Consulta per le Persone in Difficoltà - Turismabile

The accessibility as a key to the quality of tourism in Piemonte. Turismabile is a project of the Piedmont Region, realized by Consulta per le Persone in Difficoltà ONLUS. The project aims for the extention and improvement of the offer of Piedmont against tourists with specific needs and for the connection, enhancement and promotion of accessible realities in Piemonte.

Turismabile was born in 2007 collecting the important legacy of the project “Piedmont for All” which, in view of the the IX Paralimpic Games, had taken over the accessibility of 10,000 tourist sites. Turismabile takes an innovative approach based on the awareness of the important role that the promotion takes by the increase of tourist flows. Turismabile applies the rules and instruments of tourism marketing to the specific segment of accessible tourism. The project starts from the assumption that all aspects of a holiday (transport, accommodation, cultural heritage, etc..) should be enjoyable by anyone regardless of the specific needs. Therefore the accessibility of spaces and services is considered as a prerequisite to ensure that tourists with disabilities the right to enjoy, in freedom and in autonomy, the tourism resources, but Turismabile also believes that an "accessible solution" may be a useful intervention to make holiday more comfortable and satisfying for everyone, raising the overall quality of the proposal.

Turismabile suggests to exceed the vision of "social tourism" and "dedicated solution", so as to put in the center of the tourist system the visitor in its multiplicity of meanings: child, elderly person with physical disabilities, sensory, intellectual, with food intolerances, etc. The vision of a tourist less standardized and considered as "complex universe" leads to a greater attention to its needs and requirements, generating in the operator a positive ability to customize the service with the resulting increase in the overall quality of the offer. Turismabile believes that the motivation for people with disabilities to take a trip are the same as other tourists (leisure, recreation, culture, employment, welfare, adventure, sports, etc..); the same desire to explore, have fun, learn and engage with the territory. However, these simple and common expectations are often disregarded for travelers with disabilities who are still struggling to exercise their "right to travel".

Turismabile consider accessibility not only in terms of regulatory compliance, but as an element of quality for facilities and for land, according to the principle that "what is accessible is more comfortable for everyone"; it considers the person with disabilities as a tourist with the full right to discover and live fully and with satisfaction the territory, regardless of the specific needs. Turismabile acts on accessible tourism ensuring all tourists with special needs the opportunity to enjoy the territory and not just "stay overnight". Turismabile is aware that today accessibility is no longer defined by the simple symbol of the wheelchair, but with technical details that allow tourists to choose the solution that best meets their needs and expectations.

Turismabile is convinced that accessibility should be transparent, inclusive, pleasant and for all, not limited to one person with physical disabilities but considering the differents needs of all potential tourists (sensory, intellectual, psychological, relational, food allergies, the elderly, etc). The touristic accessibility is "a question of territory", network and synergies between the various actors in the chain that can not simply be relegated to the compliance by the accommodation. For this reason Turismabile is based on the Chain of Accessibility, an integrated system of services available to different targets, which includes all the "rings" of the holiday (inform, move, sleep, eat, learn). So Turismabile stands in support of the touristic operators to avoid the usual distinctions between "good and bad", "accessible and the inaccessible" promoting each with their own qualities and possibilities, leaving to the customer the possibility to choose the most suitable solution with respect to their needs, expectations and interests.