COME-IN! at the 2nd World Summit on Accessible Tourism
From 30 September to 2 October, the second edition of the World Summit on Accessible Tourism took place in Brussels. The CEI Secretariat participated to the conference as lead partner of the project COME-IN! which increases the capacity of small and medium-sized museums by making them accessible to all.
The aim of the conference was to present the latest innovations and best practices for the development of accessible destinations for all. Over 400 participants from 255 organisations attended the event, representing 42 countries. Combined with an exhibition on the different accessible tourist destinations, products and services around the world, the summit offered an opportunity to exchange and share experiences between tourism operators, suppliers, institutions, associations and service providers.
Following the words of the co-president of the Summit Vincent Snoeck, “Accessibility is a right that we are claiming today. It is the duty of destinations, establishments and any touristic service to make every effort to reach optimal accessibility: Political willingness, communication, training, developing tools & instruments, providing support, setting deadlines, control, establishing sanctions”.
Stakeholders have advocated to developing a universal, reliable and verified information system adapted to specific needs, which should increase competitiveness and have demonstrated positive impacts on the tourism economy.