Festuris introduces the acessibility for tourism trade show to brazilian authorities

The organizers of the main Latin American tourism business trade fair are dealing with Brazilian authorities the support to the realizationt of a project created in this 24th edition of Festuris: The Accessibility Trade Show. In 2012, Gramado Tourism Trade Show works hard for the consciousness of the tourist trade in order to develop actions and structures to allow the reception of people with any kind of disability – temporary or permanent. In all the world, according to the United Nations, there are 500 million people bearing disabilities and  80% of them are in developing countries.

The accessible tourism deserves special attention of Festuris mainly because of the accomplishment of two big world sports events in Brazil in the next four years: Fifa  World Cup in 2014 and The Olimpic Games in 2016. On this purpose, Festuris CEO´s Marta Rossi and Eduardo Zorzanello, alongside their promotional adviser Tania Brizolla visited several ministrys and government cabinets, in the country capital – Brasilia, in the beggining of June.

Counting on the help of federal deputy Affonso Hamm, one of the meetings was with  Antonio Borges dos Reis, director of Accessibility and Urban Planning Policies, at the National Secretary of Accessibilty and Urban Programs. “Gramado Tourism Trade Show is foccusing on an important discussion, as the accessibility has turned into a preocupation worlwide.The cities must be integrated to all the people, disabled or not”, says Reis. He reminds that, as people age, mobility problems get bigger, requiring adaptations. “Brazilian population is getting more older, so we must take good care of these people. When we talk about accessibility, it means it is a benefit which should be given to all people and, in tourism, must be practiced in a different way”. Antonio Reis appoved the idea and already forwarded the Festuris proposal to the apreciation of the Cities Minister, Aguinaldo Velloso Borges Ribeiro.

As it gives to the cause the right importance, Federal Government has created manuals which present actions supported by Tourism Ministry, foccused on urban accessibility and adaptation to tourist activities, contributing this way for the improvement of the local population´s life quality, as well as enlarging the access to tourists with some deficiency or reduced mobility. “In this universe are included not only physic, visual or mental disabled people, but also aged ones, pregnants, obeses and children, who need spaces adapted to their necessities”, emphasizes Tania Brizolla.

Eduardo Zorzanello, Marta Rossi, Maria do Rosário, Gilnei Benetti e Tânia Brizolla