Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

The result of a partnership between Turismo de Portugal I.P. and the National Institute for Rehabilitation (INR), the Accessible Festivals Programme – established by Joint Order No 11448/2022 of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services and the Secretary of State for Inclusion of 26 September 2022 – aims to distinguish festivals that present accessibility conditions for all those with restricted mobility, such as people with physical or sensory disabilities, pregnant women, children, elderly people, among others.

This Program also includes the annual award of the Festival + Accessible Award, to the most accessible event of all the recognized festivals, each year.

Public or private entities, festival organizers in the planned typologies can apply for the Programme and applications must be made three months before the start of the festival.

Entities interested in applying for their festival should consult the regulation contained in Joint Order No 11448/2022, as well as the Support Manual that contains detailed information on filling in the Application Form. All documentation is available on the page dedicated to Accessible Festivals Program of the Tourism of Portugal portal.

For the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Rita Marques, "Portugal is already recognized today, both by Portuguese and foreigners, for the diversity and quality of its festival offer, throughout the territory and throughout the year. We are now taking a very significant step on the path to the enjoyment of these experiences by all without exception. And this is also the role of tourism and in which we are strongly committed: building a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable world”.

For the Secretary of State for Inclusion, Ana Sofia Antunes, this initiative "is another significant step towards building a society with fewer barriers. This is a constant measure in the National Strategy for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, the implementation of which will contribute to making culture more accessible to all".

This initiative is part of the objectives of the ‘All for All – Portuguese Tourism’ programme, which aims to contribute to increasing the availability of accessible tourism, as well as promoting Portugal as a destination for all and its international recognition.

The ‘All for All’ programme, through the Valorizar do Turismo de Portugal Programme, has already supported 129 projects aimed at adapting the offer in the various typologies of the tourism chain, with particular emphasis on improving the conditions of physical and communicational accessibility of cultural equipment. This new offer, as an example of good practices, has been the subject of several awards, such as Praia + accessible and those awarded by the Cultural and Portuguese Access Association of Museology.

With regard to the training of tourist agents, and with a view to creating increasingly inclusive spaces and services, Turismo de Portugal recently launched new guides to good accessibility practices aimed at the area of tourist accommodation, tourist entertainment, events and bathing areas, which provide technical information and updated recommendations for the promotion and improvement of physical and informational accessibility conditions.

The Programme to Support the Organisation of Events of Tourist Interest – Portugal Events, which aims to support the holding of events that prove to be relevant for the sustainable development of the tourism sector, already bears in mind this commitment to accessibility and inclusion, favouring in the eligibility conditions of candidate projects the demonstration of best accessibility practices.

The equitable development of society and the responsibility of tourism in this area, together with the potential of this market, should be a stimulus for tourist agents and managers of tourist destinations, so that they can respond, with quality and differentiation, to the individual needs of each visitor, making the destination Portugal more competitive. This is, by the way, one of the aspects underlying the 20-23 Sustainable Tourism Plan, where this initiative is part of. It should be noted that in 2019, Portugal was recognized by the World Tourism Organization as one of the most accessible destinations in the world, a result of this effort that has been made by the tourism sector to be more sustainable, responsible and inclusive.

Source: Government Portal