Calpe Town Council has already received the adapted equipment that will enable people with some kind of functional diversity to improve their experience when they visit the municipality. In doing so, it aims to advance its commitment to becoming an inclusive tourist destination.
Specifically, the following have been acquired: on the one hand, an all-terrain Joëlette chair that allows its occupants to go hiking or take family walks in places that are inaccessible with conventional wheelchairs; and an electric OPair bicycle, which is a bicycle with a built-in wheelchair, as well as two tandem bicycles that offer the possibility of enjoying cycling as a couple, allowing a person with reduced mobility to share the experience of pedalling together with a companion.
Local individuals or companies in the sector who would like to have this equipment should simply send an email to the tourist office to request it. Along with these vehicles and with the aim of improving accessibility on the beaches, two amphibious chairs and ten packs of amphibious crutches have also been acquired and will be available at the accessible beach points at the start of the summer season.
With all this, Calpe aims to improve and expand the inclusive and accessible tourism on offer in the town. The project is part of the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan (PSTD) with the support of the Regional Ministry of Tourism of the Valencian Community - Turisme Comunitat Valenciana - and the Secretary of State for Tourism within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) financed by the European Union - Next Generation.
This action is part of a broader project to consolidate inclusive tourism included in the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan. The project also includes annual awareness-raising and training campaigns aimed at all tourism stakeholders and citizens.
In this sense, at the beginning of the month the Department of Tourism Planning launched a series of free online workshops so that local tourism companies and agents can be trained in tourist accessibility.
Four free workshops have been organised: how to improve the accessibility of tourist accommodation, how to improve the accessibility of a bar or restaurant, how to make a museum accessible and how to create inclusive tourist experiences.
Each course consists of several sessions that include short video classes (between 10 and 30 minutes) in which the teacher explains the specific subject with real examples so that the content can be understood in a simple and practical way. Those interested can register for the courses they wish to follow according to their interests and can view them for a period of 30 days as many times as they wish. The deadline for registration is 28 February.
So far, a total of 116 companies have registered for one of the courses on offer, which is why the councillor for Tourism Planning, Mireia Ripoll, has said that ‘we are satisfied with the reception these courses are getting and the involvement of tourism companies, and even more so given how difficult it is to combine training with day-to-day work; I would like to take this opportunity to encourage companies to continue signing up for these courses, which will be running over the coming months. The Department of Tourism is continuing to work on the implementation of our Accessibility Plan and we hope that more projects will soon materialise that will make Calpe a more welcoming and inclusive municipality’.