Reseach - Holidays are for everyone
Research rapport into the effects and the importance of holidays for people living in poverty is available in Dutch, English and French.
Pictures & text taken from our daily experiences
A holiday, even if this short or close by, is a source of stories. We believe these stories are so revealing that they found their way into a booklet. 'Because holidays are for every one!'
The qotations guide you through the experiences of people for whom going on holiday is a major undertaking, both financially and emotionally.
Today this booklet is also available at te 'download section' of this website. As long as we have hard copies, you can receive one by sending an e- mail to info@holidayparticipation.be/
DETERMINE - an EU Consortium for Action on Socio-economic Determinants of Health
The Holiday Participation Centre is a good practices to reduce health inequalities!
The initiative, DETERMINE (2007-2010) establishes an EU Consortium for Action on the Socio-economic Determinants of Health (SDH), which aims to take forward the work of the WHO Commission on the SDH (CSDH) in an EU context.
\r\nIt brings together over 50 health bodies, public health and health promotion institutes, governments and various other organizations from 26 European countries.
More details about policies and strategies driven by non-health sector and the Flemisch policy : http://www.health-inequalities.eu/bot_Seite2818.html
English presentation video: watch and discover!
Watch and discover! Open the video here.
Press Release
The World Leisure Organization honors the Flemish tourism projects for people in poverty and people with disabilities.
Everyone deserves a holiday, even people in poverty or with disabilities.
According to the Flemish Minister of Tourism, Geert Bourgeois, holiday is a right for everyone: "Even people who are more poorly off need to recharge their batteries during a journey or day trip and need to make time for themselves and their families. For people with disabilities, the infrastructure should be adapted, so that they too can enjoy a holiday," explains the Minister. "Ten years ago, two services were established to put these groups on the way: the Accessible Travel Info Point and the Holiday Participation Centre."
The Holiday Participation Centre, a service of Tourism Flanders, negotiates social rates for deprived vacationers with owners of accommodation, tourist attractions and holiday providers.
"The success of The Holiday Participation Centre is the beautiful result of a unique collaboration between government, social organizations and more than 1,000 tourism operators. The enthusiasm of all these actors is the driving force for the chances of an affordable vacation for everyone. Besides the dedicated employees and the satisfied participants, I believe that we have a unique public-private partnership, where we have achieved maximum efficiency with limited resources," said Minister Bourgeois.
Accessible Travel Info Point provides information about the accessibility of various holiday destinations to travelers with disabilities or limits. Accessible Travel Info Point also offers the tourism sector background information on accessibility, financial aid possibilities and guidelines for accessibility adaptations.
The Holiday Participation Centre and Accessible Travel Info Point urged the tourism industry to throw their doors open, to pursue an ethical and social policy, to offer discounts and to adapt their infrastructure.
Meanwhile, approximately 100,000 Flemings each year make use of the social rate to make a day trip or vacation. Hundreds of attractions and places to stay have been made more accessible and there are thousands of pages full of practical travel tips written for people who have a handicap.
It is not the first time the two departments of Tourism Flanders are honored with an award. There has been applause from the tourism organization of the United Nations and various institutions in
In many countries, plans are made to copy the model of the Holiday Participation Centre and the Accessible Travel Info Point. But to this day, they remain unique in their kind and unique in the world. Hundreds of academics, policy makers and tourism players have already signed up to attend the presentation of head of department Marianne Schapmans at the World Leisure Expo.
For more information and rates:
http://www.toegankelijkreizen.be/index.php?L=3&id=12
http://www.holidayparticipation.be/
