"Reisen für Alle" provides information on barrier-free offers.
Holidays right from the start
The suitcases are packed, the car has a full tank of petrol and the nice neighbour will be watering the flowers for the next two weeks. The journey can begin. But as soon as we arrive at the hotel, the steep stairs at the entrance prove to be the first hurdle. The door to the restaurant is also far too narrow for a pushchair. And if there is no changing table for the youngest member of the family, the first day of the holiday starts with a few problems. If only we had known this beforehand. The holiday planning would certainly have been different.
The nationwide "Travel for All" certification system aims to prevent such mishaps in the run-up to a trip in future, so that all guests can enjoy a relaxed and comfortable stay at their holiday destination. Regardless of whether the guest is in a wheelchair, has a visual or hearing impairment or is simply travelling with a pushchair. After all, accessibility means something different for everyone and unfortunately only becomes an issue for many when they themselves are affected. It often takes a broken leg to raise awareness, and suddenly you appreciate the ramp outside the hotel and the lift that takes you comfortably to the third floor. Information on accessibility is therefore generally an important aid when planning a holiday, a short trip or a day out.
Information is honest and reliable
Reliable planning security for guests is therefore one of the main objectives of the "Travelling for All" initiative, which the German Seminar for Tourism (DSFT) Berlin e.V. and the association Tourism for All Germany e.V. (NatKo) launched together a few years ago and which is to be expanded nationwide. For example, Tourism NRW, all other federal states and the German National Tourist Board have an extensive online database of certified businesses and offers.
Here, travellers can find out everything they need to start their holiday in a relaxed manner and not be surprised by unexpected hurdles at their destination. Above all, they can rely one hundred per cent on the detailed information and then decide for themselves whether they can manage the described hiking route or whether they can visit the swimming pool without outside help. This is because there is no such thing as "information without guarantee" with the "Travel for All" certification.
Specially trained people visit the hotels, restaurants and pubs as well as leisure facilities such as museums and theatres and check them for their actual accessibility according to standardised nationwide criteria. Nature and adventure offers or UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex are also scrutinised in this way.
Example: Wilder Kermeter nature experience area in the Eifel National Park. If the database states that "the entire circular trail is easy to walk and drive on and the maximum gradient is 6 per cent over a length of 5 metres", then the maximum gradient is exactly six per cent - and not five or seven.
2,200 certified offers
Around 2,200 businesses and offers throughout Germany have already been certified in accordance with "Travel for All" and have had at least one employee trained on the topic of "Accessibility as a quality and comfort feature". Because the effort pays off. For the guest as well as for the provider. A study by the Federal Ministry of Economics came to the conclusion that "an accessible environment is essential for around ten per cent of the population and necessary for 40 per cent". And for all of us who enjoy travelling, it is convenient. Even without breaking a leg.
Further information on the nationwide "Travel for All" project and explanations of the requirements of the labelling system can be found at
www.reisen-fuer-alle.de
Our website itself fulfils the requirements of the first priority of BITV 2.0 and is therefore barrier-free. Among other things, it is high-contrast and can be controlled using a keyboard.
