Calp City Council has already received adapted equipment that will allow people with some type of functional diversity to improve their experience when visiting the municipality. With this, it aims to advance its commitment to becoming an inclusive tourist destination.
Specifically, the following have been purchased: 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; on the other, an OPair electric 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 with a companion.
Local people or companies in the sector who wish to have this equipment simply need to send an email to the tourist office to request it. Along with these vehicles and in order to improve accessibility on the beaches, two amphibious chairs and ten packs of amphibious crutches have also been purchased, which will be available at accessible beach points at the start of the summer season.
With all this, Calp aims to improve and expand the offer of inclusive and accessible tourism in the town. The project is part of the Plan for Sustainable Tourism in Destination (PSTD) with the support of the Department 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, as contemplated in the Sustainable Tourism Plan for Destinations. The project also includes annual awareness-raising and training campaigns aimed at all tourism stakeholders and citizens.
In this regard, 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 receive training 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 consisting of short video classes (between 10 and 30 minutes) in which the teachers explain the specific subject with real examples so that the content can be understood in a simple and practical way. Interested people can sign up for the courses they want based on their interests and can watch them as many times as they want for a period of 30 days. The deadline for registration is February 28.
So far, a total of 116 companies have signed up for one of the courses offered. The Councillor for Tourism Planning, Mireia Ripoll, said that "we are satisfied with the reception that these courses are having and the involvement of tourism companies, especially 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 continue over the next few months. From the Department of Tourism, we continue to work on the implementation of our Accessibility Plan and we hope that more projects will soon materialise to make Calp a friendlier and more inclusive municipality."
Even though I love Spain, I have found it not to be as accessible as it could be. It is good therefore to read that towns such as Calpe are trying to welcome and encourage wheelchair users by the introduction of these wheelchairs and cycles.