· 6 accessible travel for all is a key requirement for the tourism industry in the 21st century....
TRANSCRIPT
Detailed and reliable descriptions of individual offers pro-
vide trust in the journey and pleasure during the holiday.
The free brochure “Sachsen Barrierefrei” (Barrier-free
Saxony) presents 92 accessible accommodations and
379 accessible cultural and leisure facilities in every
Saxon holiday region and in the metropolises Dresden,
Leipzig and Chemnitz. The focus lies on touristic
des tinations, especially in the sector of art and culture.
All offers can also be found in the online database at
www.visitsaxony.com.
Tourism Marketing Company of Saxony
Bautzner Strasse 45–47 · 01099 Dresden · Germany
Phone: +49 (0)351-491700 · [email protected]
S A C H S E N B A R R I E R E F R E I .
UNTERKÜNFTE, KULTUR, FREIZEIT
Contact
A C C E S S I B L E H O L I D AY S I N S A X O N Y
Anz_SachsenBarrierefrei_2014_engl_210x297mm_cmyk 13.02.14 07:36 Seite 1
3
Contents
Detailed and reliable descriptions of individual offers pro-
vide trust in the journey and pleasure during the holiday.
The free brochure “Sachsen Barrierefrei” (Barrier-free
Saxony) presents 92 accessible accommodations and
379 accessible cultural and leisure facilities in every
Saxon holiday region and in the metropolises Dresden,
Leipzig and Chemnitz. The focus lies on touristic
des tinations, especially in the sector of art and culture.
All offers can also be found in the online database at
www.visitsaxony.com.
Tourism Marketing Company of Saxony
Bautzner Strasse 45–47 · 01099 Dresden · Germany
Phone: +49 (0)351-491700 · [email protected]
S A C H S E N B A R R I E R E F R E I .
UNTERKÜNFTE, KULTUR, FREIZEIT
Contact
A C C E S S I B L E H O L I D AY S I N S A X O N Y
Anz_SachsenBarrierefrei_2014_engl_210x297mm_cmyk 13.02.14 07:36 Seite 1
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Design and layout: M.A.D. Kommunikation, www.mad-kommunikation.de Translation: LingServe Ltd., www.lingserve.co.ukPrinted by: Druckerei Hassmüller Graphische Betriebe GmbH & Co. KG, www.hassmueller.de
Photo credits: All pictures provided by the German National Tourist Board, except: panthermedia P. 6; Imagefoto AG (Quelle Fränkisches Seenland) P. 9; Photographer Jens Goerlich P. 11; Studio Prokopy/ Tourismusverband Ruppiner Seenland e.V. P. 14/15; TMB P. 16/17; Studio Prokopy/ Tourismusverband Ruppiner Seenland e.V. P. 20/21
Tourism for all 4
Accessible tourism 6 A challenge and an opportunity for Destination Germany
Professional partnerships 8 The GNTB collaborates with specialist organisations on barrier-free travel
Barrier-free travel 10 By rail and air
Best practice in accessible tourism 12 What are regional marketing organisations and their partners doing?
Germany’s hotel industry 18 Barrier-free for a competitive edge
International key players 20 Germany as a barrier-free travel destination
ACCESSIBLE HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN
Enjoy carefree holidays in SouthWest Germany. The region offers all sorts of opportunities to meet people and explore the countryside, thanks to excellent barrier-free, accessible facilities. All are listed in our special Accessible Holidays brochure, listing what you can do by region, clearly marked with symbols.
Ask for the free brochure: T +49 (0) 7 11 / 2 38 58-0 Or order online by email: [email protected]
www.tourismus-bw.de/barrierefrei
TMBW_14_0162 07_Anzeige_barrierefrei_ENGL_210x297_4c.indd 1 06.02.14 14:21
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Dear reader,
Tourism should be accessible to everyone as a matter of course – and that is why the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has been working for many years to develop and pro-mote tourism products and services that make it possible for every traveller to discover all that Destination Germany has to offer. This commitment is evident from our close colla-boration with our partners, the Association of Barrier-free Destinations, the National Coordination Board Tourism for All (NatKo) and the Tourism for All working group of the Ger-man federal states. At the German National Tourist Board, barrier-free travel is being developed as part of our inno-vations management, highlighting just how important this subject is for our work, now and in the future.
Looking ahead, accessibility will continue to be a key factor for tourism. Demographic change means that the proportion of older people is rapidly growing, especially in industrial nations. Barrier-free travel is therefore increasingly becoming an indicator of quality for tourism services and a competitive advantage for travel destinations.
This year, to raise awareness of this subject within the tourism industry, the GNTB is once again hosting a Barrier-free Tourism Day at the ITB. This all-day event at the world’s largest tourism trade fair will give key decision-makers from companies, specialist organisations, associations and political bodies an opportunity to find out more about acces-sibility and inclusiveness and to discuss current trends, opportunities and innovative ideas.
Barrier-free travel is also the theme of this brochure. We want to get the message across that this is about more than pro-viding a selection of suitable products and services for people with restricted mobility. The entire service chain – from how
destinations are promoted, how people obtain information and how they book, to where people stay, where they eat and what they experience on holiday – must be critically reviewed, refined and brought together as a network to cater for everyone, whether it’s people with disabilities, older travellers or young families.
Thanks to a huge range of initiatives by special-interest groups and political bodies, public awareness of the mani-fold requirements of barrier-free travel has increased signifi-cantly. The tourism service sector has understood and is responding to the call. Together with our partners we will continue to work on making tourism in Germany accessible to all.
Yours,
Petra HedorferChief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board
Tourism for all
Discover Destination Germany at
www.germany.travel
Follow us at
www.facebook.com/visitgermany
www.twitter.com/GermanyTourism
www.youtube.com/user/DestinationGermany
ACCESSIBLE HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN
Enjoy carefree holidays in SouthWest Germany. The region offers all sorts of opportunities to meet people and explore the countryside, thanks to excellent barrier-free, accessible facilities. All are listed in our special Accessible Holidays brochure, listing what you can do by region, clearly marked with symbols.
Ask for the free brochure: T +49 (0) 7 11 / 2 38 58-0 Or order online by email: [email protected]
www.tourismus-bw.de/barrierefrei
TMBW_14_0162 07_Anzeige_barrierefrei_ENGL_210x297_4c.indd 1 06.02.14 14:21
www.germany.travel6
Accessible travel for all is a key requirement for the tourism industry in the 21st century.
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is working to meet this requirement and to expand
accessible tourism in Germany as part of its newly established innovations management. To tie
in with its wider sustainability objective, the GNTB is positioning Destination Germany as an
attractive travel destination for people with disabilities and restricted mobility.
In the European Union alone, there are now some 80 million people with disabili-ties or restricted mobility – around 16 per cent of the population. Demograph-
ic changes will cause this figure to rise in the coming years. That will mean an in-crease in the number of tourists with special requirements – covering every-
thing from travel planning and transport to accommodation, eating out, shopping and leisure activities.
AccessibleA challenge and an opportunity for Destination Germany
tourism
Tom Jamison, Editor of Able Magazine, Glasgow (UK)
“The German National Tourist Board has set a new gold standard with their ‘barrier-free’ concept. ‘Accessibility’ can often mean a second rate ramp around the back, by the bins. ‘Barrier-free’, as I have seen in Germany, means that everyone is treated to a first class reception irrespective of ability.”
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Accessibility as a hallmark of tourism in Germany
Barrier-free travel is therefore set to become an important quality indicator for tourism services in the 21st century – and ‘tourism for all’ will become a key factor in the com-petitiveness of travel destinations. The core target group for barrier-free travel does, af-ter all, cover an extremely broad spectrum: from people with physical or mental disabil-ities to young families and older travellers.
To meet the requirements of this growing target group and to position Germany as an appealing travel destination for people with disabilities, the GNTB has put barrier-free travel at the centre of its international marketing activities. “Together with our partners, we aim to develop and market reliable, quality-assured products and services throughout the travel and hospi-tality industry,” says Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB. “The GNTB is responsible for promoting this varied offering to an international audience and
to establish accessibility as an important facet in the core brand values of tourism in Germany.”
Multi-channel marketing of barrier-free travel
For many years now, the GNTB has been using its 30 foreign representative offices and agencies and all its communication channels to promote accessible tourism. In June 2013, the GNTB launched its new microsite on barrier-free travel for the British market which will be continually updated with new content and promoted intensively through various channels. To develop barrier-free tourism to Germany in specific markets, the GNTB holds prod-uct workshops in those markets with trade associations, academics and travel indus-try professionals. The subject is also an ever-present feature at trade fairs and workshops. Indeed the GNTB’s second ‘Barrier-free Tourism Day’, which it orga-nised in close collaboration with the National Coordination Board Tourism for All (NatKo), was attended by more than 200 trade professionals at the ITB travel in-
dustry conference in 2013. For key market players, the GNTB runs barrier-free fact-finding tours and press tours. It has also organised photoshoots in various regions of the country to generate high-quality images for advertising barrier-free tourism in Germany around the world.
‘GOLD – You can do more than you think’, a documentary that follows three disabled athletes preparing for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, is one of a number of promotional films supported by the GNTB.
The GNTB also uses advertisements to position Germany as a cosmopolitan and friendly travel destination that offers a warm welcome to all its visitors. The ‘Barri-er-free travel… Germany is open to all’ campaign, in particular, is aimed at encou-
raging people with disabilities or restricted mobility to take a holiday in Germany. The subject is, of course, also communicated via media reports – in the press, on the ra-dio, on television and on social media sites.
Accessibility is essential for around 10 per cent of the population, helpful for around 30 per cent and can make life easier for every visitor.Source: Dr Rüdiger Leidner, Dr Peter Neumann and Markus Rebstock, Executive Board, European Institute Design for All in Germany (EDAD)
www.germany.travel/barrierfree
Dr Carmen Hildebrandt, Spokeswoman for the Association of Barrier-free Destinations in Germany
Accessibility – learning from the experts
“On 26th Feb I attended a workshop at the German National Tourist Office in London to establish the requirements for promoting accessibility travel from the UK to Germany – a concept called ‘Barrier-free travel’. We discussed methods of assisted travel, different levels of accommodation, inspiring activities for all ages and for a wide variety of needs. In short: how visitors to Germany could experience the fullest, most enjoyable and most barrier-free holidays possible. It was a fantastic day and really exciting to be involved right from the start of the campaign.”
Carrie-Ann Lightly, Tourism for All (tour operator), Kendal, Cumbria
www.germany.travel8
The GNTB collaborates with specialist organisations on barrier-free travel
The growing demands in the field of barrier-free travel can only be met if all relevant parties make a
concerted effort. And that is why the GNTB collaborates with partners from the tourism industry and
organisations for the disabled, most notably the Association of Barrier-free Destinations in Germany
and the National Coordination Board Tourism for All (NatKo).
The aim of such collaborations is to give and receive specialist support, to regularly share information, to conduct joint mar-keting activities and to work intensively with politicians, authorities, businesses and key market players.
Association of Barrier-free Destinations in Germany: an end-to-end service chain is essential
The Association of Barrier-free Destina-tions in Germany and its member towns, cities and holiday regions are committed to the development of accessible tourism in Germany. The association works tire-lessly to improve travel products, facilities and services for visitors with restricted mobility, learning difficulties or hearing or visual impairments. Its main communica-tion tool is the website www.barrierefreie-reiseziele.de. The association became a GNTB sponsor in 2010, and since that time has been an active partner at tourism trade fairs such as the ITB, GTM and WTM and has helped to organise press tours and fact-finding tours for key market players.
“To make travel in Germany easier for people with disabilities, we need a service chain that is barrier-free throughout,” says Dr Carmen Hildebrandt, spokeswoman for the Association of Barrier-free Destina-tions in Germany. “For this, we need clear and binding policies that must be adhered to. And all key decision-makers have to be made aware of the topic.”
The association puts particular emphasis on how people travel to, from and within their holiday destinations, and on cultural institutions such as museums and theatres.
“Our objective is for planners and regula-tory authorities to consider the aspect of accessibility in all building projects, and that all parties will come to regard acces-sibility as a matter of course similar to fire safety and heritage preservation,” says Hildebrandt.
Professionalpartnerships
Dr Rüdiger Leidner, Honorary President of NatKo
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NatKo: helping the tourism industry to learn from affected travellers
National Coordination Board Tourism for All (NatKo) is a non-profit organisation that has been promoting barrier-free trav-el since 1999 and has been a GNTB sponsor
since 2011. In partnership with associa-tions for the disabled, it acts in an advisory capacity and helps members of the tour-ism industry – from small family business-es to large organisations – to develop bar-rier-free products and services. The agency is currently working with the German Seminar for Tourism (DSFT) to de-velop a nationally recognised certification scheme for barrier-free travel services.
The GNTB is able to call on NatKo for advice on all aspects of ‘barrier-free travel’ and ‘tourism for all’. In 2013 NatKo organ-ised the Barrier-free Tourism Day at the ITB – and is doing so again this year with the support of the GNTB. “The great response we received showed how seri-ously the tourism industry is taking the subject,” says Dr Rüdiger Leidner, Honorary President of NatKo. “Nonetheless, Germany remains only a medium-size player when
it comes to barrier-free tourism. The German travel industry still needs to do a lot more to stay competitive in this sector.”
Barrier-free tourism is not a niche market for disabled people
Leidner believes one of the biggest challenges lies in persuading tourism or-ganisations that barrier-free tourism is not a niche market for disabled people: “Barrier- free travel is sustainable tourism in the broader sense, and has the capacity to make the German travel industry more competitive as a whole both now and in the future. That’s why every opportunity should be taken to increase the degree of collaboration among the main actors in barrier-free tourism. However, we can only do this if we receive the necessary political and financial support.”
Ellen Engel-Kuhn, head of the disability liaison office at Deutsche Bahn
www.germany.travel10
By rail and airTransport can make or break barrier-free travel – and that means not only how people get to and
from their destination but also how they get around once they’re there. Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa,
the GNTB’s key transport partners, have recognised the signs of the times. They offer passengers with
restricted mobility a wide spectrum of services and see this as an essential part of modern-day
customer care and an investment in the future.
Deutsche Bahn: an impressive track record in accessible travel
Deutsche Bahn is regarded as a leader in barrier-free travel throughout Europe. For years now, the German rail company has offered extensive services for people with restricted mobility. The first port of call for German and international passengers is Deutsche Bahn’s mobility service centre (MSZ), which provides information on specific services and offers, organises the necessary assistance for boarding, chang-ing and leaving trains, and is responsible for tickets, seat reservations and other services. Deutsche Bahn provides further information online at www.bahn.de/ barrierefrei and in its brochure ‘Mobility for the Disabled – Services for Mobility- Impaired Customers’.
Deutsche Bahn develops its barrier-free services in close consultation with dis-abled people. Indeed this is how Deutsche Bahn’s barrier-free travel centres were set up: today 40 travel centres are equipped with a tactile guidance system for visually impaired people, lowered coun-ters for wheelchair users and inductive hearing loops, which allow hearing-aid wearers to communicate with Deutsche
Bahn staff without wires or interference. Some 6,800 new ticket machines have also been made more accessible. Deaf customers can use the email address [email protected] and find sign-language videos on important travel considerations online at www.bahn.de.
At over 300 stations, customer service personnel will offer to help travellers with restricted mobility to board, change and leave trains. Since late 2012, passengers have also been able to get assistance at unmanned stations from on-board staff, provided they give advance notification. Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains are largely barrier-free with low access doors, tactile lettering and symbols, wheelchair spaces and disabled toilets. All local trains should be barrier-free from 2017. Deutsche Bahn is also modernising around 100 sta-tions a year, with new lifts among the many improvements to accessibility.
Paving the way for barrier-free package tours
“As a transport provider for the tourism in-dustry, we believe that strategic alliances in the tourism industry are extremely im-portant,” says Ellen Engel-Kuhn, head of
Barrier-free travel
Service staff at Deutsche Bahn help passengers with restricted mobility to board, change and leave trains at over
300 stations across Germany. In 2012, they responded to around
550,000 calls for assistance.
Jens Bischof, Member of the Executive Board for Sales, Marketing and Products at Lufthansa
In 2012, chaperone services for passengers with reduced mobility were provided around
584,400 times by
Frankfurt Airport.
Approx. 70 per cent of those were people with connecting flights. The number for 2013 is expected to have
risen to 630,000.
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the liaison office for disability matters at Deutsche Bahn. “And we attach particular importance to our collaboration with the German National Tourist Board and its part-ners.” Together with the Association of Barrier-free Destinations in Germany, Deutsche Bahn is working on improving the range of travel packages for people with restricted mobility. The company already offers trips that people can put together using a modular system at www.bahn.de/reiseziele-barrierefrei. This includes every-thing from outward and return travel to transport connections, accommodation, excursions and cultural activities (see also www.bahn.de/kultur-barrierefrei).
Lufthansa: hassle-free flying for disabled passengers
“We cater to the needs of international passengers with restricted mobility on a very individual basis,” says Jens Bischof, who is in charge of sales, marketing and products at Lufthansa. “In addition to new wheelchairs, electric vehicles and special lounges, we focus above all on training our employees. Through this training, our ground staff and flight attendants receive comprehensive instruction on dealing with the particular needs of passengers with restricted mobility.”
Passengers with restricted mobility can call Lufthansa on +49 (0)800 838 4267 to find out about barrier-free services and to request assistance during their trip. The Medical Operation Centre takes care of more specialised services, for example if a passenger requires oxygen on board.
Lufthansa has special check-in counters for disabled passengers. Travellers requiring assistance can also be brought to and from the aircraft and given help with connecting flights. Lufthansa provides wheelchairs for this or organises the trans-port of the passenger’s own wheelchair, both at no extra charge. Germany’s biggest carrier works closely with airports on these matters: “In Frankfurt, our largest inter-continental hub, we founded a joint ven-ture with Fraport in 2008,” explains Jens Bischof. “The company FraCareS GmbH offers services for passengers with restricted mobility.” Lufthansa provides special
wheelchairs on board the aircraft, and guide dogs travel free of charge. Passen-gers with visual or hearing impairments benefit from a separate safety briefing, individual assistance in the event of delays or other travel disruptions, and various other special services.
Hans-Jürgen Goller, Managing Director of TMGS Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH
“Since 2012, tourism providers in Saxony have been attending workshops as part of the Barrier-free Saxony project to find out how they can go about offering accessible products and services, also with regard to service quality, and how they can be more sensitive to people’s needs.”
“Our brochures on barrier-free travel were particularly well received in the Austrian, Swiss and Dutch markets. The online information is also available in English.”
Bärbel Grönegres, Managing Director of Thüringer Tourismus GmbH
www.germany.travel12
Saxony Art and culture for all
The ‘Barrier-free Saxony’ brochure and online database currently lists a total of 438 disabled-friendly accommodation es-tablishments and leisure attractions across Saxony that have been certified in person for their accessibility. The emphasis is on tourist destinations in the category of art and culture. An excellent example is the Grassi Museum of Ethnography in Leipzig. All its exhibition rooms are acces-sible for visitors with impaired mobility. Especially, but not only, for blind and partially sighted visitors, this ‘hands-on museum’ displays 100 or so original objects from different cultures that can be touched. They are integrated into the exhi-bition as a whole and most are labelled in braille and large print. The museum offers tactile tours for groups, and tours with sign language interpreters for visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing. Films in German sign language are also available on the museum’s website. The museum can also arrange special tours for adults and children with learning difficulties or physical disabilities. www.sachsen-barrierefrei.de
Thuringia Third-party auditing of barrier-free tourism
Thüringer Tourismus GmbH (TTG) has been actively involved in barrier-free travel since 2001. Its main communication tools are the ‘Barrier-free Thuringia – Travel tips and leisure activities’ brochure and a direc-
tory of barrier-free accommodation. All of the information published in the brochures has been verified in person by staff who were trained in 2012 in collabora-tion with NatKo. www.barrierefrei.thueringen-entdecken.de
Saarland Theatre for the partially sighted or visually impaired
The Saarland offers a variety of barrier-free services, particularly in the area of
What are regional marketing organisations and their partners doing? GNTB 360° asked the regional marketing organisations (RMOs) how they cater to international visitors
with disabilities or restricted mobility in their federal state and which specific services they offer this
target group. Here are some examples of best practice:
Best practice in accessible tourism
Birgit Grauvogel, Managing Director of Tourismus Zentrale Saarland GmbH
“For our website, which provides extensive information on ‘holidays for all’, we trained special assessors who visit selected businesses along the tourism service chain to gather information on accessibility.”
“To target our intended audience, we regularly place advertisements in relevant magazines and we exhibit at the leading specialist trade fairs Rehacare and Rehab. We also work with the region’s disabled associa-tions.”
Andreas Braun, Managing Director of Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg “Our website for the Brandenburg
region offers more than 800 verified listings in the categories accommo-dation, leisure and eating out. An accessible design with a screen reader function and plain language content was important to us, so that we could make the information available to as many users as possible.”
Dieter Hütte, Managing Director of TMB Tourismus-Marketing Brandenburg GmbH
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cultural tourism. Saarland State Theatre in Saarbrücken, for example, rolled out an innovative feature for its 2012/2013 season: before selected ballets, an intro-duction in sign language was given so that people who were deaf or hard of hearing could share in the experience as well. The theatre is planning its first performance with audio description in 2014, making the experience accessible to blind and partially sighted visitors. www.barrierefreies-saarland.de
Baden-Württemberg Barrier-free in town and country
Baden-Württemberg provides barrier-free travel information online and in a print brochure. All of the listings – from hotels and restaurants to sights and attractions – have been certified for their accessibility in accordance with DIN norms and accepted standards. Exemplary providers in Baden-Württemberg include the North/Central Black Forest Nature Park with its ‘nature tour for all’, the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, which regularly runs special events, and Europa-Park, which strives to make its themed worlds as barrier-free as possible.www.tourismus-bw.de/Themen/ Barrierefrei
Brandenburg A hotel designed especially for disabled people
The Haus Rheinsberg lakeside hotel in the Ruppiner Seenland region was designed specifically for guests with restricted mobility. All of the hotel’s amenities, in-cluding the sauna, swimming pool, hotel bar, bowling alley and gym, can be used by
disabled guests, and handbike tours of the scenic surroundings are also available. Whether it’s a multi-sensory tour of a city or palace, culinary experiences catering for special diets or water-based trips with Rolly Tours in Rheinsberg, tourism in Branden-burg is tailored to the needs of all visitors. www.barrierefrei-brandenburg.de
Christian Schmidt, Managing Director of Tourismus-Agentur Schleswig-Holstein GmbH
“We are using the current year to intensively expand the barrier-free travel network with our project partners and cooperation partners in the tourism and community sectors and to encourage cross-pollination by holding joint events.”
Dr Achim Schloemer, Managing Director of Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH
“In order to continually improve barrier-free tourism in Rhineland-Palatinate and to increase accessi-bility, we have held one-day seminars in which already more than 300 participants have been sensitised to the needs of this diverse target group. We have also developed a two-tier certification system and, in 2013, certified 95 businesses that meet our accessibility requirements. ”
“At a regional level, the Franconian Lakes, Lake Chiemsee and the Allgäu have already implemented extensive measures for barrier-free holidays, which we are now beginning to roll out across Bavaria. We also want to make people aware that continuing to break down barriers benefits all visitors. By doing all this, we are creating a sound basis on which to introduce the planned nationwide classification system in Bavaria.”
Dr Martin Spantig, Managing Director of Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbHJens Huwald, Managing Director of Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH
www.germany.travel14
Bavaria Barrier-free Bavaria
As part of a 2013 campaign to promote the umbrella brand ‘Bavaria. Summer. THE ORIGINAL’, a brochure was created in collaboration with HANDICAP magazine, presenting authentic Bavarian attractions that are accessible for disabled visitors. These include King Ludwig’s castles, romantic towns, the Bavarian national parks and scenic natural landscapes.www.bayern.by/tourismus-fuer-alle
Schleswig-Holstein Project promoting barrier-free tourism
In April 2013 the Schleswig-Holstein Tourism Agency (TASH) launched a two-year project as part of a major regional business development programme. The aim of this ‘Barrier-free Tourism in
Schleswig-Holstein’ project is to position Germany’s northernmost federal state as a barrier-free destination and improve disabled facilities at places where holiday-makers visit. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association in Schleswig- Holstein and eleven pilot regions are taking part in the project. Partnerships are also up and running with clubs and associations for disabled people.www.sh-tourismus.de/de/barrierefreier- urlaub-in-schleswig-holstein
Rhineland-Palatinate Information for businesses and visitors
Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH (RPT) is assessing its tourism providers one by one, looking at how they cater for disabled visitors, people with restricted mobility and people suffering from food intoleran-ces, and publishing its findings in a data-base. In what are known as crystallisation points, RPT is working with local tourism professionals to come up with ideas for improving accessibility throughout the service chain. The result is a collection of short breaks offered in five regions of Rhineland-Palatinate. Information on
these is available online and in a brochure. www.barrierefrei.gastlandschaften.de
Bernd Fischer, Managing Director of Tourismusverband Mecklenburg- Vorpommern e.V.
“Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has been actively engaged in barrier-free tourism for almost 13 years. The regional website www.barrierefrei. m-vp.de (operated by Ohne Barrieren – Without Barriers) was set up back in 2001 and now lists well over 1,000 tourism providers along the service chain that are certified barrier-free. In 2009 we also worked with the Ohne Barrieren association to found the Tourism for All Service Centre.”
Peter Siemering, Managing Director of Bremer Touristik-Zentrale, Gesellschaft für Marketing und Service mbH
“We hope that people with disabilities or restricted mobility will enjoy discovering Bremen with our ‘Barrier-free Bremen’ city guide.”
Bettina Quäschning, Senior Manager at Investitions- und Marketinggesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH (IMG)
“Saxony-Anhalt’s aim is to work towards full accessibility across the tourism service chain. But this doesn’t just mean barrier-free access to information media. The entire offering at the destination, and after the trip, must also meet the accessibility criteria.”
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Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Best practice in an innovative competition
The ‘Tourism for All in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’ award was launched in 2010 by the region’s tourism board. The idea behind it was to find best practice examples for future marketing activities but also to recognise, and rectify, existing shortcomings. The winners of the award to date include the towns of Güstrow and Stralsund, the Combi Tri barrier-free sailing boat, the Gesundheitsinsel Rügen association, which has demonstrated out-standing expertise in putting together customised barrier-free programmes, the Hanse Kogge Best Western Hotel in Koserow, which offers coach trips and spa treatments for wheelchair users, and the Plau am See Youth Hostel, recognised for its sporting activities for disabled people. www.barrierefrei.m-vp.de (Verein Ohne Barrieren e.V.)
Bremen State-wide barrier-free audit
By 2015, around 1,000 Bremen-based com-panies and organisations in the areas of tourism, culture and leisure, hotels and hospitality, healthcare, education and sport will have been assessed in person
for their accessibility and profiled together with detailed information. Information on accessibility in Bremen is available in a user-friendly format at www.bremen.de and www.bremen-tourismus.de/barrierefrei
Saxony-Anhalt Luther 2017 will be accessible to all
Saxony-Anhalt is expecting a high number of visitors for the anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, and not only from Germany. The Saxony-Anhalt tourism office, together with all its partners, aims to achieve full accessibility step by step across the tourism service chain. The Luther 2017 project is a model of how this complex task is being put into practice. Even today, its brochures, website and app are largely barrier-free. Accessibility is also being built into the key visitor attractions as part of the renovation of historical Luther sites and the redevelopment of tourism infrastructure.www.sachsen-anhalt-tourismus.de
Burkhard Kieker, Managing Director of Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH
“Berlin is well on the way to becoming a barrier-free travel destination. We are optimising our tourism products and services and want to convey the message: everyone is welcome in Berlin, everyone should feel at home here.”
Stefan Zindler, Head of Tourismus- und Kongressmarketing HA Hessen Agentur GmbH
“TCF is leading the way among travel destinations in Hessen with its ‘Frankfurt am Main barrier-free’ project.”
www.germany.travel16
Hessen Barrier-free in Frankfurt – including for partially sighted or visually impaired visitors
Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main (TCF) has been specifically catering for travellers with disabilities, restricted mobility and other special needs since 2011 with its brochure ‘Barrier-free Frankfurt’. A highlight are the TCF’s guided tours, which have been specially adapted to be barrier-free. The ‘Feeling Frankfurt’ tour was devised specifically to meet the needs of blind and partially sighted visitors and it features lots of anecdotes, tactile objects and tastings. All public tours offered by TCF can be made step-free on request and sign language interpreters can also be booked. A tactile map of Frankfurt city centre has also been available for blind and partially sighted visitors since May 2013.www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/ barrierefrei.html
Berlin Berlin on the way to becoming a barrier-free city
Numerous museums, attractions and sports facilities in Berlin are already attuned to the needs of visitors with restricted mobility (disabled visitors). Public
areas of the city and public transport services also offer extensive barrier-free facilities. Two accessible tourist routes are currently being developed that will allow visitors to tour Berlin in comfort. At the 2013 ITB travel fair in Berlin, the Mayor of
Carolin Ruh, Managing Director of Tourismus Marketing Niedersachsen GmbH
“Many locations in Lower Saxony have already invested heavily in developing barrier-free tourism. These include many towns, cities and health resorts, but also regions and partners on the North Sea coast and on the East Frisian islands.”
Dietrich von Albedyll, Managing Director of Hamburg Tourismus GmbH
“Hamburg’s objective is to offer people with special requirements a high-quality stay. To make the experience hassle-free from the outset, information is readily available before, during and after the trip: our website features an extensive section on disabled- friendly restaurants, hotels, theatres and travel.”
Dr Heike Döll-König, Managing Director of Tourismus NRW e.V.
“Many places and regions in North Rhine-Westphalia have already developed innovative products and services. In the Eifel region, the spectrum ranges from barrier-free services on the internet to tours with trained rangers and specially designed walking trails. In Soest, the innovative Guide4Blind technology makes it possible for blind and visually impaired visitors to explore the town independently. And in the state capital of Düsseldorf, disabled people from Germany and abroad will find barrier-free services covering everything from transport and accommodation to tourist activities.”
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Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, was presented with the 2013 Access City Award by the European Commission and the European Disability Forum in recognition of his efforts to make Berlin a barrier-free city. www.visitberlin.de/de/informieren/ueber-berlin/barrierefreies-berlin
Lower Saxony Taking mobility into the future
Many towns and regions in Lower Saxony already offer barrier-free services and infrastructure to cater for domestic and international visitors from this market segment. The city-break destination of Hannover offers a guidance system for people with restricted mobility, for exam-ple, and the Autostadt in Wolfsburg serves as a barrier-free world of discovery for its international visitors. In 2014, Tourismus-Marketing Niedersachsen GmbH (TMN) is launching a major project with regional partners to further develop the infor-mation and services available for these target groups throughout Lower Saxony and to ensure that improvements are continually made.www.reiseland-niedersachsen.de/barrierefreies-reisen
North Rhine-Westphalia New development project
Accessibility is increasingly proving to be a valuable quality criterion and will grow in importance in our regional tourism strategy as well over the next two years. We have joined the national initiative run by the Ger-man Seminar for Tourism and NatKo and were able to launch a new development project at the beginning of the year. By the end of 2015, we want to increase the num-ber of tourism products and services for disabled visitors and to see marked im-provements in accessibility along the entire tourism service chain in North Rhine- Westphalia. The project aims to raise awareness among regional tourism part-ners, to train and certify tourism providers, to create best practice guidelines and to make our customer website barrier-free.www.dein-nrw.de
HamburgNew possibilities for people with special requirements
The underground, suburban railway and bus network in Hamburg is already largely adapted to the needs of disabled people. Around 90 per cent of all buses are low-floor vehicles equipped with ramps and kneeling systems (enabling the driver to lower the side of the bus). At many under-ground and suburban train stations,
special features such as grooved paving stones with coloured stripes, acoustic signals and contrasting markings are help-ing visually impaired passengers to find their way. “Passengers can use the HVV travel planner to find information about the facilities available on their route and to plan accordingly before they arrive in Hamburg.”www.hamburg-tourism.de/infos/ unterwegs-in-hamburg/hamburg- barrierefrei/verkehrsmittel
DEHOGA I The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) has kept the subject
of accessibility on the agenda since the Disability
Discrimination Act (BGG) was passed in 2001/2002. In 2004 and 2005, DEHOGA and NatKo hosted 30 ‘Hospitality for All’ seminars, providing practical and theoretical training to around 450 hospitality workers and employees in tourism associations. Today, this course still forms the basic content of training in the regions and federal states and at the German Seminar for Tourism.
The targets agreed with Sozialverband VdK Deutschland, BAG Selbsthilfe (German association of self-help organisations), the German society
for the deaf, the German society for the blind & visually impaired and the advocacy organisation for self-determined living have served as a benchmark for the stand-ardisation and classification of barrier-free hospitality since 2005. We are delighted that the standards established for the hotel and restaurant industry are now being formally transferred to the tourism industry as a whole as part of the new classifi-cation system, and further developed, and we hope that this system will become standard across the industry.
Ernst Fischer, President of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association
Marcus Smola, Managing Director of Best Western Hotels Deutschland GmbH
Ludwig Ottenbreit, representative of the management board, A&O Hotels and Hostels
www.germany.travel18
Barrier-free for a competitive edge
Accommodation providers in Germany are doing more and more to meet the needs of visitors with
disabilities. The services and facilities offered by some places go well beyond disabled-friendly rooms
and barrier-free restaurants. An increasing number of hotels are training their staff to better respond
to the requirements of this constantly growing target group. Some are even offering disabled-friendly
vehicles, wheelchairs for hire or guidance systems for the blind. GNTB 360° polled the opinions of
all GNTB members from the hotel sector. Here’s what they had to say.
Best Western Hotels Deutschland GmbH
Best Western Hotels in Germany are managed as individual businesses, so it’s difficult to gather information about our services as a whole. We do know, however, that many of our hotels provide custom-ised services to cater to this target group. The Hanse-Kogge Best Western Hotel in
Koserow on the Baltic island of Usedom is a fine example. The building has full wheelchair access, and for guests with restricted mobility or visual impairments, the hotel offers 16 disabled-friendly apart-ments suitable for wheelchair users and 20 disabled-friendly double rooms. Ten further rooms are specially equipped for partially sighted guests and there are twelve rooms for guests who are hard of
hearing. For excursions, the hotel has a disabled-friendly coach with a lift for boarding, a lift inside the bus for seating guests and a disabled toilet on board.
A&O Hotels and Hostels
People with restricted mobility or disabili-ties are most welcome at all A&O hotels and hostels, and our specially trained staff are sensitive to their needs. All hotels offer wheelchair-friendly rooms. We will get in touch with our guests in advance and on
Germany’s hotel industry
Maarten Markus, Managing Director of the Central Europe Business Unit and USA NH Hotels
Susanne Weiss, Managing Director and Member of the Board at Ringhotels
René Halla, Director of Global Sales at Maritim Hotelgesellschaft mbH
Michael Mücke, Head of Accor Germany and Vice President of ibis and ibis Styles in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Bart Beerkens, Commercial Vice President at Grand City Hotels
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an individual basis to discuss the local facilities. In the spirit of inclusiveness, we do not offer special programmes for people with restricted mobility, but en-courage all guests to participate in activi-ties. At A&O, it’s not only the facilities themselves that are important, but the sensitivity of our staff to the needs of our guests.
NH Hoteles
Almost all of our 60 or so NH hotels in Germany have barrier-free rooms. The NH Hotel on Alexanderplatz in Berlin, for
example, is specially equipped for blind and partially sighted guests. All the infor-mation panels – from signs and infor-mation on the landings to room numbers – are translated into Braille and prism lettering. The lifts have voice announcers, and the stairs, entrances and exits have floor-level markings. In addition, all staff at the hotel are trained in assisting blind and partially sighted guests.
Ringhotels
We have published our ‘Ringhotels travel planner’ brochure to provide our guests
with an overview of hotel amenities. It lists every one of our hotels and provides details on whether there are wheelchair-accessible rooms and, if so, how many. We also have fully accessible hotels such as the Teutoburger Wald Ringhotel in Tecklenburg, which only in May was certi-fied a barrier-free hotel by the VdK Sozial-verband. The individual Ringhotels will get in touch with guests with restricted mobil-ity to discuss their needs. Depending on the type of disability involved, it is then possible for the hotel to decide which room is suitable and whether all areas of the hotel can be used by the guest.
Maritim Hotelgesellschaft mbH
Of the 38 Maritim Hotels in Germany, 23 have at least one disabled-friendly room, whereby the suitability of the rooms can
vary depending on the type of disability involved. For this reason, our service staff clarify the guest’s requirements at the time of booking and recommend the hotel that is most suitable.
Accor Hospitality Germany GmbH
At Accor, the term ‘diversity’ has a pro-found ethical and social meaning that extends far beyond the constant coming and going of people from a huge range of cultures and countries at our hotels. To foster this diversity, we also focus on the needs of people with restricted mobility and disabilities, and have drawn up build-ing design policies for all our brands, which
provide information and guidelines to investors and franchisees. We are always striving towards accessibility throughout the hotel. This includes putting disabled-friendly rooms on the ground floor and near lifts, and ensuring all public areas are accessible for wheelchair users.
Grand City Hotels GmbH
At Grand City Hotels, we want guests with restricted mobility to feel at home and en-joy their stay with us. Which is why many of our hotels are specially tailored to the needs of disabled people. At the Wyndham Stralsund HanseDom Hotel, guests can stay in barrier-free rooms and even enter the wave pool at the Hansedom water park in one of our wheelchairs.
In July 2013, three rooms at the Radisson Blu Park Hotel & Conference Centre in the Radebeul district of Dresden were refur-bished to become disabled-friendly. In addition to the barrier-free facilities at many Grand City hotels, guests with restricted mobility will receive the best possible assistance from our attentive staff.
Dr Peter Neumann, Managing Director of NeumannConsult
www.germany.travel20
Studies on accessible tourism provide an insight into required services
“Accessibility has become increasingly important throughout Germany in recent years. This also applies to the products and facilities offered by the tourism industry. Accessibility covers not only the structural aspects but also transport, information and communication systems and services. Unfortunately the principle of accessibility is mainly used only in the context of dis-abled people, although it is now well known that accessible services make life
easier for every traveller and are an indicator of quality. Here in Destination Germany,
there are still significant shortfalls in infor-mation and communication. The develop-ment of accessible travel is gaining momentum through studies on the eco-nomic potential of barrier-free tourism. These include the EU’s OSSATE project and two studies commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, ‘Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All’ (2003) and ‘Accessible Tourism for All in Germany – Success factors and quality measures’ (2008). At the present time, the EU Commission is also working on three studies on barrier-free tourism. The find-
Germany as a barrier-free travel destinationAccessibility is an important component of sustainable tourism. The GNTB has already started
extensive sales and marketing activities in this area in a number of key source markets, gaining
valuable insights for its future strategy. GNTB 360° asked key players from the travel industry,
academia and the media for their take on Germany as a barrier-free travel destination.
International
key players
Susanne Nielsen, SUS Travel & Consulting, Denmark
Dr Victoria Eichhorn, Lecturer in Tourism, School of Hospitality and Tourism Manage-ment, University of Surrey, UK
David Stratton, and-me.org.uk(Help for families with disabled children), Glasgow
Model information strategy
“I attended the Germany Travel Mart (GTM) in Stuttgart to assess Germany’s offering for disabled visitors. My expectation that the people I arranged to meet with wouldn’t have information was proved wrong. Nota-bly the tourism boards for Frankfurt and Düsseldorf pulled out complete ‘Barrier-free’ guides including information about suitable accommodation, attractions and sightseeing. I was very impressed with the amount of information that Germany has to offer for disabled people and this is set to
increase with the GNTB’s ‘Barrier-free travel’ campaign. I hope to be very involved with this and will continue to write about devel-opments in Germany.”
Craig Grimes, ‘Accessible Everything’ blogat www.craiggrimes.com
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ings are due to be presented at a European conference at the beginning of 2014. Other important drives towards expanding barrier-free tourism are expected, which will certainly be of great benefit to the tourism providers in Germany.”
Germany actively involves the relevant people
“As a parent of a 6 year old severely disabled child, it has been fantastic to see how Germany has had the foresight to consider accessibility to such a degree that, rather than assuming what visitors need, they have actually involved people who face mobility challenges and asked them how access and communication can be improved.”
Germany – a travel destination with few barriers
“As to our experience and knowledge, Germany is one of the countries where the individual city hotels, restaurants and other public places offer accessibility for most people. Germany also is one of the coun-tries which does best in thinking about the small details and obstacles, which can be a major hurdle for some people. As our main goal for our customers is to travel on equal terms with all others, without limits, and as those people also appreciate the short travel time from Denmark, we send our customers to Germany – a country with much accessibility and few limits!”
Accessible travel as a future opportunity for German tourism
“The ‘Barrier-free travel – Germany is open to all’ project is a very important step for-ward for the German National Tourist Board in providing better information for people with restricted mobility. In parti-cular, the ongoing consultation with experts on accessibility during the design stages of the website and campaign is
ensuring that the right content is reaching its intended audience. The professional for-mat benefits not only end customers with restricted mobility but also tourism provid-ers, who also derive commercial benefits. The increasing number of older people, who rely on accessible services, similarly carries with it a positive commercial dimen-sion. The long-term commitment to acces-sibility initiatives will ultimately sustain and improve the competitiveness of the German tourism sector.”
Barrier-free in BrandenburgOur travel portal with more than 800 offers is your door to a delightful city or palace tour, an exotic culinary excursion or simply a no-fuss visit to the water‘s edge!
Information & Agency +49 (331) 2004747 www.barrierefrei-brandenburg.de
Your specialist for accessible travelfor wheelchair users and people with special needs
Further information: www.germany4all.com · www.accamino.deOr give us a call: Tel. +49.30.749 243 91
Your accessible Germany experience
We organize trips for wheelchair users/people with special needs.Full service with personal pick-up from airports, seaports (Hamburg, Rostock, …) and train stations in wheelchair accessible vans or buses. Round trips including wheelchair accessible accommodation. Organization of nursing care and mobility equipment and much more.
We welcome guests from Germany, Europe, Australia, China, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, USA and the whole world.
Selection of our highlights:
· Oktoberfest in Munich · Hamburg with harbor tour· Rüdesheim/Rhein and Loreley · Castles and palaces along the Neckar River· City breaks (Heidelberg, Dresden, …) · The Black Forest· Berlin on several occasions · Bavaria with Neuschwarnstein
for wheelchair users and people with special needs
Visit us at the IRMA from 27th until 29th of June 2014Accessible Tourism at the Travel and Mobility Fair in Bremenwww.mobilitaetsmesse.de REHA-, REISE- UND MOBILITÄTSMESSE
Barrier-free in BrandenburgOur travel portal with more than 800 offers is your door to a delightful city or palace tour, an exotic culinary excursion or simply a no-fuss visit to the water‘s edge!
Information & Agency +49 (331) 2004747 www.barrierefrei-brandenburg.de
EIFEL • ERFURT • FRANCONIAN LAKESLUSATIAN LAKELAND • MAGDEBURGEAST FRISIA • RUPPINER LAKES SAXON SWITZERLAND
EAST FRISIA
Holidays for everyonein eight German regions
We are committed to making all aspects of your stay as enjoyable as possible. Take advantage of everything that barrier-free Germany has to offer.
www.barrier-free-germany.com