Projects

THE ORIGIN OF THIS PROJECT

Starting in 2015 PromoTurismoFVG and the Regional Council of People with Disability and their Families of Friuli Venezia Giulia, after signing a memorandum of understanding which has been renewed ever since, have been jointly developing the project "Una Regione per Tutti" (A Region for Everyone), with the shared vision of developing accessible and inclusive tourism.

The main scope of the project is in fact the implementation of a more accessible tourist experience throughout the region, placing each individual with their own specific requirements at the centre of the tourism network, and making this a common and permanent custom and practice, as well as supporting the detection and elimination of barriers, whether physical or sensory, but also educational and cultural.

In order to effectively develop accessible tourism across the territory, the "A Region for Everyone" project foresees the development of various activities: from inspections and mapping of the region to training and awareness-raising events aimed at stakeholders involved in the tourism sector of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The acquisition and online publication of detailed, up-to-date, and objective information on accessibility enables each individual to independently determine which tourist facilities and services are able to meet his or her specific requirements, to truly allow the guest to be a guest, regardless of their special needs.

THE HEART OF THE PROJECT: MAPPING AND SURVEYING ACCESSIBILITY

CRIBA FVG (the Regional Information Centre on Architectural Barriers and Accessibility), manages and coordinates the activity of surveying the accessibility of routes and structures relevant to tourists, with the support of qualified external collaborators. It is also in charge of compiling and uploading this data to the portal.

The description of the routes is presented through written descriptions supplemented by photographs.

The survey of the structures is executed utilising datasheets differentiated by the type of structure and designed specifically for the specific characteristics of the premises.

The survey datasheets consist of fields that collect objective information, based on a variety of useful factors to document accessibility, according to the varying requirements of the tourist (e.g.: the type of existing gradients, the width of the doors, the presence of colour contrast and tactile foot warning markers, noise insulation in the guest rooms, and staff members qualified to welcome people with disability …).

All the surveys were performed by trained and qualified personnel (mainly architects) on the premises of the routes or structures in question. No information was collected from self-declarations made by the managers of the facilities.

The survey phase is performed using software developed specifically for this project and which has been progressively improved based on the experience acquired over the years in the field.

In order to simplify the consultation of information for all end users, each facility has been assigned a concise accessibility index rated between 0 and 3 to which a face icon with different colours and facial expressions is associated. This indicator is calculated according to similar indices assigned to each of the areas that are part of the facility and which take into consideration the fields considered most significant. A value of 3 represents the highest level of accessibility.