- Envera's Tour Disfriendly program with Radio Viajera from Fitur
- With interviews with the Mayor of Madrid, the Corporate Director of Iberia and President of Tourism of the CEOE, and the Travel Xperience agency.
Madrid | January 20, 2023
For the second consecutive year, Envera has carried out its program Tour Disfriendly live from the set of Radio Viajera at Fitur, a space in which it claims the importance of promoting a friendly tourism with all travelers, especially with those who have a disability, whether permanent, temporary or due to age, and points out the importance of these tourists who "always travel accompanied" and "usually do so throughout the year", as a competitive element for a sector with figures that show an annual growth of 22%.
Presented by its beneficiaries and professionals, with its Tour Disfriendly Envera has taken people with intellectual disabilities to the heart of the International Tourism Fair, which this year is being held for the first time without restrictions after the pandemic. As its presenters point out, "this is the type of tourism that we claim from the program, a tourism that welcomes with open arms all tourists regardless of their needs, age or disability".
The program was inaugurated by the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, after the official opening of Fitur, which was attended by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia together with the President of Guatemala as a partner country of this 43rd edition of the Fair.
Almeida spoke of the benefits of Madrid as a destination that "has to be for everyone". That is why "we are making very important efforts to make all the places of interest in Madrid accessible," said the mayor of the capital.
"Ninety percent of Google searches on Madrid are for things related to sports " - Almeida -
Asked about sports tourism, one of the keys to this year's Fitur, the mayor revealed that, "according to a study we have done, more than 90% of the times the word Madrid is entered in the Google search engine, it is to look for things related to sport" and highlighted sporting events such as the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament, the Popular Madrid Marathon organized by MAPOMA or the San Silvestre, in addition to the "three great soccer teams" that are in Madrid.
Iberia's corporate director, Juan Cierco, also participated in the program, highlighting the company's role in the presidency of the Fitur Organizing Committee.
"It is a fact that inclusive tourism is a business that we have to bet on and it is a fact that we have to prove every day " - Juan Cierco -
Cierco, who also holds the position of president of the CEOE Tourism Council, has indicated that companies such as Iberia take "very much into account" the strategic potential of inclusive tourism, which is only possible if it is "profitable and sustainable" and if it has an "ethical commitment that is demonstrated every day".
Precisely in order to recognize companies that are "friendly" to travelers and tourists with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities, Envera has the Disfriendly Seal. To be distinguished with this differentiating seal of business competitiveness, "interested companies must go through a process of analysis and consulting conducted by Envera, which is backed by more than four decades of work in the development of CSR programs with companies. At the same time, its experts provide training to teach the company's employees how to provide the best care for elderly tourists or those with intellectual disabilities," explained Silvia Hernández and Adrián Llopis, presenters of Tour Disfriendly, together with regular collaborators Nuria Espí, Kenia Herráez, Marta Galán, Diego Alonso and Antonio Martín 'Michael'.
The program ended with an interview with Irina Martínez, Product Director of the Travel Xperience agency specializing in accessible travel, who said that "there is still a long way to go in inclusive tourism, although we are on the right track".
What our travelers value most is to have a full customer experience - Travel Xperience -
According to this agency, what tourists with disabilities value most when traveling is "the customer experience and being able to do the same as anyone else".
Martinez also pointed out the disfriendly destinations of reference such as Berlin, Belgium, Costa Rica or Japan, without forgetting domestic tourism.
