GATE - Granting Accessible Tourism for Everyone

Project description

"Inclusive tourism is good for everyone". Under this guiding principle, the "GATE-Granting Accessible Tourism for Everyone" project set itself the goal of developing the tourism offer for people with disabilities in the Alpine region in 2018.

Co-funded by the "Interreg V-A Italia-Austria" program, the GATE project is based on cross-border cooperation between Italian and Austrian project partners. While the institutions "Fondazione Dolomiten UNESCO","Independent L.","Comune di Santorso" and "CAI Alpago" are among the Italian project partners, the "University of Innsbruck" and "Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft" are the Austrian project partners. This cross-border cooperation is intended to enable the comprehensive development of inclusive tourism in the project area and beyond. In this regard, a "design for all" approach was chosen, which, in addition to accessibility on site, also refers to digital media for obtaining information for people with disabilities.

The SME & Tourism team at the University of Innsbruck was able to carry out several studies on inclusive tourism as part of the GATE project. For example, a stakeholder analysis was carried out, stakeholder workshops were organized, the needs of people with disabilities were researched and a best practice analysis on inclusive tourism was conducted. Findings from this form a central pillar for achieving the GATE project goals. At the end of the project on December 31, 2020, the University of Innsbruck was able to present a wide range of project results after three years. These include, among others:

• Guidelines for the training of inclusive tourism in the Alpine region
• A multisensory sign set for the signposting of inclusive hiking trails
• Webinars for the training of tourism professionals
• A handbook on inclusive tourism
• A helpdesk that responds to frequently asked questions

To increase accessibility, various measures have also been implemented in the GATE pilot regions. These include multimedia adventure trails and multimedia guides for all visitors, virtual reality, a parking space finder with information on availability, tactile hiking maps and building models, the information platform "Kinderleicht wandern" (Hiking for kids) and a "Weg der Sinne" (Trail of the senses), which uses a multimedia app to present a hiking tour for all people with disabilities. The following goals were achieved:

• Increasing the usability of the Alpine region for everyone
• Expansion of inclusive tourism in Italy and Austria
• Development of pilot initiatives to increase accessibility