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Authors
Martins, Cláudia
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
International legislation has regarded culture as a human right since the endorsement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), a right of which no one should be deprived regardless of their personal traits. In the last decades, cultural heritage has awakened to new needs and demands: not only has it become a focus of interest for the tourism sector, but it has also been targeted for accessibility reasons. The United Nations (s.d., online) hold that accessible tourism (or tourism for all) is of the utmost importance, not only because it “is a central element for responsible and sustainable development policy”, but also since it provides a unique business opportunity – it is estimated that there are 1 billion people with disabilities, not to mention the 2 billion people that are family or caregivers of these persons. As such, accessible tourist offer should be directed to a broad and diverse group that aims at people with impairments, children, seniors, pregnant women, people with obesity, to name just a few.For a number of reasons – commercial, cultural and legal – tourism must be gradually developed from the perspective of accessibility. Chazaud (1997) argued about the need to develop an interface between cultural spaces and visitors, where a number of services are included, from peripheral to more central ones. Similarly, Devile, Jesus & Cruz (2011) support the idea that a tourism product encompasses a set of tangible and intangible components, understood as a whole experience that comprises transport, accommodation, accessible activities, appropriate reception and information, human resources, among others. This approach put forth by these authors entail what we understand as tourism ecosystems.
I intend to present examples of good practices that may enhance accessible tourism in Portugal – two museums regarded as exemplary (i.e. Museum of the Council Community of Batalha and the National Museum of Tile), the AccessTUR project for the central region of Portugal, the programme Accessible Beach – Beach for ALL and the project “Culture for All Bragança” (European Social Fund NORTE-07-4230-FSE-000058). I wish to critically discuss them by putting forward the objectives, implementation context and resources created to promote inclusion for all as far as tourism is concerned.
Description
Keywords
Accessibility Accessible tourism Tourism ecosystem Good practices Portuguese accessibility Research Subject Categories::HUMANITIES and RELIGION
Citation
Martins, Cláudia (2022). How Accessible Is Portuguese Tourism? – Reflections on Existing Good Practices. In International Tourism Congress ITC2022Tourism – Going Back/Forward to Sustainability BOOK. Lodz
Publisher
University of Łódź