“ACCESSIBLE TOURIST PRODUCT” 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                  By:  
                                           Stefania Centi 
                                      Maria Chiara Mossone 
                                          Jacopo Borghetti 
                                         Eleonora Tramonti 
       
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         Table of Contents 
          
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         Accessibility of the tourist supply chain – general overview –                
         ƒ    Physical accessibility of structures and equipment...........................................................5 
         ƒ    Information accessibility ...................................................................................................6 
         ƒ    Economic accessibility .....................................................................................................7 
         ƒ    Psycho-social accessibility...............................................................................................8 
                                        ..........................................................................9 
         The various types of disability
         Physical disabilities.................................................................................................................10 
         Sensory disabilities.................................................................................................................11 
              ƒ       Visual limitations............................................................................................11 
              ƒ       Hearing limitations.........................................................................................11 
         Mental or psychic disabilities ..................................................................................................12 
         Other types of disabilities........................................................................................................13 
         Difficulties related to the surrounding environment – the ICF Classification 
         system -............................................................................................................15 
         Accessibility of the Tourist System – the norms..........................................17 
         The tourism legislation............................................................................................................20 
         Technical-Functional requirements – the four critical parameters of 
         accessibility......................................................................................................22 
         Accommodation and ancillary facilities ...................................................................................22 
              Motor disabilities (people in wheelchairs and with reduced mobility)..............................22 
              Sensory disabilities (blind people, people with reduced vision, deaf or people with 
              reduced hearing)............................................................................................................24 
              Other disabilities.............................................................................................................25 
              The solutions to be adopted in case of clients with allergies..........................................26 
              Solutions to be adopted for clients with celiac disease...................................................30 
         Facilities and spaces for leisure time and cultural activities: green and exhibition areas........32 
              Solutions to be adopted for green areas  .......................................................................32 
              Solutions to be adopted for exhibition areas ..................................................................33 
         Accessibility and the transportation system.................................................35 
              1. Air travel.....................................................................................................................35 
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        2. Travel by Train ...........................................................................................................37 
        3. Travel by Ship ............................................................................................................37 
        4. Travel by Car..............................................................................................................38 
     Information retrieval to put together an accessible tourist package..........38 
     The information system ..................................................................................40 
     Specific elements to provide information on according to specific needs...............................42 
        physical disabilities.........................................................................................................42 
        sensory disabilities.........................................................................................................43 
        other types of disabilities................................................................................................43 
     Available information retrieval tools ........................................................................................45 
     Information distribution methods.............................................................................................47 
        Level of information details – the summary notice..........................................................49 
     Information distribution: available channels............................................................................50 
     The international symbol of accessibility......................................................55 
     The symbols of certified accessibility......................................................................................56 
     Annex I.................................................................................................................................59 
     Normative provisions – abstract of the most important articles...............................................59 
     Legislation of the tourism sector.............................................................................................59 
     Dimensional references from Ministerial Decree of 14-06-89, n° 236.....................................59 
     Annex II................................................................................................................................60 
     SOURCES.........................................................................................................71 
       
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
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     Accessibility of the tourist supply chain – general overview –  
      
     Travelling and holidays are, nowadays, regarded as most important goods. Holiday making is, 
     in fact, regarded as a necessary break while travelling an opportunity for growth and personal 
     development. They both allow individuals to open up and come into contact with new people, 
     realities and cultures, in an increasingly globalised context. 
     It is for those reasons that the right to travel is to be fully considered as one of the 
     fundamental rights of every individual. It should, therefore, become a priority in the agenda 
     aimed at guaranteeing equal rights and dignity for each citizen. Accessibility is, therefore, not 
     just a goal to be reached with appropriate architectural solutions, but, first and foremost, it is a 
     social and civic goal for true democracy. 
     Tourism operators have been increasingly diversifying their offer for tourism and leisure time, 
     over the last years, trying to respond to the various needs, including those coming from 
     people with special needs. Therefore, to the requirement to make accommodation facilities 
     more accessible, the industry must add complete tourist services and packages able to turn a 
     stay into an authentic holiday. 
     Each person, when organising a trip, goes through a simple series of steps: choosing the 
     destination, gathering, whether independently or with the help of a tourist operator, 
     information on transport and accommodation, and last, but not the least, identifying cultural, 
     nature and leisure attractions available at the chosen destination. 
     The choice of a destination and the booking of specific services must correspond to what one 
     can afford in order to fulfil the expectations associated with the holiday experience. 
     This should be true for people with special needs too. However, it is not so to this day. 
     There is a form of exclusion in the current tourist system, even if not at all intentional. The 
     result is that people with special needs are, somehow, cast out. A tourist with disabilities is 
     forced to choose on the basis of whether or not a destination is able to minimally guarantee 
     the conditions necessary for them to autonomously use and enjoy the services and every 
     moment of their holiday in total safety, rather than be able to choose a destination because 
     they wish to do so.  
     A client with disabilities, like any other client, is looking for a product that is able to satisfy their 
     expectations and needs, that is affordable according to their purchasing power, and that, 
     above all, is able to satisfy their wish to be able to autonomously and safely enjoy it. 
     Therefore, whoever is putting together a tourist package targeted at clients with special needs 
     will have to take into account all the elements that make up the tourist offer, and work to make 
     sure that they are as usable and enjoyable as possible. 
     The tourist operators that will be better able to win over this target of customers in the near 
     future, will be those able to offer better quality from the view points of accessibility and other 
     services.  
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