April 14, 2007
OSSATE Extends Its Reach: Accessible European Travel
The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) was formed in 2006 and continues to improve
www.accessibletourism.org
They will launch new information service later this
month at http://www.europeforall.com
Dear AAOutils Group Members,
Since the AAOutils project finished we have been busy, taking
Design-for-All issues into other areas. Especially we have focussed on
improving Download file accessibility in the Europoean tourism sector.
Disabled people are travelling more, both independently and with their
families and friends. And with the ageing of the population, more and
more sebiors are travelling, which means that design-for-all is even
more relevant in transport, infrastructure, information and service
provision.
In 2006 we formed the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT):
www.accessibletourism.org The network is supported by a European
Commission grant and 9 founding sponsors. ENAT has over 200 members in
30 countries (worldwide - not just in Europe). Please join!
As a member of ENAT, besides receiving your Membership Certificate,
you can meet and share information on-line with people from travel and
tourism enterprises, service providers and manufacturers, experts in
accessibility, public authorities, National Tourist Boards, disability
NGOs and many others. From 21 - 23 November 2007 we will hold the
"ENAT Congress on Tourism for All" in Valencia, Spain, organised by
Fundación ONCE - one of the major sponsors of ENAT. This will be a
landmark event for all who are interested in accessibility in travel
and tourism: providers, consumer groups, educators, public agencies,
NGOs - all are welcome.
Join ENAT now - it's free throughout 2007. Follow this link to the
registration form:
http://www.accessibletourism.org/pages/registration.jsp
Accessibility information for tourists:
With 11 European partners in 6 countries, we have been developing a
new on-line service for tourists, giving accessibility information
about tourist venues, accommodation, attractions etc.
For details see http://www.ossate.org for details.
The OSSATE partners will launch the new information service later this
month at http://www.europeforall.com
The Europe for all database will initially contain venue information
from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway and the UK. In
contrast to other accessibility databases, which often use "access
norms" or building regulations as guide, we have used an objective
approach to describe the accessibility of a venue, with a set of
simple statements and measurements. Users can then search for the
venue information which matches their individual requirements.
Please contact me if you need any further information about ENAT or
Europeforall.
Best regards,
Ivor Ambrose