The presentations of the closing conference in Monção  and some pictures of the event are now available here! The final conference “Greenways4ALL: Accessible Tourism on European Greenways” An opportunity for local and sustainable tourism development and product creation” has been held on Tuesday, November 14. It was organized by the European Greenways Association with the cooperation of the Spanish Railways Foundation, and the support of the Câmara Municipal de Monção and CIM Alto Minho. Its purpose was: To provide an overview of the results of the Greenways4All project and valorization strategy. To present examples of accessible greenway best practices and tourism products that can be replicated in other European territories. To encourage interested parties to continue to develop accessible greenways and build accessible tourism products at greenways in Europe To promote exchange and networking among greenway stakeholders, both public and private, in order to foster mutual collaboration to promote accessible greenways and develop tourism products. The conference was addressed at tourism promotion and greenway management authorities, public authorities and private organizations wishing to promote accessible greenways as tourism destinations in their territories, and local service and equipment providers (SMEs) in the vicinity of greenways. Press and media. See the Program here   and […]

Key recommendations for making greenways accessible When designing accessible greenways we need to take into consideration a set of minimum, technical, accessibility-related criteria in order to ensure that greenways can be used and enjoyed by everyone – including people with disabilities – under safe and comfortable conditions. Accessibility to natural spaces has been less well developed than accessibility in urban environments. For this reason we believe it is essential to provide some guidelines that can be implemented not only on greenways but also in any action carried out in natural areas, such as paths, nature trails, etc. We are confident that this brochure will help European greenway planners and managers to develop initiatives aimed at improving accessibility along their routes and making greenways an integrating element for the development of accessible tourism experiences and products. All this technical information, best practices for accessible greenways in Europe, and plenty more besides is available in the Greenways4ALL “Practical Guide to Opening Up the Territory to Accessible Greenways”.  (in Spanish).  Brochures are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese Download from https://greenways4all.org/publications/     

This project is already advancing towards the creation of accessible tourism products based on greenways. With the knowledge of the real offer of accessible tourism in the two pilot territories on which this project is focused – Vía Verde de la Sierra. Cadiz-Seville and Ecopista do Dao Viseu Dao Lafoes region. Portugal –, after the initial few months the project is already in the creation phase of an accessible tourist product based on greenways.   Some data. For the Vía Verde de la Sierra greenway, 134 resources were analysed by telephone, 69 of them being eligible for auditing in terms of accessibility by complying with the minimum criteria. Once all of them were analysed, 43 of them were found to be accessible or usable. This means that 31% of the resources and tourist companies of the municipalities which this greenway passes through are potential candidates for accessible greenway-based products. See the accessible offer in Vía Verde de la Sierra>> In the case of the Ecopista do Dao greenway (Portugal), 29 resources and companies were found to be accessible or usable (25%). See accessible offer in Ecopista do Dao>>   Visiting the companies and the accessible tourist resources The 3 SMEs taking part in this project, Accessible Madrid, Turismo Vivencial and AstroAndalus, together with […]

Presentations of the launching Conference “Accessible Tourism On European Greenways: Greenways for All ” are available in Spanish and summary of the conference in English and Spanish

The European Greenways Association and the Spanish Railways Foundation, as project coordinator partner of “Greenways4ALL” project organize on Friday, September 30, the first conference of this European project which began last July 1, 2016. The conference will take place at the FFE headquarters (C / Santa Isabel, 44, Madrid). The conference “Accessible Tourism on European Greenways: Greenways for All” aims to publicize the “Greenways4ALL” project and share experiences on accessible tourism, improving accessibility around greenways and the dissemination of these routes as resources for all. It is aimed at political and technical professionals at national and regional level, county councils, municipalities, greenways managers, experts, entrepreneurs and workers in the tourism sector, the third sector and specialized media. View Program >> The conference is the starting point of the European project Greenways4ALL with the aim of moving towards a product that meets the value chain of accessibility; from the accessible travel path to an accessible experience. Thus, accessibility is the common element to all resources that integrate the tourism product: walking the greenway, eating in restaurants in the area, lodging in the immediate vicinity to the greenway, visiting museums or doing some shopping, among others options. The project is coordinated by […]

Sleeping in a railway carriage, watching the stars in the sky over the Sierra Morena, travelling on the Greenways of Andalusia and the centre of Portugal…Discover these experiences! Enjoy them!