The United Nations World Tourism Organization discusses in San Marino the importance of the right to tourism
Tourism is a human right, because it is a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment. However, for 1.3 billion people experiencing a significant disability and millions more with specific access requirements, travelling for tourism without barriers is still challenging.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has organised in the Republic of San Marino the second edition of the International Conference on Accessible Tourism “Tourism for All”, along with the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of San Marino and with the collaboration of the Italian Ministry of Tourism.
The event will be held on 16 and 17 November at the Kursaal Congress Centre. The program will include panels and round tables for constructive discussion on accessible tourism in support of inclusion, accessibility and diversity for tourism.
San Marino hosts a new conference on accessible tourism 9 years after the last one. Together with Italy and UNWTO, San Marino will provide a platform for governments, destinations and the private sector to discuss the best ways to prioritize accessibility in any tourism policy or strategy. The goal of this event is to demonstrate once again that making tourist destinations and companies accessible will pave the way for the future.
The conference will include two days of work with the participation of ministers and authorities from different countries of the world as well as technicians and experts from public and private organizations.
The event will be opened by a ministerial round table, which will be attended by Minister of Tourism Federico Pedini Amati, Italian Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè, Princess Haifa Bint Muhammad Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Minister for Regional Development of Czechia, Jan Fluxa, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, Mi-Ran Jang, Chairperson of Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan, Umid Shadiev, and Foreign Affairs Senior Advisor to the Minister of Tourism of Israel Peleg Lewi.
The conference will be attended by Martyn Sibley (Co-Founder/CEO, Purple Goat Agency & Disability Horizons), Jesús Hernandez Galán, Director of the European Accessibility Resource Centre and Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), San Marino professor Andrea Zavoli, Hilal Kahraman from the Istanbul Airport, Svend Wandaas from Public Transport Oslo Norway, Italian Senator Luca Briziarelli, Greek architect from ENAT, Katerina Papamichail, Stefano Dominioni from the European Institute of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, Dino Angelaccio from ITRIA, Sonia Gracia Fraile from Once Foundation, currently working on the accessibility of the Camino de Santiago, Baptiste Hottekiet, Director of Wallonia’s Nature Parks Federation, Briony Brookes, from Cape Town Tourism, Thomas Deshamps from the Paris Tourism Office currently working on the organization of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Ignatios Fotiou from TOBEA (Greece), Riccardo Giuseppe Capo from Mirabilandia, Alberto Della Valle Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Quality of the Municipality of Rimini, Ross Calladine from Visit England, Mayor of Skiathos Thodoris Tzoumas, Tommaso Bertini from Alpitour, Javier Sancho from Hilton Hotels, Maurizio Borletti from San Marino Outlet Experience, Beatriz Miguel Diez from Ilunion Hotels, and Aleksander Bajic from curae.me.
The goal is to define the ‘”San Marino Action Agenda”, a document that will define the guidelines for developing a tourism based on accessibility and sustainability – in line with the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030 – as well as on respect for people with disabilities, while, at the same time, making the Republic of San Marino into a permanent hub for designing policies on inclusiveness.
