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One of the main standard rules for equal opportunities for
disabled people is focused on area of sport and recreation. It
is stated that bodies responsible for tourism, tourist
agencies, hotels, appropriate organisations and associations
should offer their services to everybody. Especially having in
mind people with disabilities. This process should be assisted
by appropriate training systems. This fact can be crucial for
further development of European tourism. It is estimated that
over 40 million Europeans do not take holidays. Tourism
industry is starting to recognise that tourists with
disabilities create an important consumer group. That's why
providing information on existing tourism facilities is so
important. Unfortunately it seems that the main barrier for
tourism development is lack of information which can meet
demand of disabled people. Therefore the main aim of our
project is to create a training system for people connected
both with tourist industry and people with disabilities
society. This training system will prepare people (auditors)
to give appropriate, competent and full information concerning
tourist facilities, including their surrounding. It is very
important to provide information not only concerning the
buildings but also whole access paths, shops, restaurants,
museums, exhibitions, events etc.
The main aims of this project will
focus on following problems:
- identifying and
defining requirements and possibilities of demand and
supply sides (both disabled people and tourist industry
workers)
- preparing the detailed
analyses of required, ideal information model for disabled
tourists, by including disabled people in the whole
process
- elaboration of the
training programme model including: theory, practice,
tools (including manuals) and procedures.
- Evaluation of the
training programme by conducting pilot training of
potential auditors using new teaching approach:
long-distance "diada"s (pairs of auditors (trainees)
always consist of one person without severe disabilities
(from sector side) and person with disability (mobility,
hearing difficulties, visual impaired etc.). The aim of
pilot training is a verification of the training system
and implementation of eventual corrections.
- Dissemination of the
training system along with the idea of tourism for all.
Mini awareness raising campaign focused on the benefits
for tourist sector resulting from the ability to give
competent information for people with disabilities and
providing accessible services.
The main result of the project
will introduce new training system and procedures which will
be designed for the whole sector including the manual,
electronic materials and database. This is emphasized as an
important point in Copenhagen Declaration. As a result it will
improve sector workers qualifications which in a long term
will provide benefits for both tourist industry and people
with disabilities.
Methodology
Because there are a lot of
information about demand from people with disabilities side
concerning their special needs, consortium will base on the
results of existing sources such as: PUB+ survey
(Accessibility to Public Utility Buildings), Transnational
Development and Implementation of Presentation Procedures in
Tourism Training - EUROPRESENT (LdV project),
European Concept for Accessibility, Barrierefreier
Tourismus fur Alle, Economic impulses of Accessible Tourism
for All, Improving Information on Accessible Tourism for
Disabled People, BAM methodology etc.
To deepen the knowledge there will
be focus groups interviews (qualitative approach) and
fieldwork surveys (quantitative approach) conducted in each
partner country. The information obtained will be a base for
the tourist information model as well as training system
development itself.
To
prepare effective model of training for auditors the
innovative approach will be used. "Experience
has shown that, despite their best intentions, non-disabled
people and those who are unfamiliar with technical and complex
accessibility requirements regularly (and inadvertently) make
assumptions and judgments about access that are incorrect.
There are already too many existing examples of misleading
accessibility information[1]".The
idea of the training method is that after theoretical
workshops in national groups practical training will take
place. The pairs of trainees will work together. It is called
"diada". Each diada will consist of disabled person and
person with no disabilities, also from different countries (to
assure different architectural cultures). They will use
internet and special procedure to communicate with each other
trying to prepare and send the information about accessibility
of chosen places (making photos, video films etc.). They will
have to teach each other about preparing the information
because they will prepare a description of the building or
area they cannot see. Both persons working in diadas will
acquire skills for giving the competent information and work
as an auditor (internal or external). The training multimedia
materials will be prepared. This idea will be developed under
the project and it will be checked and revised in practice
during the pilot training.
[1]
European
Disability Forum response to Harmonised Criteria for Good
Accessibility of Tourist Sites and Infrastructures for
Disabled People, June 2003, Prepared for DG Enterprise,
European Commission by Risk & Policy Analysts
Proposed
(in mentioned above report) approach based on voluntary
self-assessment scheme to be compiled by tourist
facilities themselves is in EDF opinion absolutely
unsatisfactory.
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DIADA training guide in
final "as printed" pdf (40MB) available for free download
