To Table of Contents
the EU Parliament , the Commission and other relevant bodies , aiming to reach full inclusion goals . ENAT has supported many of these documents with the aim to get to sound and durable results . In Europe a common definition of accessibility criteria is still lacking but there are very few possibilities that a common basis will be achieved in the near future .
Another significant challenge is to have all EU Member States sharing a similar opinion about accessible tourism and the recognition of the visitor ’ s needs and rights . Goodwill is often not enough for a satisfactory development of accessible products and proposals , but the European Commission has been very active from this point of view , launching calls for proposals to sustain innovative projects to allow inclusive participation for all .
Do you think Covid-19 will negatively affect European travel for people with disabilities ? COVID19 has hit tourism in a dramatic way all around the world . The very hard measure of the shutdown , adopted in many countries , almost stopped all tourism activities with the severe consequence of huge loss of income and of jobs . Many activities are still now at risk of being bankrupted . The possibility that the pandemic will gain force again in the Autumn is also preventing people to plan travelling again . This situation is much more difficult for tourists with disabilities who have specific requirements to make their trip safe and comfortable . They might risk not finding the required assistance , and have problems in case they need to go back home in an emergency and may also be blocked by quarantine .
The UNWTO has issued a Paper on the inclusive response for vulnerable groups . ENAT and the ONCE Foundation have cooperated with the contents within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding we have signed with UNWTO .
When do you anticipate tourism will resume ? What type of “ normal ” do you envision ? All studies and market research made at national and European levels consider 2021 as the year when tourism activities will slowly go back to normal but that is only assuming that a vaccine or treatment will be found in the coming months . It all depends on the pandemic situation , if and when the whole planet will be “ virus-free ” in order to resume normal transport connections with all the countries and plan tourist exchanges . This is particularly important for Europe since 3 of EU countries ( France , Spain and Italy ) are in the top 5 list of the UNWTO as the major destinations of the world tourism exchanges .
‘ Normal ’ will be very different from the one we have known in the past : the need for social distancing will reduce the offer of the tourist facilities ( hotels , restaurants , social events , etc .) thus the tourism economy will still be a critical issue . With less jobs and less economic possibilities , many tourist flows will be reduced . In our opinion this will affect more tourists with disabilities and specific access requirements for many reasons : a loss of income and a possible loss of Tourism for All offers , due to the reduced capacity of the tourism industry .
What organizations does ENAT work with in each country to ensure that its resolutions are helpful and enforced ? There are many at national and international levels , normally public bodies , particularly if they are committed to create a destination system for tourism activities and promotion . In this case the issues of Tourism for All are