31/03/2023
We live in a time when the world is connected like never before. Thanks to modern technology, we practically carry the means of communication and information in our pockets, available at any time. At any time, we can also plan a trip - private or business - through numerous search and reservation platforms or through travel agencies, which we also have in large numbers. Depending on the available budget, we can also drive or fly to the desired destination. Although tourist attractions and the hospitality sector often say that their doors are open to everyone, at least in our region, it turns out that they don't even know that for a significant part of tourists their doors say “You can’t enter here”! It is estimated that 15% of the global population lives with some kind of disability, perhaps most of whom include citizens with physical disabilities or reduced mobility and their families. From the very beginning, the fact that most people travel with an escort or in a group is noticeable, which for the tourism sector immediately means more tourists and, of course, more profit. This is how the project "Alternative Tourist Experience - Alter Trip", which the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities of Bitola, Demir Hisar and Resen - MOBILNOST Bitola implements within the framework of the IPA Interreg Programme for cross-border cooperation with Greece, wants to motivate tourism stakeholders to pay greater attention to accessibility. Because, despite the fact that the law does not oblige them (enough), adapting and applying universal design will be a worthwhile investment for them.
Apart from the development of ICT tools for accessible tourism, with this project, partners from both sides of the border and their experts train tourism stakeholders with knowledge and guidance on how and why to improve accessibility in their businesses/institutions. And according to the international motto of people with disabilities - Nothing for us, without us - MOBILNOST Bitola continuously proves why it is an important partner in this project. This was particularly evident in the first training in Thessaloniki, organized by the leading partner in the project – the Institute for Research and Development of Exhibitions and Businesses IEE from Thessaloniki. According to the work plan, we participated with 20 participants, most of them representatives of relevant tourism businesses and institutions, as well as representatives of the association itself, and the overall organization was taken care of by the travel agency MIG Travel from Bitola. Of course, together with me, as the project manager, and especially with Dr. Irena Ruzhin from NI Museum - Bitola, an accessibility expert who made the field study in our project. And why this project was necessary, it was proven at the very beginning of the organization, with the questions: do we have accessible transportation, will we find accessible accommodation and is the location where the training takes place accessible?
Our organizer MIG Travel has accessible buses, but they are for city and intercity transport, while their international transport fleet consists of mostly non-accessible, standard buses and vans. However, it was the first and only remark in the otherwise flawless organization of the agency, which, having learned from this experience, is already thinking about ways to adapt its services to be accessible to all. We move on to the accommodation. Almost all accommodation facilities offer their services on various booking platforms, where the results are filtered according to the desired parameters, including accessibility. It is immediately noticeable that the choice is significantly reduced in this way. But even among those who claim to be accessible, in private correspondence they say - no, we do not meet all the conditions. Thanks to the mapping in our project and the Greek colleagues who were ready to help and confirm if a certain hotel is really accessible, we finally found two hotels. Two, because neither had more than one (at least currently available) accessible room. And in our delegation we had two members of MOBILNOST Bitola - Fanche and Simona. Simona initially as a representative of the equally important Municipality of Bitola, who traveled in a private, properly adapted vehicle.
The friendly staff in both hotels exceeded our expectations and even responded to small remarks and omissions regarding accessibility with gratitude and asked for guidance on how to improve and resolve the shortcomings. It mostly referred to the narrow shower cabins and the absence of handrails and chairs in them, which are a small but important detail and just as necessary as the already accessible entrances and an elevator with appropriate dimensions and parameters. However, every catering establishment is obliged to take care of the safety of its guests, and these details can be dangerous for the wellbeing of those who reside there. Our next task was to find an accessible location for dinner. Here, we were able to use and test the data collected by our Greek partners for the platform that is being prepared in the project, where all accessible catering facilities and tourist attractions in the cross-border region will be mapped, as well as the degree of accessibility - physical and informative (braille and sign language). The satisfaction of being together and no one being left out was evident in all participants, who saw in practice how seemingly imperceptible details for one person are huge and insurmountable barriers for another. Because, during the very course of our project, and during the 3 and a half decade activity of the association, it was shown that the biggest obstacle to accessibility is the lack of information, and the lack of motivation to take any measures. At the training itself at the Thessaloniki fair "Helexpo", the greatest emphasis was placed precisely on our members Fanche and Simona, who shared their own experiences of traveling and participating in various events. After all, as I myself said in the introduction to the training, they provided the human dimension that should not be forgotten. Because behind all those statistics, numbers and percentages, there are people. People with whom we have the same wants and needs – to connect, to share and to belong. And with joint forces, we will overcome all obstacles and get much more than we thought.
With this first training, and the next two that we will organize for the other two partners (one more in Thessaloniki and one in Bitola), as well as with the upcoming info-days in Resen and Prilep, I think that tourism stakeholders have already acquired more information, but also that we motivated them to invest in accessibility in their businesses, because even the minimal intervention will be a worthwhile investment. With greater accessibility, caterers will have more guests, travel agencies will have more work, tour guides will have more customers, and we will be able to share our natural and cultural heritage with even more guests from all over the world. At the same time, they will be an example for other activities and businesses, because we are all part of the same chain, of the same “oro” (traditional folk dance), and you can’t dance the “oro” without holding hands. Together we can do more, and that is the biggest lesson from this Alter Trip. Therefore, I would like to thank all participants, organizers, partners and friends from Greece. To Vlatko and Joce from MIG Travel for the impeccable organization, to Irena for the unreserved help in the organization, to our expert Jove and tour guide Biljana, Sasho from TA "Palace", Vesna from Hotel "Capri", Natasha from TA "Aries", Nikolce from Molika Hotel, Kostadin from ESM Molika, Viktor from Premier Hotel, Angela from Info Tours - Prilep, Elena from Treff Hotel, Darko from Epinal Hotel, Sasho and Zhaneta from Bitola News, Dejan and Simona from the Municipality of Bitola, Fanche and Niko from MOBILNOST Bitola... For most of them, the first lesson has been learned - both in theory and in practice, and some informed us that their renovations are in progress or will start soon. The contacts have already been established, MOBILOST Bitola is available for further consultations and information, so it remains to be seen how we will all "pass the test" together. The project "Alternative Touristic Experience – Alter Trip" is implemented within the framework of the IPA Interreg Cross-Border Cooperation Program "Greece - Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020" and is co-financed by the European Union and the National Funds of the participating countries. Read more information on the official website of the project www.altertrip.eu.
