Peter Neumann

Peter Neumann Bahnhofstr. 1-5, 48143 Münster, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)251 / 16254-30, Fax: +49 (0)251 / 16254-34 [email protected], www.neumann-consult.com [email protected]

Peter Neumann is senior lecturer at the Department for Geography at the University of Münster and director of the consultancy NeumannConsult – Town and Regional Development / Design for All. Moreover he is President of the European Institute Design for All in Germany (EDAD) and member of EuCAN and the German DIN CERTCO Expert-Group in the specific field of “barrier-free plannings, buildings and products”. In 2003 he was member of the "European Commission Expert Working Group on Accessibility".

Since 1992 Peter is working in the field of Tourism for All. His most important studies are “Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All” (2003) and „Analysis of success factors and development of actions to increase the quality of accessible Tourism for All in Germany" (2007), both commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics.

Francesc Aragall I Clave ProAsolutionS Executive Director Avgda. Marquès de Comillas, 13 Recinte Poble Espanyol, Bústia nº 97 08038 – Barcelona TEL +34 93 470 51 18 FAX +34 93 371 76 49 [email protected] www.designforall.org

He is graduated in therapeutic pedagogy from the University of Barcelona. He has developed his professional activity in the world of ergonomics, biomechanics, accessibility and Design for All, a concept that has spread throughout Europe through the European Institute for Design and Disability (EIDD), of which he has been president since 1998 until 2001.

ENAT Tourism for All International Congress, Marina d’Or, 2007 During the period of construction of the facilities for the 92 Olympic Games, he was responsible for urban accessibility, transportation and technical help from Barcelona City Council, until 1993 in which he assumed management of the “Consoci de Recursos per the Integració de la Diversitat” (CRID). He was a member of the “Consell per a la Promoció de l'Accessibilitat i Supressió de Barreres Arquitectòniques” of Catalonia between July 2004 and September 2006.

Currently, he is lecturer of various Masters and doctorate courses at the University of Barcelona and Lisbon, editor of the “European Concept for Accessibility" (2003 edition), member of the “Grup de Treball d´Accessibilitat” of Barcelona City Council, patron of the “Barcelona Centre Disseny” (BCD) and Executive Director of the company ProAsolutions, accessibility consulting and design for all people, as well as Founder and Chairman of the Design for All Foundation.

LAST PUBLICATIONS:

 Manual d’accessibilitat de platges de la província de Barcelona (2001), Editado en catalán por la Diputación de Barcelona.

 De la Ciutat sense barreres a la Ciutat per a Tothom (Febrero del 2002), Editado en catalán por la Diputación de Barcelona, perteneciente a la colección Espai Públic Urbà.

 BARCELONA. Del Plan de Accesibilidad a la Ciudad para Todas las Personas (Abril 2003), Editado por la Design for All Foundation, con la colaboración del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona.

 European Concept for Accessibility (ECA) 2003, editado por el European Concept for Accessibility Network (EuCAN) y el apoyo del Ministerio de la Famille, de la Solidarité Sociale et de la Jeunesse de Luxemburgo.

“Tools to improve opportunities in Tourism for All”

1.1 Abstract Nowadays there is no doubt that Tourism for All is both a business opportunity and a Corporate Social responsibility. But how to start, how to progress and how to succeed implementing Tourism for All in a company or in a tourist destination is still an unanswered question. Tourist destinations and service providers shall be able to position themselves in the field of Tourism for All in a sustainable and internationally competitive

ENAT Tourism for All International Congress, Marina d’Or, 2007 way. Keeping this in mind we present in our paper the four main tools to commit, start and evaluate results of the process to implement Tourism for All. With the help of European wide examples we will discuss the following matters,: 1. Product evaluation methods (accessibility standards and criteria, enquiries, Ossate forms, etc.) 2. Impact analyses (socio- economical impact, reputation, etc.) … 3. Quality assessment (mystery mailings or shopping, enquiries, etc.) 4. Constant improvement methods (UNE 170.000, Commitment to Design for All, Flag of Towns and Cities for All, etc.)

1.2 Introduction Design for All is a philosophy and a process to achieve Universal Access, which includes: environments, products and services that are not discriminatory but safe, healthy, functional, comprehensible and aesthetic. It’s a challenge and an opportunity for the tourism sector to address additional clients/customers with different cultural habits, age, abilities and preferences regarding leisure and culture. To face this trend the sector should develop tools and strategies to take advantage in front of the competitors offering services well adapted to the clients diversity. Using our experience as a source, we present tools and methods to help the tourist destinations, both public and private, to start, improve, monitor and measure the strategies that can be designed and implemented to make the Corporate Social Responsibility with the economical reward compatible.

1.4. 10 steps to develop a holiday destination for all

1. Realisation and impartation, that Tourism for All is an economic factor 2. Main project management (fixing responsibilities) 3. Close corporation/networking within the destination 4. Inclusion of travellers and people on location who are affected 5. Master plan for an accessible destination 6. Analysis regarding accessibility of a holiday destination (accessibility map) 7. Mobilisation and qualification of tourism and service providers 8. Development and project implementation as well as good practices 9. Product development and marketing 10. Continuous public relations and Customer Relationship Management

1.5 Timescale of transformation into an accessible holiday destination for all

Experiences have displayed that the transition towards an accessible holiday destination for all is a process that can only be completed step by step. Generally speaking, the development process in a given destination takes place in three phases: 1 Start-up phase 2 Development and enhancement phase

ENAT Tourism for All International Congress, Marina d’Or, 2007 3 Differentiation and consolidation phase

The real and usual fact is that the phases are not clearly distinguishable; their duration also varies depending on the destination and facilities in question. Still, all three phases display certain general characteristics that are common to all destinations (cf. Tbl. 1).

Table 1. Phases of the transition towards an accessible holiday destination for all

Phase Characteristics Start-up phase  Awareness has been raised among tourism professional and tourism service providers  Accessibility is assessed and need for action identified  A concept with a defined objective and programme of action is developed (Master plan)  Pragmatic (interim) solutions for the design of facilities and the distribution of information are developed

Development and  Main attractions are accessible to all guests enhancement  Services and facilities are further developed phase  The targeted distribution of information is included as an element of the marketing strategy

Differentiation  High-quality facilities are available along the and consolidation entire service chain phase  Stronger differentiation and networking of existing services and facilities  Stronger specialisation in special target groups

Source: BMWI 2004

1.5. Tools for the start up phase

Applicable legislation, European Concept for Accessibility, DIN Standards, UNE 170.000 and Commitment to Design for All follow are tools that can be used to raise awareness and to be used as reference and guide to assess accessibility.

Education and training at all levels in the company is the first step to achieve the involvement of the personnel and the commitment to improve the services focussing on ethical values.

1.6. How to monitor the enhancement phase

ENAT Tourism for All International Congress, Marina d’Or, 2007 To analyse and learn from the claims, Client Ombudsman, mystery clients, company reputation evaluation, interviews with clients, etc. are tools that can be used to analyse the improvement of the services.

1.7. How to measure the impact

Economical analysis, socio-economical analysis, cost-benefit analysis, clients’ statistics, benchmarking with competitors would help to measure the impact of the differentiation and consolidation phase.

1.8. Conclusions

Accessible Tourism for All is a task that affects all of us, and it can be solved only through concerted action. The commitment of all operators in a destination and the support of specialist in the field are key tools to guarantee the success.

References

ADAC e.V. (ed.) (2003): Barrierefreier Tourismus für Alle. Eine Planungshilfe für Tourismus-Praktiker zur erfolgreichen Entwicklung barrierefreier Angebote. München

Aragall, F. et alt. (2003): European Concept for Accessibility. Editor: Info Handicap. Luxembourg. www.eca.lu

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie BMWI (ed.) (2004): Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All. Bonn = Dokumentation des BMWA Nr. 526

Neumann, P. (2006): Economic Impacts of Accessible Tourism for All – The Case of Germany. In: Newsletter of Design For All Institute Of India, Vol-1, Number-4/2006

Neumann, P. / Reuber, P. (Hrsg.) (2004): Ökonomische Impulse eines barrierefreien Tourismus für Alle. Langfassung einer Studie im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Arbeit. Münster (= Münstersche Geographische Arbeiten 47).

ENAT Tourism for All International Congress, Marina d’Or, 2007