain. Sent to all ENAT e-Bulletin subscribers. 

ENAT Announcement: 13 November 2019. TAD Project Accessible Tourism Training Conference, Brussels. Sent to all ENAT e-Bulletin subscribers.

ENAT - e-Bulletin 80, 21 October 2019. News and Events. Welcome to Málaga!

ENAT - e-Bulletin 79, 29 July 2019, News and Events, NEWSCAT training project results, EU Access City Awards and more

ENAT - e-Bulletin 78, 21 June 2019, News, Events, Accessible Destinations UNWTO, Zero Project, NEWSCAT Final Conference, ENAT AGA  

ENAT - e-Bulletin 77, 6 May 2019, News, Events, new Video and Member Services

ENAT - EXTRA e-Bulletin, 18 December 2018. New Membership Fees in 2019

ENAT e-Bulletin 76, 17 December 2018. News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 75, 30 September 2018. News, Resources and Events

15 June 2018. Invitation to Launch Event: World Tourism for All Quality Programme

ENAT e-Bulletin 74, 26 May 2018 - News and Announcement of Annual General Assembly and Launch of the new 'ENAT World Tourism for All Quality Programme, Brussels 26 June 2018

ENAT Subscriber Consent Alert, 1 May 2018 - GDPR Notice to recipients of ENAT e-Bulletin emails

ENAT e-Bulletin 73, 29 January 2018 News, Events and Articles.

ENAT e-Bulletin 72, 30 September 2017 - ATTIMO Accessible Culinary and Cultural Itineraries Conference, Vicenza, 6 October 2017

ENAT e-Bulletin 71, 30 August 2017 News and Events.

ENAT e-Bulletin 70, 21 June 2017 ENAT Annual General Assembly documents available (for Full Members only)

ENAT e-Bulletin 69, 14 June 2017 (Reminder) Announcement of ENAT AGA

ENAT e-Bulletin 68, 2 June 2017. Announcement of ENAT Annual General Assembly to Full and Honorary Members.

ENAT e-Bulletin 67, 2 June 2017. Accessible Tourism News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 66, January 2017. Announcement: APP TOUR YOU Accessible Tourism Training MOOC  (Correction)

ENAT e-Bulletin 65, 19 July 2016. Accessible Tourism Events, Announcements, Projects and Pantou

ENAT e-Bulletin 64, 8 June 2016. ENAT Documents for Annual General Assembly, 15th June 2016

ENAT e-Bulletin 63, 24 May 2016. Announcement Full & Honorary Members AGA 15th June 2016

ENAT e-Bulletin 62, 26 February 2016. Announcements, Events, New NTO Learning Group

ENAT e-Bulletin 61, 27 January 2016. Lonely Planet (Free) Accessibility Guide, News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 60, 11 January 2016. Accessible Tourism Membership Payments and Sponsors News

ENAT e-Bulletin 59, 23 December 2015 Accessible Tourism Season's Greetings and Event Announcement

ENAT e-Bulletin 58, 3 December 2015 Accessible Tourism News, Projects and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 57, 9 November 2015 Accessible Tourism News, Projects and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 56, 14 September 2015 Madrid International Congress and other Accessible Tourism News.

ENAT e-Bulletin 55. 27/7/2015. ENAT's new agreement with Lonely Planet... & other news

ENAT e-Bulletin 54. 20/5/2015. Members' download: ENAT Annual Report 2014 (draft). Downloading is restricted to ENAT Members only via login page. 

ENAT e-Bulletin 53. 13/5/2015 Reports, News and Events.  Includes Scott Rains fund-raiser information and EU Accessible Tourism Supply Study Reports announcement.

ENAT e-Bulletin 52. 2/2/2015 News, New Projects and Announcement of V. International Congress on Tourism for All, Madrid, 2015

ENAT e-Bulletin 51. 23/1/2015 News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 50. 24/12/2014. Season's Greetings & Review 2014-15 from Anna Grazia Laura, President

ENAT e-Bulletin 49. 10/11/2014. Accessible Tourism News & Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 48. 22/9/2014. European Accessible Tourism - News, Events, Research...

ENAT e-Bulletin 47. 28/8/2014. European Accessible Tourism - news, events, publications...

ENAT e-Bulletin 46. 12/6/2014. European Accessible Tourism - news, research publications and awards

ENAT e-Bulletin 45. 6/6/2014. Accessible Tourism Conference, Brussels, 6 June 2014 Live-Streaming

ENAT e-Bulletin 44. 6/5/2014. EU Conference "Mind the Accessibility Gap" - Register Now!

ENAT e-Bulletin 43. 25/3/2014. EU Tourism Funding Information Day

ENAT e-Bulletin 42. 10/1/2014. Accessible Tourism News and Events (plus Pantou Press Release and Suppliers' Survey)

ENAT e-Bulletin 41. 24/12/2013. Christmas Greetings from President Anna Grazia Laura.

ENAT e-Bulletin 40. 20/9/2013. Accessible Tourism News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin 26/8/2013. Please answer the Customer or Supplier Survey on Accessible Tourism in Europe (for EU Supply Study)

ENAT e-Bulletin 38, 6/5/2013. Accessible Tourism news and events.

ENAT Bulletin 37. 11/3/2013 International Tourism for All Congress Announcement

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 36 19/2/2013 STEEP Online Survey - travel information needs of disabled visitors

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 35 Accessible Tourism 21/12/2012 Recent News articles and more (New format)!

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 34 Accessible Tourism 23/10/2012  Presents ENAT's array of digital communication tools plus recent News, Events and Articles.

ENAT e- Bulletin no. 33 - was a brief reminder about the High-Level Seminar announced in e-Bulletin no. 32.

ENAT e-Bulletin no 32 Accessible Tourism 29/05/2012   High-level Seminar, Milano, Italy announcement

ENAT e-Bulletin no 31 Accessible Tourism 21/05/2012

ENAT e-Bulletin no 30 Accessible Tourism 7/05/2012

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 29 Accessible Tourism 15/03/2012

ENAT e-Bulletin no.28. Accessible Tourism 17/02/2012

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 27. Accessible Tourism 27/09/2011

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 26 11/07/2011 - with latest News and Events

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 25 14/4/2011 - with a round-up of latest News, Events and Forum items

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 24 20/1/2011 - with a round-up of latest News, Events and Forum items

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 23 18/11/2010 - with latest Events, News and Forum items

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 22 27/8/2010 - with Members' notices, News, Forums and Events items

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 21. 29/7/2010 - on the European Access City Award, ENATCode of Good Conduct, Events in Finland and Italy...

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 20. 25/6/2010 - Theme: "Accessible Cities".

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 19. 20/5/2010 - with events information and news from Sweden, Spain, Italy, UK and Portugal.

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 18 18/3/2010 - with news and events from Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Belgium...

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 17. 20/1/2010  - with news from Canada, UK, USA, Germany, Spain, Belgium, "Ruhr 2010: Cultural Capital of Europe"...

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 16. 14/12/2009 -  With news from VisitEngland, UN, Catalunya Tourist Board...

ENAT e-Bulletin no.15 - (Not available here - for Members Only)

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 14. 3/11/2009

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 13. 28/9/2009

ENAT e-Bulletin no. 12. 12/9/2009

e-Bulletins nos. 3 to 11 were distributed as 'hand-crafted' emails. They cannot be accessed from this webpage.  

You may download copies of the Newsletters 1 and 2 via the links, below.

ENAT's on-line Resource Centre provides links to documents and links collected mainly by researchers and specialists in Accessible Tourism from European countries. Resources also include material submitted by ENAT Members and correspondents from around the world. 

ENAT Members may view and download all the resources shown in these pages. 

Visitors to the website who are not members of ENAT may view and download only a selection of the items.

Please link back to our site for attribution.

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ENAT E-Bulletin (Newsletter)

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ENAT Resource Centre - visit these sections

General Information

ENAT is a non-profit association, registered in Belgium. According to the terms of the Belgian legislation there are two membership categories: “Associate Members” (membres adhérents) and “Full Members” (membres effectifs). 

The members must be physical persons or legal entities. By registering with ENAT, members show they agree with the aims, objectives and purposes of the association, as described in the ENAT Statutes.

New members are accepted as an Associate Member. 

Associate Members who wish to become Full Members must apply by letter to the ENAT Board, as described in the section, below: Full Members

General Conditions of Membership:

The following general conditions apply to all new applicants and renewing members:

• Registration is made via the on-line form at https://enat.eu/user/register
• After registration and activation of your account, please download your PDF Invoice from the Members' Area (Subscriptions) and pay the fee.
• New Associate Members should provide appropriate documentation by Email to members@enat.eu in order for ENAT to verify their status and ensure the correct fee to be paid.
• ENAT membership is open to businesses and organisations of all sizes.
• Individuals may also join ENAT.
• Associate Members do not need to demonstrate experience in accessible tourism but for tourism providers commitment to the ENAT Code of Good Conduct is desirable.

• Applicants for Full Membership must apply in writing to the ENAT Board with a description of proven experience in accessible tourism within their field(s) of activity. 
• The annual fee must be paid (in EURO) either via the online payment system (PayPal / Credit Card), or by bank transfer within 30 days of registration (Associate Members) or within 30 days after approval of full membership request (Full Members).
• From 1.1.2019, organisations and individuals based outside Europe may also apply for Full Membership of ENAT.

After registering via the on-line registration page, the applicant should pay the appropriate Associate Member's fee.

You can pay by PayPal or Inter-bank transfer.

NOTICE to ENAT Members and Past Members (1st July 2020)

Membership Fees Suspended - COVID-19 Relief.

At the ENAT Annual General Assembly held on 24 June 2020, due to the severe financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in all countries, the members unanimously decided that ENAT Annual Membership fees for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Individual Members are to be suspended for one year from 1st July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

This applies to businesses up to 249 employees (full-time equivalent) and individuals who may be self-employed, students, pensioners, retired or unemployed.  (Any automated requests for payment received in this period can be ignored).

ENAT Members who have already paid their annual fee between 1st January and 30th June 2020 will have their membership extended without charge for one year from their renewal date in 2021.  

New (or returning) SME and Individual members joining ENAT in the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 will have one year's free membership from the date of joining.

Other member categories (Public sector organisations, International bodies and NGOs), are required to pay the Annual Membership Fee as normal.

ENAT Membership Annual Fees in EURO (certain fees are suspended from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021)

Payment by bank transfer

Please make your bank transfer to the following account:

European Network for Accessible Tourism – ENAT asbl.

Registered office:

Rue du Commerce 72,
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

Company number: 0897.614.640

After we have registered your payment you will be able to download your ENAT Membership Certificate and Code of Good Conduct Certificate from the "My profile" page.  

 

Why Have A ‘European Network for Accessible Tourism’?

Europe - like other parts of the world - lacks many appropriate accessibility provisions for the general population. This is a problem which affects many people both in their daily lives and also as tourists.

Physical access and access to information are often less than adequate in transport, at tourist destinations, in accommodation and all kinds of venues and attractions. This lack of accessibility has a direct and negative effect on tourist numbers (domestic, inbound and outbound) and on the quality of tourism destinations and products. Many tourists and would-be travellers experience access problems, especially those with physical or sensory disabilities, people who are older and perhaps a little more frail, as well as pregnant women, families with small children and people with a chronic health condition or a temporary disability. All of these people need “accessible tourism”.

Some of the access difficulties we find today are due to many years of ignorance about access requirements when planning, designing and managing buildings, transport systems and infrastructure. For a long time, customers’ access requirements were not known or understood, and even today – despite improvements - accessibility issues are not being taken sufficiently into account in the tourism sector.

Planning laws and policies, building norms and standards in accessibility vary widely between the regions and Member States of the European Union, and among neighbouring countries. The availability of expertise in planning and designing accessible infrastructure and services also varies considerably. This situation gives rise to some confusion and lack of certainty when planning and developing accessible tourism facilities and services. - either when upgrading or starting from scratch.

ENAT is working to improve accessibility in the tourism sector by consolidating existing knowledge in the universal design of environments, products and services and giving all actors the opportunity to put this knowledge to use through collaboration.

With ENAT, we want to help make Europe as a whole an accessible destination, where all travellers can move freely, enjoy new experiences and be sure of getting the service they need and expect. We believe that accessible tourism must be made a priority - for the good of the tourists and for the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry.

Update, 2020: Transcending boundaries, uniting the global community

Since its founding in 2008, ENAT's mission has been "...to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all travellers and to promote accessible tourism around the world".

Thanks to the combined efforts of our members, past and present, ENAT has become a global resource and reference point for the shared vision of inclusive, accessible tourism, often summarised in the three words: "Tourism for All".

ENAT is not exclusively European. Far from it.  We welcome members from all world regions, countries and destinations who share our values, and who seek to be front-runners in the field of accessible tourism. Accessible Tourism seeks to overcome barriers and transcend boundaries, uniting actors and stakeholders for the common good. 

We are proud to work with the global community of decision-makers, tourism authorities, large and small businesses, Non-Governmental Organisations, educational institutions, professionals and individuals by helping them to reach their goals and providing them with networking opportunities. At the same time, we value the diversity of experience and expertise they bring to our network, from all parts of the world.

As we face similar - and also different - challenges, we learn from each other and, as a growing, global community, we recognise and share good practices that can benefit everyone. 
Together we strive for higher professional standards and improved quality in tourism services, offering greater choice and a warm welcome for the great diversity of tourists of all ages and abilities.

Entering a new decade in 2020, ENAT looks forward to strengthening the association's global reach, by serving as a network for people and organisations everywhere who wish to learn more about Accessible Tourism as a driving force for competitive, sustainable and inclusive businesses, communities and destinations.     

Read more about ENAT membership:

• Advantages of ENAT Membership.
• ENAT Statutes
• ENAT Membership Categories, Annual Fees and How to pay
• Sign-up page for new ENAT Members (opens external "members only" webpage)

Go directly to headings on this page:

ENAT Board Members

Honorary Members

ENAT Full Members

ENAT Members Updated List

ENAT National Coordinators

ENAT was established in January 2006 as a project-based initiative of nine sponsoring organisations in six EU Member States. The European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs, gave financial support to the Network in its first two years of operations, 2006 to 2007.

ENAT was registered with the office of the Commercial Court of Brussels on 8 May 2008 as the European Network for Accessible Tourism asbl. (non-profit association).

European Network for Accessible Tourism – ENAT asbl.
Registered office: Rue du Commerce 72, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

ENAT is registered as Company no. 0897.614.640

ENAT is managed by an international Board of Directors, drawn from ENAT's founding partners and other leading organisations in accessible tourism. 

The Annual General Assembly, made up of all paid-up Full Members, is the governing body of the association.

ENAT Board

Executive Board

President:                        Anna Grazia Laura, Italy
Vice-President:                 Jesús Hernández Galán, Fundación ONCE, Spain
Vice-President:                 Spyros Michailidis, EWORX S.A., Greece
Treasurer:                        Mieke Broeders, ENTER vzw. Belgium
Managing Director:           Ivor Ambrose, IVOR AMBROSE Technical Services, UK and Greece

Non-Executive Board Members

Director:                         Tatiana Aléman Selva, Plataforma Representativa Estatal de Personas con Discapacidad Física (PREDIF), Spain
Director:                         Ana Garcia, Accessible Portugal, Portugal
Director:                         Paudie Healy, Universal Access, Ireland
Director:                         Ruediger Leidner, Deutschen Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband e.V. (DBSV), Germany
Director:                         Marco Pizzio, Associazione Italiana Scelrosi Multipla Onlus, (AISM), Italy
Director:                         Lilian Müller, Access Sweden, Sweden

Honorary Board Member: Angelika Laburda, Austria
Honorary Board Member: Martin Heng, Australia

Secretary:                       Katerina Papamichail, Greece

View Biographies of the current ENAT Board Members.

Honorary Members

• UNWTO
• ISTO
• Design for All Foundation
• Bill Ishmael, United Kingdom
• Mohamed Al Tarawneh, Jordan
• Peter De Wilde, Belgium

ENAT Full Members updated on 22 June 2020

• Access Sweden, Sweden
• Accessible Portugal, Portugal
• Agència Catalana de Turisme, Spain
• AISM Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla Onlus, Italy
• ANLH asbl., Belgium
• Anna Grazia Laura, Italy
• Barcelona Turisme, Spain
• CPD TURISMABILE, Italy
• Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband e.V. (DBSV) Germany
• EWORX S.A., Greece
• Fundacion ONCE, Spain
• ILUNION Group, Consultancy and Tourism Divisions, Spain
• INTER Private Stichting Toegankelijk Vlaanderen, Belgium
• Ivor Ambrose Technical Services, UK and Greece
• JPS Tours, Belgium
• Katerina Papamichail, Architect, Greece
• Kerckhoffs Ltd, UK
• Mieke Broeders, Belgium
• PREDIF (Plataforma Representativa Estatal de Dicapacitados Fisicos), Spain
• Red Estable, Spain
• Universal Access, Ireland
• VisitFlanders, Belgium
• Work Research Centre, Ireland

ENAT List of Members, updated 31 December 2019

View ENAT Members, December 2019 PDF document (35 Kb).  

ENAT National Coordinators

ENAT National Coordinators have been established in several European countries.

National Coordinators are appointed by the ENAT Board to work towards the aims and objectives of ENAT at the national level. They recruit new members, provide information in the national language, and provide services for the members in their respective countries. 

National Coordinators also act as the "face" of ENAT in their country. As such, they may liaise and collaborate with other national bodies and organisations on matters concerning accessible tourism.

View the current list of Coordinators at the ENAT National Coordinators' page.

More ENAT National Coordinators will be established in other countries in Europe and, possibly, in other regions of the world.

Details of the Terms of Reference for ENAT National Coordinators and the application procedure for candidates are also available at the ENAT National Coordinators' page.

The mission of the European Network for Accessible Tourism is to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all travellers and to promote accessible tourism around the world. .

• ENAT aims to achieve this by bringing together sector actors to share their experience, learn from each other and collaborate.

• ENAT promotes wider awareness and understanding of the need for accessibility in all areas of travel and tourism throughout Europe.

• ENAT supports the development and spread of good policies and practices.

• ENAT works to develop knowledge and expertise on accessibility issues in the European tourism field.

• ENAT provides a platform for those who support accessibility in tourism, and a representative voice towards European and national institutions and organisations whose actions have a direct influence on the tourism sector.

• ENAT promotes accessible tourism as a means of combatting discrimination towards people with disabilities and promoting greater social inclusion at an international level.

 

ENAT Partners

ENAT works in partnership with major organisations in tourism and related sectors to help deliver its messages more widely, develop new services and carry out joint projects and initiatives.

We are honoured to list the following partners and sponsors and we encourage our Members and site visitors to visit the respective websites and learn about our partners' activities in the area of accessible tourism for all. 

United Nations World Tourism Organisation

UNWTO Ethics / Accessible Tourism

UNWTO World Tourism Day 2016 - Resources on the theme: Tourism for All

 

ENAT is a Member of the EU Tourism Manifesto group.

Over 50 European public and private tourism stakeholders have united to present a European Tourism Manifesto for Growth & Jobs, a document which highlights the EU policy priorities for the sector in the coming years.
Through the Tourism Manifesto, ENAT and partners seek to promote European tourism policies in favour of social and cultural sustainability and tourism as a right for everybody.

The Blue Flag programme is a voluntary eco-label awarded to more than 4500 beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators in 45 countries, worldwide. In order to qualify for this award, a series of stringent environmental, educational, and especially, safety- and access-related criteria must be met and maintained. The Blue Flag programme is owned and run by the non-governmental, non-profit organisation the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
FEE and ENAT have signed a Memorandum of understanding and ENAT is participating in the Blue Flag International Jury, providing its international accessibility expertise.

ReadSpeaker

ReadSpeaker is a software development company that provides the leading-edge "read aloud" feature on all the ENAT webpages. Through the generous support of ReadSpeaker since 2015, the ENAT Webpages (English edition) are made accessible to people who may not be able to read the text or who are less familiar with English as a foreign language. Try it!  Just click on the "Listen" button at the top of the page! No software installation is necessary - it just works. You can adjust the reading speed and text highlighting according to your preference.

European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations

Read about FEG-ENAT e-Learning and Continuing Professional Development course "T-Guide".

 

 

 

International Social Tourism Organisation

 

 

 

Design for All Foundation

 

Rolling Rains Report by Dr. Scott Rains Since Dr. Rains passed away in 2015, this website is no longer updated but remains as a testimony to his work and example, much of it as useful to scholars and practitioners as it ever was.

 

European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities

 

 

 

Turismo de Portugal

 

Organisation with Observer Status
European Commission

 

 

 

 

ENAT Member-Sponsors 

EWORX S.A., Athens, Greece

 

Fundación ONCE, Madrid, Spain        

 

ENAT warmly thanks all the sponsors for their commitment and support.

Information for New Sponsors

ENAT is looking for new sponsors to support its work for members and the wider community, as well as to help in the realisation of the activities of the ENAT Workplan.

Sponsors are invited to support ENAT in different ways. Sponsors may provide:

• cash-funding
• in-kind contributions
• event-hosting
• sponsorship of events
• sponsorship of ENAT publications or activities.

ENAT Sponsors have a special relationship with the work of ENAT.  As a Sponsor, your organisation will enjoy recognition for its contribution in all ENAT publications and at our international events. You will also benefit from having direct access to ENAT Board Members and consultants who can work with you to develop your organisation's policies and competences in accessibility, and communicate your achievements effectively to clients and stakeholders.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits and conditions for being an ENAT Sponsor, please get in touch directly with Mr. Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director.
You may use our Contact form.

The original ENAT Sponsors, 2006 - 2007, are shown at the link below:

This page displays general event information including past ENAT events and Events from our Members in Europe and around the world. If you wish to make an Event announcement to the ENAT Community please login and enter the event details, or contact the ENAT editor.

The ENAT - Google Accessible Tourism Events Calendar is for information purposes only. The inclusion of an event in the Calendar does not imply that ENAT is responsible for the event or that ENAT has approved the event in any way. Some events are exclusively for ENAT members or project partners.

Please read and check the event details by clicking on the title shown in the Calendar.
Some events are also described in the articles below.

Events List

Welcome to the Website of ENAT - the European Network for Accessible Tourism.

ENAT is a non-profit association for organisations that aim to be 'frontrunners' in the study, promotion and practice of accessible tourism. You may be an expert or new to the area - in either case you are welcome!

By leveraging the knowledge and experience of the network, our members are improving the accessibility of tourist information, transport, infrastructure, design and service for visitors with all kinds of access needs, providing models of excellence in accessible tourism for the whole of the tourism industry.

President's Message, July 2020

Rome, 31 July 2020.

Dear Friends, At the end of June, for the first time in 12 years, we held our Annual General Assembly (AGA) online. We were all still haunted by the COVID 19 and the safety rules of many countries did not allow us to travel and to meet, as usual, in Brussels...

Read the full text of the President's Message... (3 mins)

Featured PODCAST with ENAT Member, Laurent Roffé of TAPOOZ Travel (52 minutes).
Listen to this Podcast by No Barriers (USA), in conversation with ENAT member, Laurent Roffé on how he and his wife, Aïcha Nyström, developed their interest in accessible travel that became a travel company, TAPOOZ Travel, offering accessible trips for hundreds of clients, from individuals and families to small group travel.

Go to No Barriers Laurent Roffé podcast.

Read the No Barriers Transcript.

View the No Barriers podcast at the ENAT Forum page.

Join ENAT

ENAT Members can be found in more than 30 countries and 5 continents. Development activities are strong on many fronts such as destination management, marketing, transport, tour operations, education, training, standards and services. By joining ENAT, organisations can be assured of keeping up-to-date with the latest developments and helping to shape the future of accessible tourism in Europe and around the world. Investment in accessible tourism measures can bring high returns, also when the market in general is weakening.

If you are working in accessible tourism or want to be part of it, we warmly invite you to join ENAT. 

Read: Your path to success! 10 great reasons to join ENAT.