Future strategies and best practices concerning the issue of inclusion

March 1, 2022

On 11 March the German National Tourist Board (DZT) will hold its tenth Accessible Tourism Day

For the tenth time the German National Tourist Board (DZT) is holding its Accessible Tourism Day, a compact event with valuable ideas on how the international travel industry can meet the rising demand for universal travel. Messe Berlin is among those supporting the format. Claudia Müller, the federal government’s coordinator for maritime business and tourism, and Jürgen Dusel, the government commissioner for disabled persons, will open the online event on Friday after the ITB Berlin Convention. Taking part in the format, Helena Dalli, European Commissioner for Equality, will present the ’Union of Equality: EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030’.

Leading speakers will include Mike Adams (UK), CEO of the Purple network, with an introductory speech on ’Changing the conversation between business and disabled people’; Josh Loebner (USA), director of strategy for the marketing and advertising agency Designsensory, whose focus is on accessibility, and university lecturer and founder of advertisinganddisability.com; and Christopher Patnoe (UK), head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, EMEA at Google.

At the Accessible Tourism Day 2022, the DZT’s topics will focus on best practices concerning the planning and implementation of accessible tourism facilities and events, barrier-free access to attractions, and the use of new digital communications – AR, MR and VR.

Petra Hedorfer, chairperson of the board of DZT: “Accessibility is a fundamental aspect of shaping high-quality, sustainable tourism. All travellers benefit from the attendant services – persons with disabilities as well as the elderly and families with children. Our wide-ranging inclusive services are already making a decisive contribution to socially responsible tourism of the future and strengthening our position amid international competition. The Accessible Tourism Day is an outstanding platform for sharing the DZT’s expertise on inclusion and brings international experts together with partners from the German tourism industry.“

The Accessible Tourism Day will take place on 11 March 2022, from 10.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. Attendance is free – in order to register for the online event please visit www.germany.travel/tdbt. Users will receive access data after registering.

The Accessible Tourism Day is sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. In addition to Messe Berlin, the regional workers’ association ’Tourism for everyone’ and the working group ’Easier travel – accessible holiday destinations in Germany’ are supporting the event.