Author: adminUK

Towards the end of 2016 APEIRONS, the Latvian partner, organised three seminars on tourism accessibility where the main focus was on welcoming visitors by becoming accessible to everyone and shifting the mentality away from “specially made for disabled” to “universal use and access to everyone”. The seminars were attended by accessible tourism users, public authorities, tourism professionals and Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Applying a user-led approach

Each seminar was tailored to delegates so as to make it relevant and achieve its objectives: the first seminar was organised mainly for users of tourism services in order to find out traveling patterns and challenges arising during travels. As participants stated, the main issue was that most of the times attractions and accommodations have no information on accessibility on their websites. Even at times when such information is provided, upon arrival to the site it would turn out not to be as accessible or suitable, which would then make the trip challenging. This demonstrated even further the need to raise awareness locally and provide specific training targeting tourism professionals and the hospitality industry.

The subsequent seminars were therefore delivered primarily to these target groups, where in addition to the overall training the feedback from the user seminar was shared. Although representatives from local authorities agreed that it would be very challenging to convince businesses to invest in better and accessible tourism, the responses from the seminars was positive and participants admitted that it is vital to start raising awareness of accessible tourism

Using modern technology to improve access

APEIRON started to tackle the issue of accessible tourism in 2013 when it started developing the idea of a mobile application with a data base of accessible object and places. The App, called ‘MAPEIRONS’ was launched in summer 2014 following an audit of more than 22.000 objects and places around Latvia and including 1100 in the App. As the data shows 1 in 20 sights are fully or partly accessible. In terms of accessibility Latvia is far from brilliant but it is progressing slowly and steadily. Up to date MAPEIRONS includes more than 22.000 objects and during 2016 it has been downloaded 522 times on Play Store and 324 times on AppStore. This proves that people do like to travel and use modern technologies when planning their trips.

Through visits4u APEIRONS will be able to map more accessible touristic sights and develop itineraries in Riga (the capital) and in Sigulda, one of the most beautiful cities in Latvia. Tourist offerings in Riga will focus on contemporary attractions where the main place of interest is the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, whereas in Sigulda the focus will be on historical heritage where the main attraction is Sigulda Medieval Castle ruins. It is envisaged that MAPEIRONS will be enriched with further data collected during and as part of visits4u.

In November 2016 DomSpain Consulting ltd, the Spanish partner, organised 4 seminars targeting stakeholders of the Tarragona region from different sectors of the tourism industry (tourism offices, hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.), technicians, decision-makers and local associations active in the field of tourism.  The main objectives of the seminars were to raise awareness of the participants on the issues related to inclusive tourism and travel provisions for customers with special needs as well as inspire the tourism stakeholders to take up an active role in the following phases of the visits4u project: mapping provisions for accessible routes in Reus and Tarragona, identifying inclusion challenges and, if possible, making adjustments to ensure participation in travel of tourists with specific access requirements.

The early promotion of the workshops, the time of the working sessions suitable for different groups (one group in the morning, another in the afternoon and two more groups in the evening) and direct contacts with potential participants helped encourage people and organisations of the province to get involved and brought about the diversity of the participants coming from different sectors of the tourism industry and society levels. Prior to the workshops, the majority of the participants declared their interest in the theme and motivation to collaborate with the team in further project activities and approximately 30% had a previous experience in working  with tourists with special needs.

During the sessions, participants came up with the conclusions that tourism stakeholders should be aware of and have an open-minded and non-discriminatory approach to tourists with special needs.  The importance of providing the right and detailed information while describing the level of access provision was also greatly emphasised: for example, a restaurant should not only inform clients about external and internal environment, but also about availability of Braille or large print menu, dietary requirements catered for, etc. This information is crucial as every tourist has different needs and this information will help to understand if this is the right place for him/her to choose or book.

The seminars also served as a platform to elaborate joint reflections on the importance of adequate education and training (formal or informal) for tourism industry workers and assume that only through taking up a responsibility and an active role by all tourism stakeholders is it realistic to create an environment where all tourists, with all their needs, are felt welcome.

If you want to get involved in the project in Tarragona, Spain, you can contact DomSpain directly (details here: www.visits4u.eu/contact-us)