The first accessible tourist destination award winner is Portugal
The beauty of the Algarve, and Portugal, is one best shared, and the latest accolade bestowed on the country celebrates that very goal.
At the UN World Tourism Organisation of 2019, Portugal was bestowed with the ‘Accessible Tourist Destination 2019 Award’ – a brand new category that is focused on destinations whose efforts have focused on increasing accessibility for all.
One of the most essential parts of this project is Tur4All, a website and portal which allows visitors to search for information from hotels, restaurants and other attractions specific to their own needs. While the portal is expanding all the time, a range of properties and establishments have already been listed. A dedicated team at Tur4All visit the establishments, taking details, photography and compiling a report which provides information that providers may not realise is important to feature on their own websites.
At LUX MARE, soon after opening, we invited our visit from Tur4All who created reports on both of our luxury villas, Casa L and Casa M and the accessibility report of these Lagos luxury villas can be found here and here, alongside a range of additional imagery. These reports work alongside regular website listing, which details all the features of both the luxury villas.
LUX MARE Casa M holds the main living area and bedrooms on one level
For the last few years, the government of Portugal have been focused on improving accessibility across the country for all.
Within the All for All programme, a whole host of projects have received funding and this has been awarded to individual projects such as Lisbon’s Castelo de São Jorge and the Convent of Tomar. In addition, a range of guides and programmes have been compiled, alongside industry-focused best-practices and toolkits.
With the accessible beach programme expanding across the Algarve, and the country, new boardwalks, and beach ramps are making it easier for wheelchairs to operate in these spaces. Further programmers focused on Festivals and Events are also now live with considerations given to a range of accessibility needs, such as non-crowded spaces for Pregnant women through to additional support for the visually impaired.
Secretary of state for tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, acknowledged there is much more to be done in Portugal to reach their goal, but pledged the commitment of the nation to continuing to focus on making Portugal a genuinely global tourism destination for all our visitors.
Follow the link to access the accessibility reports of the LUX MARE Luxury Villas, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you have any further questions.
