« House of Smiles Project for Children with Disabilities - Chan Sarin | Main | Flower season »
May 24, 2005
Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism
Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism was adopted at the
International Accessible Tourism Conference in May 6,2005.
We, the participants of the International Accessible Tourism Conference,
held at Taipei from 5 to 6 May 2005:
Recognizing that tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Asia
and the Pacific, and that people with disabilities and older persons are
beginning to enjoy newly found opportunities for travel, sports, cultural,
educational and entertainment activities;
Recalling that, to implement the extended Asian and Pacific Decade of
Disabled Person, 2003-2012, the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to
Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, held
at Otsu, Shiga, Japan, in October 2002, adopted the Biwako Millennium
Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based
Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asian and the Pacific;
Recalling also the recommendations and Bali Declaration on Barrier-free
Tourism for People with Disabilities emerged from the Asia-Pacific
Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities, Bali, Indonesia, in
September 2000, and endorsed by the Committee on Transport, Communications,
Tourism and Infrastructure Development, held in Bangkok in November 2000;
Recognizing that people with disabilities have equal right of access to all
tourist infrastructure, products and services, including employment
opportunities and benefits that the tourism industries can provide, and that
people with disabilities should be provided with the same choices for all
consumers, to ensure their full participation and protection of the
individual’s right to travel with dignity;
Appreciating that the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and the Asian and
Pacific Disability Forum have taken the initiative to organize the above
Conference to discuss the major issues relating to accessible tourism for
people with disabilities, with a view to formulating action plan to promote
barrier-free tourism in the Asian and Pacific region;
Noting that, while the inclusion of universal design in tourism development
can create environments, products and services that are useable by a wide
spectrum of consumers, irrespective of their experience, knowledge, skills,
age, gender, as well as their physical, sensory, communication and cognitive
abilities, most tourism service providers do not yet recognize the
importance of this issue, in the absence of explicit government policies and
strategies, as well as a lack of training for tourism personnel on the
rights and needs of tourists with disabilities and a shortage of tourism
programs that are accessible by people with disabilities;
Observing that, Inclusive Destination Development facilitates the social
participation of people with disabilities and enables barrier-free economic
development by systematically applying the principles of universal design to
the creation of tourist destinations;
1. Affirm our commitment to promoting accessible tourism for people with
disabilities in countries in the Asian and Pacific region;
2. Develop and implement our empowerment programs, focusing on advocacy,
facilitation and negotiation to work more effectively with the tourism
industry, government agencies and regional and international organizations
to improve existing practices relating to accessibility and to support the
tourism industry in introducing universal design principle to tourism for
all;
3. Assist in: (a) development of training materials on disability awareness
in tourism education and training for use by the tourism industries and
related fields, and (b) education and dispatch of experienced trainers with
disabilities to training sessions on accessible tourism organized by the
tourism industries and government agencies;
4. Ensure that information on accessible tourism be obtainable in accessible
formats, including print materials such as brochures and pamphlets, as well
as audio and digital medium such as Internet websites, by information and
communication disadvantaged groups including older people, and people with
hearing and visual impairments.
5. Cooperate internationally in the area of accessible tourism, building
upon existing cooperation among countries in the Asian and Pacific region,
especially through information and technology sharing to enhance
barrier-free environments and transportation, as well as access to
information;
6. Initiate collaborative efforts with governments, non-governmental
organizations, as well as regional and international organizations
concerning traveling and tourism, including International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (WTO), UNESCO,
International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Pacific-Asia Travel
Association (PATA) and other institutions relevant to tourism, to include
disability concerns into mainstream tourism activities;
7. Advocate that upcoming regional and international cultural, sports,
entertainment and educational events, programs and sites be fully accessible
by people with disabilities, including Hong Kong Disneyland to be open in
2005, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympics Games;
8. Form a regional network of concerned individuals, associations,
organizations and agencies concerning accessible tourism to exchange ideas
and personnel, share information among all the stakeholders and promote
study on barrier-free tourism to improve the quality of life through
accessible tourism, with a view to achieving world peace;
9. Organize regularly a regional conference on accessible tourism for people
with disabilities and older persons every two years, beginning with a
Tsunami affected country, to ensure continuity of our efforts to promote
accessible and universal tourism.
Ditailed information on the conference is provided at the following site:http://www.apatl.com/
Posted by jicafriends at May 24, 2005 07:15 PM