World Summit on Accessible Tourism in Brussels
On October 2018, over 400 participants from 255 different organizations and companies, from more than 40 countries, gathered in Brussels to get to know each other, share experiences and best practices.
Fascinating issues, full of exchanges of knowledge, experiences and ideas were discussed. They raised questions about innovations and best practices about developing accessible destinations for all.
If you want to know what you missed during this edition, or if you simply want a valuable additional information to your participation, the proceedings are available. They include speakers' PowerPoint presentation files (in PDF format) and summaries of all sessions. Some videos and audio clips are also available.
Five key messages to remember from Destination for All 2018
From these two days of presentations, debates and discussions, we would retain five central elements:
- Making accessible tourism infrastructures is economically viable: several experiments presented have shown us that they are even economically profitable.
- We must move away from the concept of destination and globalise by talking about travel: rather than islands, let’s talk about archipelagos that encompass all the links of accessibility.
- Influencers make a strong contribution to making decisions about where to go, and how to do it. People recognise themselves in their peers, and obviously take their opinions into account.
- Accessible tourism is first and foremost tourism for all. We must be able to live the experience to the end – to live an emotion.
- The Summit has made it possible to confront parallel initiatives. Let us wager that if these initiatives were to be coordinated, they would produce an even more positive effect on the development of tourism for all. Partnerships have really become indispensable in this regard.
Destinations for All 2018 is behind us, but the journey continues: it will remain a major global change agent aiming to ensure that the destinations, transportation, establishments and all tourist services achieve optimal accessibility and provide a barrier-free experience for all visitors.
Please visit Destinations for All 2018 website for more information.
Public Authorities
The 2nd World Summit on accessible Tourism is supported by:
