Draft Business Plan for a CEN Workshop on
Guidelines for Universal Design of Tourism Services
Proposed by:
ENAT – European Network for Accessible Tourism
E-mail:
Web:
ENAT: The European Network for Accessible Tourism asbl
is a non-profit association of organisations and individuals
from the private, public and NGO sectors. Our mission is
to make European tourism destinations, products and
services accessible to all visitors and to help promote
Accessible Tourism around the world.
DRAFT
ENAT is registered in Brussels, Belgium
as a Non Profit Association
(association sans but lucratif)
Company number 0897.614.640
EU Transparency Register, identification number: 7964210133-55
The current status of this plan (Public Draft version 01)is:
For comment by ENAT Board, CEN and European CommissionFor external comment by stakeholders
For feedback/bids by interested parties (National Standards Orgs.)
For approval at Kick-Off meeting on dd-mm-yy
For approval by Workshop by (at Workshop meeting on) dd-mm-yy (by email process)This document is a draftBusiness Plan for a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA), following the CEN format.[1]It has been prepared by ENAT with guidance from CEN and input from ANEC, HOTREC and ENAT members.
The “CEN Workshop Agreement” is a process which usually takes 12 months or more, involving a small number of face-to-face meetings. Most of the technical work takes place via electronic communications between a team of selected experts and workshop participants, leading to the development of a “Consensus Document”.
This draft business plan is being circulated to key actors and stakeholders in the European and international tourism industry, research, education and training sectors, (including tourism authorities, tourism providers and a wide range of NGOs and consumer groups), both to inform them about the proposed activity and to elicit their feedback. Recipients of this document are encouraged to share it with their contacts for widest possible dissemination.
All parties who are interested in this proposed CWA are invited to send their comments about this draft Business Plan.
Please send us your feedback
To give your feedback on the document or to contact ENAT please write to:
Deadline for receiving comments: Monday 2nd July 2012
Please answer using MS WORD, Open Office, PDF or email text formats.
To keep updated on progress, subscribe to the CWA Email Newsletter at:
After the close of the consultation period, a final version of theCWA Business Plan will be produced with the assistance of CEN and the National Standards Organisation which will be chosen to provide the CWA Secretariat, taking into account the comments received in this consultation.
The CWA Business Plan will then be presented for approval at a “Kick-Off” Meeting convened by CEN, where interested participants may attend and contribute to the planned work.
Chapter 1.Purpose, Scope and Funding of the Business Plan
Purpose
This Business Plan proposes a new CEN Workshop Agreement onGuidelines for Universal Design of Tourism Services.
The proposed CWA aims to produce guidelines for tourism operators, agents and suppliers, taking into account their different roles, enabling them to make their tourism services accessible to all customers, including persons with disabilities, older people and others who have specific access requirements. The main target groups for the Guidelines are tourism business owners and managers, many of whom run micro, small or medium-sized enterprises. Large businesses will also benefit from using the Guidelines.
The service guidelines would be developed on the basis of the Universal Design principles, originally formulated by R.L. Mace and colleagues at the North Carolina State University, USA.[2] Universal Design of services takes into account the needs of all customers, following a person-centred approach.
Universal Design is the practice of designing products and services so they are usable by the broadest possible range of customers. With careful design,tourism services can be useful and attractivefor all customers. In the past, services for certain groups of customers, for example people with disabilities, were provided in a segregated manner, which created barriers preventing full participation of these tourists in tourism. This habit still persists, leading to unnecessary difficulties for certain groups of visitors and reduced market share for tourism providers who do not cater for the wider market. The goal of universally designed services is to ensure maximum accessibility, inclusion, comfort and enjoyment of tourism by as many individuals as possible: “accessible tourism for all”.
In order to clarify the significance of this approach to tourism business owners and managers, the business advantages of creating Universally Designed services should be explained and demonstrated in the examples that are selected to illustrate the guidelines.
Drawing on industry best practices, the guidelines will identify criteria and specifications for the design (including adaptations) of tourism services, enabling tourism providers to take the necessary steps towards making their offers accessible for all visitors.
Using the guidelines, tourism providers will be better enabled to plan and manage their services, so as to make them attractive, safe and inclusive of all customers, whichever activities or offers they provide.
Scope
Prior to commencing the CWA, a “baseline” document will be elaborated, to be presented at the CWA Kick-off Meeting, defining what areas are to be included in the Scope.The baseline document will include an outline of the Contents of the document, indicating the main chapters and clauses, and there will be an explanatory text for each chapter. It will also list relevant references and source documents.
- An outline of the Scope of the CWAis shown in Annex 1 of this document.
In defining its scope, the Workshop will take into account the previous study under Mandate M/371 Accessibility of Services in Transport and Tourism (CEN/AFNOR, 2009). It will also consider existing Standards and Guidelines related to tourism and tourism services, as well as the themes and work programme of ISO/TC 228 “Tourism and related services”.
The subject of design criteria for the accessible built environment will not be addressed in the CWA, although cross-referencing will inevitably be made to the tourist environments and facilities where tourism services are offered, and the accessibility standards and requirements relating to these.
Funding and Management
- The project would be managed by a National Standards Organisation (NSO). The CWA would be chaired by ENAT, (subject to agreement of the Kick-off Meeting participants, by simple majority).
- The cost of the Project Secretariat (NSO) would be approximately €25,000.
- The cost of 5 experts to draft and develop the Guidelines would be up to € 25,000. (Estimated travel costs of €12,000 to be added).
- It is proposed that funding support should be raised from Sponsorship and/or the European Commission (provisionally 50% each), as the work contributes to the EU’s commitment to the Standardisation Mandates on Design for All/ Mandate 420 and Mandate 376 and to the implementation of various actions within the EC Tourism Policy 2010 – 2020 (EC Communication COM 2010/352 final).
- Organisations wishing to sponsor or co-fund the work of the CWA should make themselves known to ENAT, who will provide a description of the terms and conditions for sponsorship and related publicity.
- Participants in the CWA would include all interested tourism actors and stakeholders (large, small and medium-sized enterprises, tourist boards, NGOs of people with disabilities, older persons.., international, European, national and regional tourism organisations, universities, cities, destinations and others).
- Participants from civil society organisations may be eligible to seek national funding to assist with travel and subsistence costs for meetings. Obtaining such funding is up to the individual members concerned and applications cannot be administered by CEN or ENAT.
- Participants from outside Europe may take part by electronic means.
- All CWA participants may attend face-to-face meetings in Europe at their own expense.
- Commencement of work: Autumn2012.
- Delivery of Report: Autumn 2013.
Chapter 2.Workshop proposers or participants (companies, organisations, etc.)
.
Workshop Proposer:
ENAT: European Network for Accessible Tourism association sans but lucratif
The European Network for Accessible Tourism asbl is a non-profit association of organisations and individuals from the private, public and NGO sectors. Its mission is to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all visitors and to help promote Accessible Tourism around the world.
ENAT is made up of about 200 member organisations in over 25 countries around the world, with most of its members located in Europe.
List of CEN Workshop Participants (organisations to be invited)
International, national and regional organisations
Arab Tourism Organisation
Committee of the Regions
Council of Europe
Destination Management Organisations (regions, cities…)
European Parliament, Intergroup on Tourism
European Economic and Social Committee
GAATES – Global Alliance for Accessible Technologies and Environments
IATA
ISTO-OITS – International Social Tourism Organisation
Kéroul, Canada
National Authorities responsible for Consumer Affairs, Disability, Equal Rights
National Standardisation Bodies in Europe
National Tourism Organisations (NTOs)
OECDTourism Programme
SATH – Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality, USA
STI - Sustainable Tourism International
THEMIS Foundation
UN World Tourism Organisation
UN Enable
UN ESCAP
(and others…)
European and national organisations representing user groups and user interests
AGE – The European Older People’s Platform
ANEC
ANLH, Belgium
Consorzio Sociale COIN, Italy
Disability Now, Greece
EASPD - European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities
ENAT Members and Associate Members (NGOs and public sector)
EuCAN - European Concept for Accessibility Network
EDF - European Disability Forum
European Blind Union
European Union of the Deaf
EURAG
Fundación Handisport, Spain
Fundación ONCE, Spain
Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, UK
Handicap International
IBFT Pro Worker, Austria
ISTO-OITS International Social tourism Organisation
PREDIF (Plataforma Representativa Estatal de dicapacitados Fisicos), Spain
Royal National Institute for the Blind, UK
Toegankelijkheidsbureau vzw, Belgium
Tourism for All, UK
Tourisme et Handicap, France
Work Research Centre, Ireland
(and others)
European and national organisations representing business interests intourism and accessible services
ABTA – Association of British Travel Agents
Access Sweden
Centre for Accessible Environments, UK
Design for All Foundation
EIDD – Design for All Europe
European Federation of Farm and Village Tourism (EUROGITES)
ETAG – European Tourism and Travel Action Group
European Cities Tourism
Eurocities Working Group on Barrier-Free City for All
European Lift Association
EUROPARKS
ENAT Members and Associate Members (private sector, professionals and research)
European Tour Operators’ Association
European Trade Union Liaison Committee on Tourism
European Travel Commission
Federation of Tour Operators (UK)
FEG – Federation of European Tourist Guides Associations
Hostelling International
HOTREC
IHRA – International Hotel and Restaurant Association
ITT – Institute of Travel and Tourism
LCA – Leading Cruise Agents (UK)
National and regional Chambers of Hotels
National Tourism Organisations (National Tourist Agencies, Authorities, Boards, etc.)
Red Estable, Spain
Regional Tourism Organisations
Village for All, Italy
(and others)
European and global enterprises active in tourism and service management sectors
ACCOR Group
Best Western Hotels
Choice Hotels
Diamond Resorts
EUROSTAR
EURODISNEY
Group Hyatt
Hilton Hotels
Holiday Inn
Intercontinental Hotels
Marriot International
SCANDIC Hotels
Starwood Hotels
Merlin Entertainments Group Limited
Thomas Cook
TUI
Wyndham Hotels Group (WHG)
(and others)
Cruise Lines
Passenger Ferry Lines
Chapter 3. Workshop objectives
Goal
The overall goal of the CWA is to provide a set of basic Guidelines that may be used by operators in the tourism sector, their service providers and consultants, to plan, design, upgrade, manage and monitor accessible tourism services for disabled people and other visitors who require good access.
The Guidelines will describe
- the main target user groups
- the necessary requirements to design tourism services so as to make them accessible for all, with:
- the functional criteria for appropriate access provisions in tourism, covering:
- information,
- assistance,
- safety,
- special service provisions, etc.;
- the general requirements and specifications for service staff training and assistance related to travellers/visitors with specific accessibility needs
- performance monitoring procedures
- customer feedback
- complaints-handling procedures.
Using the existing web services of ENAT, Good Practices in Universal Design of Tourism Serviceswill be collected from workshop participants and published online. These will act as a supplementary resource for the CWA’s work and as a “live” online resource of examples for the tourism sector.
Following the principles of Universal Design the CWA Guideline will seek to cover all types ofaccessibility requirements related to a wide range of access needs, covering the delivery of travel and tourism services. The document will thus provide a reference document for the immediate use of tourism providers, as well as a framework for possible future development work, for example related to more detailed guidance and tools which may be appropriate for certain types of tourist venues, sectors or activities.
The establishment of this CWA is partly in response to work done by CEN/AFNOR during 2006-2008 regarding the European Commission’s mandate to examine the need for European Standards in relation to the European services directive (directive 2006/123/EC). The European Commission addressed the mandate M/371 in the field of services to CEN.
AFNOR, a CEN member, was in charge of the project on: “Feasibility and opportunity to develop a standardization work programme concerning the definition of accessibility criteria for tourism places”.[3]
ENAT considers that moving towards widely agreed service requirements for the accessibility of tourism services will enable service providers in the tourism sector to deliver clearly defined and acceptable levels of service to all customers.
This CWA seeks to build on current good practices in the tourism sector, establishing a common basis of requirements which will foster the flourishing development of accessible travel and tourism offers in all European countries.
The resulting CWA Consensus Document will also serve as an international benchmark for the global tourism industry, which looks to Europe as a region which plays a leading role in the development of accessible, inclusive tourism.
SeeAnnex 1for draft Table of Contents of the CWA document.
Distribution and dissemination of results
CEN Workshop Agreements (CWAs) are consensus-based specifications, drawn up in an open Workshop environment. CWAs are CEN publications.
Results of the CWA will be presented in a final European workshop, organised by the National Standards body, which is proposed to manage the CWA Secretariat, in collaboration with CEN and ENAT.
The CWA Consensus Document will be published in English. ENAT National Coordinators may provide translations in additional languages, thus extending the reach of the document. There are currently ENAT national coordinators and contact organisations in Austria, Belgium (Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia), Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, with other national representatives under consideration. Workshop participants from other countries, having the necessary knowledge and expertise, may be authorised to provide additional language versions of the Consensus Report.
ENAT will request CEN-CENELEC that the CWA Consensus Document is provided on the CEN website for downloading, free of charge. ( ). The justification for this exception is that we are mindful of the fact that over 90% of tourism businesses in Europe are SMEs and many of these are small family businesses (micro-enterprises) with extremely limited funds for purchasing, investment or training. It is intended that this dissemination policy will ensure that the specifications reach all stakeholders in the tourism sector rapidly, easily and without significant cost, thus contributing to an effective development and take-upof accessible services by tourism authorities and providers, benefitting both customers and service providers alike.
CWA reports are CEN copyright. Those made available for downloading are provided on the condition that they may not be modified, re-distributed, sold or repackaged in any form without the prior consent of CEN, and are only for the use of the person downloading them.Copies can be obtained from the CEN member organisations.
As part of its rolling Workplan, ENAT will establish a working group to monitor the use of the CWA Consensus Document during a 3-year period after its publication. The monitoring group will gather information and maintain an online Forum to follow the implementation of guidelines.
CWA Guidelines are valid for 3 years after their publication. They may then be updated, cancelled or used as the basis for development of further guidance or, possibly, Standards, depending on the prevailing needs of industry and consumers.
Chapter 4. Work Programme
It is proposed to complete the Workshop during a period of 12 months. The initial inputs will be prepared by the Workshop Secretariat, with drafting support provided by a team of appointed experts.
The tentative planning is based on an iterative process with two iterations following the Kick-Off meeting (KO) plus a final meeting. For the CEN Workshop to validate each of these, plenary meetingsare scheduled.
A provisional meeting schedule is proposed, as follows:
Date / Place / Meeting / DeliverablesX / CEN offices, Brussels or hosted by NSO / Kick-off Meeting / Approval of the Business Plan, appointment of Chair and Secretariat
X + 5 months / CEN offices, Brussels or hosted by NSO / 2ndworking plenary meeting of the Workshop / 1st Draft of CWA
X + 8 months / Tbd / 3rd working plenary meeting of the Workshop / 2nd Draft of CWA approval for public comments enquiry (60 days)
X + 11 months / CEN offices, Brussels / 4th working plenary meeting - adoption of CWA report and WS closure meeting / Final CWA (comments resolution).
Possible work plan for submission of CWA to International standardization
Note: Between meetings, the Workshop participants will work electronically.