Mélange Accessibility for All Magazine October 2020 | Page 51

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brought to their attention in order to build medium and long term plans and define strategies to create an accessible destination management .
ENAT is cooperating to define tourism improvement strategies and references to help national and regional tourist boards include accessible tourism in their long-term goals . At an international level , the long-lasting cooperation with UNWTO and the European Commission has brought many important results . Our collaboration with UNWTO Ethics Unit has enabled us to offer the Tourism Industry valuable manuals on Recommendations on Accessible Tourism and on Accessible Information in tourism , among other guidelines . Some best practices in accessible tourism were outlined in the brochure that the UNWTO launched in Bangkok , to celebrate the World Tourism Day 2016 , where the main topic was Accessible Tourism .
What has been the biggest obstacle that ENAT has been faced ? At the beginning we were just another organization dealing with Tourism for All . In any country , when some opinion leaders or stakeholders acknowledge that Tourism for All is an economic as well as ethical issue , they form an association which tries to be credited as “ the one ” at national and mainly at an international level . Recognition of the goals of the Network as compared to many other similar organisations has been one of the biggest obstacles , even if , our concept since the beginning was , and still is now , that we do not need or want competition but cooperation , integration , working together . Through cooperation and the signature of Memoranda of Understanding at national and international level was one of the methods to overcome the initial challenges . Now we are working with a lot of public and private organisations , NGOs and associations for the rights of people with disabilities . This is the action line we are still following and it represents one of our top priorities in our strategic plan 2020- 2024 .
If there was one thing ENAT could change globally , what would it be and why ? To reach a global understanding of the real meaning of Tourism for All , increase general and personal awareness of diversity as wealth , and make every one of us understand that barriers and disabilities are just a state of mind .
In Conclusion When we started , we were confident that our ideas and concepts will lead to a different understanding of Tourism for All , of the customers and the environment . A lot was at stake : we struggled , we negotiated , we kept our confidence on a future being more inclusive for disability issues and , I am convinced , we won our bet … but we will not let our guard down . The final result has not yet been fully achieved .
email : enat @ accessibletourism . org website : www . accessibletourism . org