As I look at the Concept Note describing our upcoming seminar on Inclusive Tourism in Mozambique and read comments on Haiti's tourism I see parallels -- and opportunities:

Haiti was getting ready to capitalise on its sunny weather and tropical scenery to attract tourist to that impoverished island nation when the magnitude-7.0 earthquake rocked the French-speaking country, killing an estimated 200,000 and leaving millions homeless.

New hotels, new attention from international investors and buzz among travellers who have visited in recent years seem to signal a renewed interest in Haiti as a destination. Just two hours away by plane from Miami, Florida, the country had one of the strongest tourist industries in the Caribbean in the 1950s and '60s, according to Americas, the magazine of the Organisation of American States.

However, things began to change with the deterioration of the political climate.

Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic, Haiti's neighbour on the island of Hispaniola, welcomed almost four million people in 2008, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

Source:
http://www.eturbonews.com/14258/tourism-could-play-critical-role-haitis-recovery

Talk of "re-inventing Haiti" has even gone at far as UNWTO. Carlos Vogeler, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO's) regional representative for the Americas recently commented:

Tourism can be one of the vehicles which can help Haiti to not go back to where they were because they were not in very good shape, but to go to a much better condition than the one they had before.

Note this article on RollingRains.com from before the earthquake, "Can Haiti be Brought Back into The World Tourism Circuit?"

In light of the recent disaster and world mobilization to rebuild the country I would say that the answer is, "Yes, if Inclusive Destination development is practiced."

I recommend that Haitian delegates attend the March 1-3 World Bank funded conference in Maputo on tourism, development, and disability. There we can transfer some relevant knowledge to Haiti through these delegates and plan a more tailored event for the country and for relief and reconstruction entities there.

Listen to Haiti's Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour and get a picture of the situation at:  http://www.theworld.org/tag/patrick-delatour/

A embarcação, agora, tem espaço para acomodar duas cadeiras de rodas, cercada por toda a segurança.

José Batista, de 35 anos. Luiz Carlos, de 52. Ambos são cadeirantes. Faz tempo que eles sonhavam com algo que estava muito perto deles: as piscinas naturais de Maceió. Mas como chegar lá?

"Quando é que um dia eu vou poder chegar até a beira-mar, pegar uma jangada e conhecer as piscinas naturais?", questiona o gestor de marketing José Batista.

"Conhecer, realmente, isso que é uma atração turística da nossa cidade de Maceió", comenta o presidente da Associação de Deficientes Físicos de Alagoas Luiz Carlos Santos.

O caminho do sonho de José e Luiz começou a aparecer quando um arquiteto carioca teve uma idéia inusitada.

"Fui ao primeiro encontro internacional de pessoas com deficiência em Brasília. Aqueles quatro dias convivendo com 800, 900 pessoa com deficiência me trouxe uma grandeza interior e pessoal tão grande", lembra o arquiteto Jorge Luiz Silva.

Essa "grandeza" tomou forma de jangada. Tem 6,5 metros de comprimento, dois de largura e, finalmente, deu acesso a quem não pode frequentar a praia.

Leia o restante da matéria no link abaixo

http://www.jornalfloripa.com.br/brasil/ver_info_jornalfloripa.asp?NewsID=3269

Fonte: Jornal Floripa

Maceió ganha a primeira jangada acessível do Brasil

Projeto é uma conquista para os portadores de necessidades especiais

A primeira jangada acessível do Brasil partiu para o mar da Pajuçara nesta quarta-feira (dia 3), às 11h, rumo às piscinas naturais. A bordo da embarcação, os alagoanos Luiz Cavalcante e José Batista, cadeirantes que, pela primeira vez, tiveram a oportunidade de conhecer o maior cartão postal da capital alagoana, com segurança e conforto.

"Estou emocionado em conhecer as piscinas naturais, e mais ainda porque os portadores de necessidades especiais agora contam com uma jangada adaptada para acesso ao lazer", explicou Batista.

O projeto da Jangada Acessível, desenvolvido pelo arquiteto Jorge Luiz, foi idealizado dentro da disciplina de Ergonomia, que disponibiliza ferramentas metodológicas para o desenvolvimento do projeto, que também conta com apoio logístico da Secretaria Municipal de Promoção do Turismo (Semptur), da Superintendência Municipal de Controle do Convívio Urbano (SMCCU) e da Associação dos Deficientes Físicos de Alagoas (Adefal).

O presidente da Adefal, Luiz Carlos Santana, considerou que o projeto é uma conquista de cidadania. "As piscinas naturais são conhecidas nacionalmente, e agora, com esse equipamento, tornam-se acessíveis também para os portadores de necessidades especiais, que têm mais essa opção de lazer", disse Luiz Carlos. Segundo ele, o apoio da Prefeitura de Maceió, por meio da Secretaria Municipal de Turismo, foi essencial para dar o suporte legal ao projeto. "Nossa próxima tarefa é conseguir novos parceiros para construir mais três jangadas", disse ele.

A turista carioca Luiza Cantuário, que fazia o passeio às piscinas pela terceira vez com seus filhos, considerou o projeto da jangada fantástico. "Quando chegar ao Rio de Janeiro, vou mostrar fotos da jangada acessível de Maceió na escola. Seria ótimo que na minha cidade também tivesse uma jangada assim para democratizar o lazer", disse Luíza.

Foi o pescador e carpinteiro Sidney Cícero da Silva, conhecido como Dinho, quem construiu a jangada, e ele levou a família para conferir o resultado. "Antes, muitos deficientes tinham medo de fazer o passeio. Em alguns casos era preciso amarrar a cadeira no barco. Agora eles fazem o passeio na sua própria cadeira, com segurança", diz ele.

Para a secretária Claudia Pessôa, da Semptur, a jangada acessível é uma conquista para os portadores de necessidades especiais. "Estão de parabéns todos os que contribuíram com esse projeto, pelo sucesso da jangada acessível, que foi noticia até em sites nos EUA", disse ela.

A jangada acessível tem 1,90 de comprimento e 2,50 de largura e pode comportar até dois deficientes físicos com a cadeira de rodas, com acompanhante. Na construção da jangada foram utilizadas as madeiras de pequi, jaqueira, maçaranduba e igapó.

Fonte:
http://gazetaweb.globo.com/v2/noticias/texto_completo.php?c=195389


Jangada acessível foi lançada hoje
17h00, 03 de fevereiro de 2010

Fonte: Assessoria/Adefal

Eduardo Camara has begun translating the articles at the blog Mão na Roda into English. Watch this page as he continues to add resources:

http://maonarodablog.com.br/wheelchair-traveling-brazil/

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010

ACCESSIBLE ALPINE TOURISM PROJECT

A colleague, Scott Rains of the Rolling Rains Report, alerted me to the Snow Mountains accessible tourism resources (Snowy Mountains Regional Tourism Association, 2010). What Scott didn't know was that the resources are an excellent example of operationalising previous research and value adding through new research.

The resources were developed as part of the Australian Accessible Alpine Tourism project (Dickson & Hurrell, 2008).The Alpine Accessible Tourism Project was funded under Ausindustry's Australian Tourism Development Program and was co-ordinated by Disabled WinterSport Australia (DWA). The project built on DWA's 30 years of providing snow sport experiences and sought to develop, document, market and promote accessible summer tourism experiences. Within a participatory action research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) (Laws, 1995; Ritchie & Crouch, 2002)

Most important is his detailed knowledge and dissemination of the methodology involved. See it discussed here and replicate it in your region:

http://accessibletourismresearch.blogspot.com/2010/02/accessible-alpine-tourism-project.html

Access Tourism New Zealand is where Dr Sandra Rhodda gathers relevant stories from around the world - with and emphasis on developments in New Zealand. See for example this report on rail transport in Aukland:

Auckland's newest railway station has won high praise from blind and partially-sighted people.   "The Newmarket station's only one week old and so it's great to get such positive feedback from the blind community so early on. They are an important part of Newmarket and so we're delighted they've give the station the thumbs up," says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

For more:

Whether or not people with disabilities or subgroups with specific disabilities constitute a culture or cultures is a controverted topic.

Assuming that they do the following announcement excerpted from Imtiaz Muqbil's newsletter Travel Impact Newswire has relevance to Inclusive Tourism as contributing to rapprochement of cultures.

A question then becomes, as the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) already asks, "How can Inclusive Tourism contribute to rapprochement of cultures?"

1. UNESCO To Launch 2010 Year For Rapprochement Of Cultures

Feb 4 2010 -- The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has set up an expert group to find ways to increase tolerance around the world, as part of her commitment to promoting a "new humanism" to pursue a rapprochement of cultures. The world, said Director-General Irina Bokova, is marked by a growing interdependence, but mistrust has also arisen in recent years.

"I am convinced that UNESCO has all the strengths needed to provide a humanist response to globalization and crisis," she said. "In response to the sense of vulnerability which permeates all levels, there is indeed a need to invent new forms of action to safeguard social cohesion and preserve peace."

The new panel will meet for the first time on 18 February in Paris. The gathering will also mark the launch of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures 2010, which will kick off with a round-table discussion on the theme, "The Dialogue of Cultures: New Avenues for Peace."

"The objective of this International Year is to help dissipate any confusion stemming from ignorance, prejudice and exclusion that create tension, insecurity, violence and conflict," Ms. Bokova emphasized. The task, she said, will be to promote mutual knowledge and to generate respect for other cultures. "Exchange and dialogue between cultures are the best tools for building peace," the UNESCO chief said.

"Four main strategic lines of action for the Year have been devised. They involve:

• promoting reciprocal knowledge of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity
• strengthening quality education and intercultural competences
• fostering dialogue for sustainable development

The goal is to make the rapprochement of cultures the hallmark of all policy-making at local, national, regional and international levels, involving the greatest number of relevant stakeholders.

Entrusted with the mandate to contribute to build "the defences of peace in the minds of men" through education, sciences, culture and communication, UNESCO is designated to play a leading role for the celebration of the Year. In her message, Ms Bokova said, "We are living in a world that is increasingly marked by a growing interdependence in all areas of human activity. The resultant cross-fertilization of our societies offers new opportunities to strengthen the ties between peoples, nations and cultures at the global level. At the same time, with globalization, incomprehension and mistrust have increased in the last few years. The economic, environmental and ethical crisis has further increased this sense of insecurity and mistrust."

She added, "In the light of these developments, I have proposed a new universal vision, open to the entire human community, which I have called the "new humanism". I am convinced that UNESCO has all the strengths needed to provide a humanist response to globalization and crisis. In response to the sense of vulnerability which permeates all levels, there is indeed a need to invent new forms of action to safeguard social cohesion and preserve peace."

Ms Bokova said, "Cultures encompass not only art and literature, but also lifestyles, value systems, traditions and beliefs. In this globalizing world, marked by increasingly rapid exchanges and greater complexity, the protection and promotion of this rich diversity present numerous challenges. True, culture is not included among the Millennium Development Goals in its own right, which I regret. But the links between culture and development are so strong that development cannot dispense with culture. I firmly intend to show, through new initiatives, that these links cannot be separated."

"The task will be, in campaigning for dialogue and mutual knowledge, to foster respect for each other's culture and break down the barriers between different cultures. Exchange and dialogue between cultures are the best tools for building peace. Given the new challenges of an increasingly interconnected world, our shared task is to build solid bridges, based on solidarity between all cultures so as to create a new universal ethics of living together.

Ms Bokova called on all UNESCO's partners to mobilize with the purpose of reaching these objectives: the National Commissions for UNESCO, agencies of the UN system, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, Goodwill Ambassadors and Artists for Peace, UNESCO Chairs and Associated Schools, Clubs and Centres, parliamentarians, locally elected officials, the world of culture, the sciences, education and the media, opinion leaders, youth organizations, and civil society as a whole, including the private sector.

For more information:

** An open-ended List of activities to be carried out throughout the year

Full details including background, objectives of the International Year of Rapprochment.

Yes, but who is contracted to train specifically on service to travelers with disabilities attending World Cup 2010?

From ETN:

Harare -- THE Zimbabwe Council for Tourism will spend US$3 million on equipping critical service personnel with essential customer service skills ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa in June.

ZCT, through the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, obtained US$1,5 million from a local non-governmental organisation, Zimhost, for the personnel training initiative.

The tourism sector representative body would chip in with an additional US$1,5 million towards the US$3 million personnel training programme.

ZCT president Emmanuel Fundira told Herald Business that the initiative would cover all critical customer service personnel from both the private and public sectors ahead of the football showpiece.

Mr Fundira said the training programme would involve key service personnel from such areas as the tourism sector, immigration, police, army and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, among many others.

The aim, said the ZCT boss, was to change the customer service culture in the country for better to reap full benefits from the World Cup.

"We have secured funding from an NGO (Zimhost) for improvement of the customer service delivery system and we will train all stakeholders who are Zimbabwean nationals to improve customer service.

"We sought to partner Government in promoting tourism and this came through support from the NGO in which the parties will each contribute 50 percent to the total budget for the training programme.

"We initiated the idea to train people in customer service in various facets so that when we interface with visitors, there is a marked difference in the national customer service delivery culture," he said.

Zimhost was formed to foster the spirit of unconditional, collective hospitality in Zimbabwe by improving service standards nationally through training, and creating awareness of the importance of the individual's role in their place of work, and as ambassadors of their community and of their country.

Founding sponsors were the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Organisation Training & Development and African Sun Limited, Delta Corporation, Qantas Airways, Rainbow Tourism Group, United Touring Company, Meikles Africa, Barclays Bank, Abercrombie & Kent, Europcar Interrent and Cresta Hospitality.

Mr Fundira cited the usual chaotic manner in which immigration formalities were handled at Beitbridge as falling short of expectations.

He said there was a world of difference in the quality of customer service between hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, the closest neighbour with the capacity to handle spillover tourists from the soccer showcase.

It was against this background that Mr Fundira said Government was overly excited about private sector efforts to assist in ensuring Zimbabwe was best prepared for the global soccer show.

ZCT had been worried that lack of financial resources to fund tourism promotion initiatives would make it difficult for the country to draw the full benefits of South Africa's hosting of the World Cup.

This was after ZTA received a US$400 000 allocation from the National Budget, which the private sector considered negligible, to push the national tourism agenda.

ZTA had projected that the country could rake in more than US$500 million if adequate preparations were made to promote the local tourism industry ahead of the football extravaganza.

However, this appeared a difficult feat to achieve in the face of the financial resources available to fund preparatory requirements.

La Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (AENOR) en colaboración con la Asociación Española de Domótica (CEDOM) y la Federación Nacional de Empresarios de Instalaciones Eléctricas y Telecomunicaciones de España (FENIE), ha publicado el "Código de Prácticas" del Proyecto SmartHouse. Esta guía técnica presenta, por primera vez, un enfoque que engloba todos los sistemas y equipos, interactuando entre sí y conectados a la red. El Código recoge numerosas recomendaciones a tener en cuenta a la hora de desarrollar la vivienda inteligente. Este documento es un acuerdo de trabajo del Comité Europeo de Normalización Electrotécnica (CENELEC), elaborado con la colaboración de numerosos expertos de empresas, asociaciones y centros de investigación procedentes de 28 países de Europa. La guía recoge más de 250 normas técnicas internacionales, europeas y otras especificaciones prácticas que permiten aprovechar las ventajas de una arquitectura de sistema coherente y la interoperabilidad entre las aplicaciones y los servicios. El código pretende ser un documento de referencia útil para todos aquellos que participan en el diseño, instalación y mantenimiento de una vivienda inteligente, desde el proveedor de servicios hasta el consumidor. Entre los colectivos a los que va dirigido se encuentran ingenieros, arquitectos o aparejadores, instaladores, fabricantes y proveedores de servicios, entre otros. SmartHouse busca favorecer el desarrollo de sistemas domóticos y de comunicaciones que proporcionen al usuario doméstico funciones de seguridad y control, comunicaciones, entretenimiento, confort, asistencia sanitaria, sostenibilidad, integración ambiental, eficiencia energética o accesibilidad. La casa inteligente significa que el hogar esté donde quiere cada uno y contactar con los datos de su casa cuando está de viaje; o bien propiciar un trabajo eficiente desde el hogar. 'SmartHouse' permite la conexión con el exterior de la vivienda a través de la red de comunicaciones, haciendo posible la vivienda inteligente. Por ejemplo, permite gestionar la iluminación, climatización, agua caliente sanitaria, alarmas técnicas (de gas o agua) y otros elementos, aprovechando mejor los recursos naturales y utilizando las tarifas horarias de menor coste. Así, se logra reducir la factura energética al tiempo que se gana en confort y seguridad. Además, la casa inteligente hace posible la comunicación, por primera vez, entre los distintos electrodomésticos de una vivienda (lavadoras, lavavajillas o secadoras) y controla cuándo comienza y finaliza cada uno. Otras ventajas son la integración de los contadores inteligentes, reposición de alimentos en el frigorífico cuando se acaban a través de pedidos on-line, servicios de teleasistencia y control de enfermedades crónicas o apertura de puertas por reconocimiento de perfiles personales. Estas capacidades, entre otras mejoras, permiten a los usuarios medidas para ahorrar energía, apoyando el cumplimiento de los objetivos de eficiencia establecidos en la legislación. El 'Código de Prácticas del Proyecto SmartHouse' incorpora, además, criterios de confort, diseño universal y accesibilidad. Así, hace referencia a las 'Directrices para que el desarrollo de las normas tenga en cuenta las necesidades de las personas mayores y las personas con discapacidad' según la Guía 6 de CEN/CENELEC o la 'Ergonomía de los sistemas de interacción humana. Guía sobre la accesibilidad en las interfaces hombre-ordenador' según la norma internacional ISO 16071. La presentación del 'Código de Prácticas del Proyecto SmartHouse' ha contado con la participación del Director General de AENOR, Ramón Naz; la Presidente de CEDOM, Concepción García y el Presidente de FENIE, Francisco Paramio, entre otros.

Más info: CEDOM

Enlaces externos: www.aenor.es www.fenie.es Fuente: http://www.casadomo.com/noticiasDetalle.aspx?id=12607&c=1&idm=5&pat=5

El Ayuntamiento Guadalajara presentó en Fitur varias novedades e iniciativas a desarrollar por la Concejalía de Turismo, entre las que destaca el nacimiento de unas nuevas guías de la ciudad, digitales, y especialmente pensadas en su uso por personas con diferentes discapacidades. 

The cameraman motions furiously at the lake. The philanthropist inches forward. I peer through long grass and see them: crocodiles. Big ones. Looking at us. In the water behind are dark bulges. More crocodiles. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them. We follow the cameraman as he creeps closer along a path I now realise was made by crocodiles. The helicopter is nowhere in sight. What the hell are we doing here?

It's simple. Chris Everson wants some close-up shots of crocs for 60 Minutes, the American television programme. Greg Carr has come to see some of the wildlife that his money and know-how are helping recover. And I'm caught up in the excitement of what might just be the hottest conservation story in Africa.

For the full article: http://www.southernafricadirect.com/news/entries/2009-08-04/mozambiques-gorongoza-park-comes-back-to-life.html

In 2011 a conference on Inclusive Tourism is planned for Brazil. Public announcement will not be until after the March 1-3, 2010 GPDD regional seminar on Inclusive Tourism in southern Africa. In the meantime awareness of Brazil's leadership in adapted adventure sports continues to trickle through the Portuguese/English language barrier.

While Eduardo Camara's excellent multi-author blog :Mao na Roda (Hand on the Wheel) is in Portuguese his recent post of videos on adventure sports breaks the language barrier and continues to open the eyes of traveler and travel supplier alike.

See the post SBT Repórter - Turismo de aventura

 

INVTUR 2010 - Tourism Research: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

University of Aveiro | 10^th to 13^th March 2010    

 

The International Conference INVTUR 2010 - Tourism Research: State of the Art and Future Perspectives is fast approaching. This will be the largest tourism-related scientific conference ever held in Portugal. The conference offers you the possibility to choose from 170 communications, distributed in 35 thematic parallel sessions, and 27 posters, being involved more than 350 authors that come from 25 countries, which will bring us a great diversity of cultures and experiences. All the works will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Tourism and Development, divided in 3 volumes.

 

INVTUR 2010 will host keynote presentations of some of the most important figures of world tourism academy: Professors Chris Cooper, John Tribe, Dimitrios Buhalis, Geoffrey Wall, Alan Fyall, Jafar Jafari , Lionello Punzo e Alfonso Vargas-Sanchez.

 

You will also be able to visit BiT - Forum for Tourism Innovation. This event will set as a priviledged space for the presentation of public and private organisations that represent successful and innovative cases and best practices developed on tourism projects, business models, and planning and management.

 

Check conference full program in attachment (also available on INVTUR website on http://www.ua.pt/event/invtur2010/ReadObject.aspx?obj=13183).

 

Register for INVTUR 2010: http://www2.adm.ua.pt/sre/gesconf/registration.asp?lang=EN

 

 For further information see official website: http://www.ua.pt/event/invtur2010

 

Follow us on Facebook:

INVTUR 2010 Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=141559402208

INVTUR 2010 Conference: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=97721381733

And on Twitter: http://twitter.com/INVTUR2010

Patricia Ribeiro at her About.com site Brazil Travel breaks a wonderful Geotourism story in English:

The famous coral pools of Pajuçara, in Maceió, are about to become more accessible to travelers with disabilities. A wheelchair-accessible jangada - the typical sailboat of the Brazilian Northeast - is to be launched at the end of January.

Designer Jorge Luiz Silva and supporters hope to collect funds to build three more jangadas. I'll be posting the bank account as soon as I have it. Read more about the accessible jangada.

Photo courtesy of Prefeitura Municipal de Maceió

Follow the story at:

http://gobrazil.about.com/b/2010/01/24/accessible-jangada-in-pajucara.htm