Situation Accessibility of Tourism in Flanders Belgium

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Situation Accessibility of Tourism in Flanders
(Belgium)
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• accessibility action plan of
• the National Board of Tourism
• Why?
• basic right to a holliday
• attractive target group for the
• tourism industry

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• What preceded the action plan?
• research Phase 1999 - 2000

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• Research in 1999
• screening of 100 hotels for accessibility
• by people with disabilities

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• Research in 2000
• More accessible tourism in Flanders?
• Problem analysis and possible policy
  instruments for the accommodation sector.

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• Policy recommendations
• Acccessibility Action Plan by
• Toerisme Vlaanderen
• (April 2001)

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• Action plan
• aim increasing traveling by people with
  disabilities
• by working on the bottlenecks
• - accessibility of the infrastructure
• - provision of information to
• users

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• 4 main lines of action
• grant system
• labelling
• awareness campaign
• information provision

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• Grant system
• aim catching-up by financial
  incentives
• actions
• - Grant Decree hotels - 2001
• - Decree Tourism for all - 2003

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• Accessibility label
• aim - information
• - promotion
• actions
• - research
• situation in Europe
• development of controlled label

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• Awareness campaign
• tourist accommodation, tourist boards,
  Toerisme Vlaanderen
• actions
• - by infosessions
• - by training
• - by marketing and info material

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• Information provision to users
• aim - collection of information
• - making it available to users
• actions
• - further screening
• - accessibility database - Libretto
• - Accessible Travel Infopoint

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Libretto www.toegankelijkvlaanderen.be www.t
oevla.be
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www.toegankelijkvlaanderen.be www.toevla.be

• Libretto
• project with financial support of the European
  Union Interreg III A-program Euregio Benelux
  Middengebied
• Toegankelijkheidsbureau together with Dutch
  partners
• only a part of Belgium

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• Aims of the project
• database and website concerning accessibility of
  buildings, environment, public facilities,
  transport of people with limitations
• uniform criteria and information about
  accessibility
• promote accessibility
• overview of the actual accessibility in the area

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• Information on accessibility
• an objective view on the degree of accessibility
• evaluation of the information 3 levels
• different rooms, aspects of buildings and
  surrounding area
• extra information for persons with hearing and
  vision impairment and people with allergy and
  asthma
• detailled information

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• Extension to Flanders
• 1 database with uniform standards, checklists
• and methodology
• connected to a (international) label
• accessibility
• connected to the product database of
• Toerisme Vlaanderen
• association with other initiatives like
  Accessible Travel Infopoint, grant for hotels,
  staff training

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• Research method
• detailed checklist
• Checkers
• list of questions and
• measurements
• veto - principle

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• Assessment 3 levels
• accessible
• /- partially accessible
• - not for everyone accessible

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• Processing
• score per part
• owner
• - individual report wich contains a
  summary
• and a clarification of the results
• - tips to improve the accessibility, just
  by
• putting in some small adjustments
• consumer/client
• - website (www.toegankelijkvlaanderen.be)
• (www.toevla.be)