Accessible tourism standard soon
The first working meeting for the development of an International Standard on Accessible Tourism for All was recently held to agree a format
The future standards will be called "ISO 21902 Tourism and related services—Tourism for all—Requirements and recommendations. It will set clear guidelines for tourism planning and destination management.
According to Jesús Hernndez, Director of Universal Accessibility and Innovation of the ONCE Foundation, the new standard will be "a lever to promote Design for All in such an important economic sector as tourism at the world level. In many cases persons with disabilities cannot exercise their rights to leisure and the enjoyment of culture and tourism. This is discrimination. In addition, from an economic point of view, tourism activity that is designed for all people represents a source of wealth creation".
Mrcio Favilla, UNWTO Executive Director, emphasized that universal accessibility is a right and a business opportunity for destinations and companies: "Accessible tourism is the answer to everyone’s universal right to travel and discover the world. At the same time, it is an opportunity for the tourism industry to capture a global marketplace that includes millions of people with disabilities, seniors, families with young children and many others who encounter numerous barriers, both physical and cultural, when travelling."
The working group has representatives from Panama, Austria, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Portugal, Argentina, Malta, Canada, Ireland and Spain, as well as representatives of associations such as ENAT (European Network of Accessible Tourism), HOTREC (European Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés), ECTAA (European Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agents), SBS (Small Business Standards, the European association representing SMEs in standardization), and ANEC (the European consumer association for standardization)
The new standard, which is expected to be approved in 2018 will be applied to the different stakeholders of the tourism sector, both public and private and at different levels.
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