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  Tourism for everybody : what does the Region Rhône-Alpes undertake for the handicapped people ?

Thierry CORNILLET - European Deputy, vice-president of Rhône-Alpes Regional Board, France

 

 

Tourism is an economic sector in itself, which helps create jobs, business and profit. This sector should be approached in a businesslike and professional manner, in an environment of increased competition and international competitiveness. For this reason, searching and valorising benefits are ongoing efforts, since customers are demanding quality products, and an offer that meets their specific needs.

The Rhône-Alpes region benefits from outstanding resources allowing it to be ranked among the top three French and European most visited regions. Chamonix and Mont-Blanc are a great example, together with other sites of the Alps region, not to mention other areas : southern Drôme, Ardèche, Lyon and its rating at the UNESCO World Heritage, etc.

All this has a notable economic impact.

The Regional Board is willing to fully take into account this value in terms of business and economic growth. This political willingness translated into :

• the tourism branch being linked to the economic branch
• implementing a set of tourism investment aids
• developing actions to make tourist players operational
• an increased interaction between the services and the region, and other players such as the

Regional Committee for tourism, responsible for promoting tourism.

For all this, the Rhône-Alpes Region will pour 26.4 million euros in 2002 (up 12 % from 2001).

Therefore, with this tourism operation, the Regional Board clearly puts forward an economic goal, but this economic vision is totally in agreement with a human and social approach.

Hence, the relevance, as part of the Tourism Summits dedicated to a "tourism-society" relationship, to present the operation conducted in favour of a fit tourism.

This operation meets two additional goals :

1. On the human or social aspect, we should endeavour to promote the access of the biggest number of vacationing facilities and recreational activities. People with disabilities should not be excluded.

2. From an economic point of view, the ultimate difference between tourist offers remains the ability of players to ensure a quality of services and their ability to occupy niches. We should.aim at maintaining and increasing the quality of our tourist products and at exploring niches or mines likely to have added value.

An appropriate tourism support policy, therefore, meets these two goals. If the human and social dimension is obvious, a few figures easily show the relevance of the economic approach.

According to a survey conducted on the European market by Touche Ross Consulting, the disabled population (as a whole) would represent about 11 % of the overall European population, to which are added 3 % of people with temporary disabilities, or 50 million people total.

The physically disabled European population, financially solvent and able to travel, is estimated to 36 million potential clients for the tourism industry. To these people, we need to add their close attendants, which come to nearly 100 million potential tours and over 290 million hotel nights (source : AFIT).

How the Rhône-Alpes Region supported the fit tourism ?

1. By funding appropriate equipment (2.6 million French francs over 2 years) :

• skiing equipment in 35 resorts having qualified coaches who received specific training
• hiking equipment
• a ULM.

2. By signing partnership agreements with the Syndicat National des Moniteurs du Ski Français and the Syndicat National des Accompagnateurs de Montagne.

3. By contributing to the financing of a mission assigned to the Regional Committee for Tourism (to Miss Sandrine Tissot) allowing it to account for existing resources and to determine paths to further develop the regional policy in favour of a fit tourism.

4. By supporting events such as the HANDICA fair, awareness days such as the Aussois event, conferences such as that held on November 29, 2001 on "sports practices and disabilities".

The general plan for years to come will likely be turned towards a branding operation (implementation of a national collective trade name relayed by the Directions Régionales du Tourisme – Government) and towards site appraisal.

To conclude

Combining social cooperation and economic growth is not a utopian vision, but is a reality demonstrated by this example. What will follow from our work at the Summits will easily demonstrate it.