Tourism for all: a challenge to win! - Public hearing on Accessible Tourism at the European Parliament

A public hearing on Tourism for all, organised by the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats), took place on 9th February at the European Parliament. Welcomed by MEP Carlo Fidanza and chaired by MEP Ádám Kósa and Rosa Estaràs Ferragut, the meeting brought together members of the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as several tourism enterprises representatives, who discussed accessibility of tourist destinations, accommodation and information within the EU's new tourism strategy.

Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship who introduced the discussion, highlighted the wide range of new opportunities that a valid and accessible tourism policy in Europe will create for all EU citizens. Tourism is indeed the EU's third largest socioeconomic activity.

Persons with disabilities constitute an important market potential for the tourism industry. But the quality of infrastructure transport services and information varies widely from place to place as well as between EU Member States. As pointed out by Carlotta Besozzi, Director of the European Disability Forum, persons with disabilities continue to experience major obstacles in accessing travel and tourism services. Furthermore, the lack of reliable and comparable information on transports, accommodation, leisure and sport activities increases uncertainty, reducing travel options for people with disabilities.

The hearing involved, among others, representatives of the Balearic Islands Government, the EU Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry (INSULEUR), the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), V4A Village for All (Italy) and Handisport Foundation (Spain). Representatives of the European Commission Costas Andropoulos (DG Enterprise and Industry) and Inmaculada Placencia Porrero (DG Justice) also participated in the discussion.

Participating stakeholders exchanged concrete experiences, innovative projects and good practices on accessibility, and emphasised the need for:

• The harmonisation of EU policies and standards in tourism
• The creation of a "European quality tourism label" including accessibility
• The identification of common quality criteria, standards and rules governing the use of accessibility labels
• A "European Tourism Card",  guaranteeing a common set of passengers' rights

During the event, the launch of a new European Commission preparatory action in the field of accessible tourism was also announced. With an allocated budget of 1 million EUR, the initiative aims at preparing the ground for future initiatives in the field of tourism for all, raising awareness and disseminating best practices on accessibility to promote more accessible services and facilities for people with disabilities, elderly travellers and people with temporary impairments. The initiative, to be implemented in 2012, will address four main objectives, considered as pre-requisite for any other action in this area:

• Mapping the demand of accessible tourism to gain a better understanding of the needs and expectations of tourists with special needs
• Analysing the existing tourism offer (i.e. accessible facilities and services available)
• Providing an overview of the skills and staff training needs to contribute in the development of positive attitudes and a “culture of care” in the tourism services providers sector
• Promoting accessibility in tourism by rewarding those European destinations or operators who commit to make accessibility a key element of their tourist offer.

"Europe has started to invest in tourism as a means to help end the crisis. Its destinations, its infrastructure and its communication tools must become fully accessible to people with disabilities. This does not only represent the protection of a right but also the investment in a very strategic area of the economy”, noted MEP Carlo Fidanza at the closing of the hearing.

"Tourism policy in relation to disability offers a great opportunity to develop employment in the tourism sector. Business strategies and policies should encourage the development and professionalization of accessible tourism. That's one key to improving the sector's competitiveness and the attractiveness of destinations", added MEP Rosa Estaras Ferragut in relation to the creation of accessible and usable policy in the tourism sector.

"It is high time not to decide from behind the desk how one can make tourism accessible for people with disabilities. Today we have heard about a lot of good practices which were successful because they departed from a practical point of view and were created with the involvement of parties concerned", concluded MEP Ádám Kósa.

Find the press release  and the hearing programme on EPP Group website.