Accessible Tourism. Marino Finozzi. Regional Minister for Tourism Veneto Region

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1 Accessible Tourism Marino Finozzi Regional Minister for Tourism Veneto Region

2 The Veneto Region - The Veneto Region is located in the North East of Italy - It is the first region for tourism in Italy ( mln tourist in 2012) - It is the sixth region for tourism within the European Union

3 Accessible Tourism: the Legal Basis Art. 43 of the Regional Law on Tourism states the following: As a result of the implementation of Art 9 of the UN Convention on the right of people with disabilities, the policy of the Region in this context is to ensure that people with disabilities can freely have access to the tourism offer in an independent way. The Region allocates funds to better improve the physical accessibility through the involvement of experts in this field.

4 The Veneto Region and the Project of Excellence Projects of excellence Italian law n. 296 of 27 december 2006, art. 1, paragraph 1228 amended by the law n. 69 of 18 june 2009, art. 18 Provides: The Italian Government supports financially a certain number of selected projects and initiatives aimed at developing the tourism sector at national and international level

5 One of the projects selected by the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers was The Project of excellence Development of Social and Accessible Tourism Adopted by Veneto Region in November 2011

6 The objective of the project Creating the conditions for the development of accessible tourism in the Veneto Region by implementing accessibility in the hospitality

7 Main actions of the project : Training tour operators on accessibility in hospitality, especially for people with disabilities Fostering new investements for more accessible accomodations Creating new synergies between pubblic administrations and private sector to build up a more accessible tourism offer Defining tourism activities and extending the seasonality

8 Features of the Project Three years Regional Project 2 mln Euros

9 1 ANALYSIS AND MONITORING Sensitizing tour operators through DATA collection Screening Training for tour operators DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL TOURISM 2 INFRASTRUCTURE AND MOBILITY Structural ADJUSTMENT Mobility ACCESSIBILITY OF MOUNTAIN AREAS 4 PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATIO N 3 INNOVATION AND SERVICES Territorial Projects Innovation and services

10 First step: involvement of local stakeholders Selection of the most visited municipalities of the Veneto Region; Evaluation of Accessible tourism products, facilities, accomodations and restaurants among the municipalities selected Monitoring of accessible servicies Data collection and statistics to have an overview on the objective reality; Improvement of the information given within tourism website about Accessible destinations of the Veneto Region to allow tourists to decide where to spend their holidays

11 Partecipating Municipalities Cortina d'ampezzo Bassano del Grappa Lazise Cavallino Verona Venezia Rosolina Mare Montegrotto Terme Abano Terme Progetto Eccellenza 11

12 Municipalities 1. Abano Terme 2. Bassano del Grappa 3. Cavallino 4. Cortina d Ampezzo 5. Lazise 6. Montegrotto Terme 7. Rosolina Mare 8. Venezia 9. Verona Progetto Eccellenza 12

13 Tourist Facilities Involved Municipalities Tourist Accommoda tion Restaurants Point of Interest Bathing Establishments TOTAL Abano Terme Bassano del Grappa Cavallino Cortina d'ampezzo Lazise Montegrotto Terme Rosolina Mare Venezia Verona TOTAL Progetto Eccellenza 13

14 Examples of Accessible Tourism Museums: Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana: the exhibition spaces of the François Pinault Foundation in Venice, selected by the Municipality of Venice as Accessible Museums for the project of excellence

15 The Education department transfers the contents of the exhibitions to the public through programs for schools and families, university students, adult groups, elderly visitors and hospitalized children, with a constant attention to accessibility in a broader sense Accessibility is not considered a service to be offered to visitors, but one of the pillars of the educational mission. The notion of inclusion is the basis of the Education department s approach The education department

16 Wheelchairs Ramps on the Bridges - Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana are fully accessible to people with motor disabilities - Punta della Dogana participates in the project Venice Art for All, which aims to make accessible the entire Dorsoduro area thanks to the installation of wheelchair ramps on the bridges

17 The visitors with hearing impairments have access to all the activities of the museum thanks to the presence of a LIS (Italian Sign Language) interpreter without additional costs Guided tour of Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana Guided tour and workshop for schools Workshops for children and families Services

18 The visitors with visual impairments have access to all the activities of the museum thanks to a series of specific tools (currently under construction, to be launched by the end of 2013): 1. tactile maps of the museum Accessible Tools 2. tactile book describing the story of the building, its renovation and its architecture QR codes on each page allow the visitor to listen to the texts corresponding to the tactile illustrations 3. tactile guided tour given by a jr curator of the museum 4. narrative guided tour given by the educational staff 5. workshops on the subject of seeing in an art exhibition

19 Training on accessibility is provided every year to the museum staff by external associations and companies specialized in programs for hearing and visually impaired persons Training Program

20 Union Lido Park&Resort- Cavallino, Venice Union Lido Park&Resort is a camping-village member of EFCO (European Federation of Campings) and Village For all (Italian accessible tourism label) Since 2008 it works with Mr. Vitali (President of Village 4 all) both on PEBA (project for elimination of architectural barriers) and on staff training Hospitality means a comfortable holiday for all Guests Satisfaction of every particular need of each tourist Use of large spaces to freely move everywhere

21 Union Lido Park&Resort international arrivals in presences Union Lido welcomes every year a larger n of disabled people Weelchairs users have the possibility to stay in different kind of accomodations both in the Resort and in the Hotel Comfort is at the same time universal design Rooms can be sold to everyone notwithstanding the special needs

22 Another example of accessible tourism Gitando.all: the international fair on Tourism for all A Fair that takes place in Vicenza (near Venice) Fiera di Vicenza boasts over 40 years of experience in the world of tourism and outdoor holidays Gitando.all is the meeting place and national point for the promotion of the tourism sector Gitando.all is the first Exhibition in Italy and in Europe dedicated to all people with special needs and their families

23 Gitando.all: more than 30,000 visitors in 2013, an increase of 22.6% compared to 2012 Who Visits Gitando.all - The public in search of its vacation - People with disabilities looking for accessible places where to spend their holidays - Public administrators - Companies - Educational institutions - Buyers and Sellers (100 buyers from 12 countries invited by Fiera di Vicenza in cooperation with ENIT and Veneto Region)

24 Ermitage Bel Air Hotel Accessible Tourism Datas The Hotel is located in Abano Terme (nearby Padua) It is fully accessible to persons with disabilities Investments in Accessibility of 2012/ Accessible Room no additional costs compared to a traditional room (one room); - Refurbished rooms made accessible: 8 (Additional costs 2.000,00 Euro); - Accessible pools with mobile lift (additional costs Euro 5.000,00); -Refurbished accessiblethermal cabin: (additional costs Euro 5.000,00) Total Investment: Euro ,00 Payback Time: 18 Month

25 2012 Highly accessible rooms Ermitage Bel Air Hotel Datas % Bed occupancy rate N of guests per Room 71% Suites 53% Average lenght of stays in nights Overall Average of total rooms 52% % Bed occupacy rate Highly accessible rooms N of guests per Room 74% Suites 55% Average lenght of stays in nights Overall average of total rooms 55%

26 The European role of the Veneto Region in the Field of Accessible Tourism The Veneto Region is member both of Necstour Network (European Network for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism)and ENAT (European Network for Accessible Tourism) In the Framework of Necstour theveneto Region, together with Ile De France, is the Coordinator of the Accessible tourism Task Force which objectives are: To Develop an action Plan for Accessible Destinations To cooperate with all stakeholders at European and International level To contribute to the European Tourism Accessibility Policy

27 Thank you for your attention! Veneto Region