International Tagus Route

From Madrid to Lisbon or Lisbon to Madrid via the International Tagus

Sílvio Gil Martins and Ana Martins are developing the project "Innovation, inclusion, accessibility and sustainability applied to the reception of tourists with disabilities" between Spain and Portugal through Tejo Internacional.

This project had the collaboration of the company "SGM Consultores" and interns from "IEFP" who for two months carried out surveys and market studies in the regions

Hotels contacted - 302

Tourist entertainment companies contacted - 41

Restaurants contacted- 150

The route of the levadas of Louriçal do campo, was the pilot project

Accessibility is a characteristic of tourist services that it takes into account, and it can contribute a lot to the acceptance of our product or the product of the competition by the customer. Accessibility manifests itself in multiple aspects of the business, paths and distances to the public.

The investment by the municipality of Castelo Branco and the parish council of Louriçal do Campo, was more than one million and two hundred thousand euros.

This project was developed in such a way that the service is accessible to potential buyers. When it comes to tourism products, the importance of maintaining a pleasant and attractive physical environment for the customer. What most attracts the customer of an establishment is its physical appearance in all its aspects: visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile. For example, a hotel reception can be highly unpleasant if the environment is very noisy or in constant agitation.

Whatever its nature. Whether we are talking about a stay in a hotel, a historic public building, a tourist entertainment experience or a previous experience that ends well or is disastrous.

Entrepreneurs and entities must establish a supposed act of consumption at all stages and design all aspects that make the experience satisfactorily carried out in all its extension. In this way, it is ensured that the customer is fully satisfied and that he perceives the acquisition of a superior quality product.

We cannot forget that one of the basic rules to get the effectiveness of the product, business, company or public entity right, is to contemplate the relationships that are created and established between consumers so that unpleasant situations are not created.

If we offer an excursion to a historical monument and refer to it as accessible, it may be counterproductive if it takes into account a person in a wheelchair and is not adapted for people who are blind, mute, deaf, among others.

Another problem is to find the balance between the available facilities and the public we want to satisfy, it is not always possible, but it is the task of management and public entities to try to predict and adapt them as much as possible.

This new personal assistance service in tourism has the participation of associations, IPSS, private individuals, companies, local authorities and CIMS, in order to provide destinations with a management model with their own personal assistants.

The following video is of the recently opened restaurant in Louriçal do Campo that meets the accessibility criteria and Tur4all.

Personal Assistant in Tourism

The P&DP Collaborative Platform, by developing the project "Innovation, inclusion and sustainability applied to the reception of tourists with disabilities", through the raising of local and regional funds for the development of this project. This project consists of the personal assistance service in tourism to provide destinations with a management model with their own personal assistants. The pilot project was carried out in Louriçal do Campo.

A large portion of people with disabilities or accessibility need a personal assistant while traveling. This professional is a person who performs or helps to perform the day-to-day tasks of another person who, due to their situation of dependence, cannot perform them on their own or finds it very difficult to do them, thus allowing them to lead an independent life.

This need represents a very high cost that few tourists can afford, since the traveler has to pay all the expenses of the assistant and his contract with 24 hours of dedication. In addition, this contract does not guarantee their autonomy, since both tourists and assistants are unaware of the destination and its accessibility conditions.

On the other hand, it also has environmental repercussions due to the carbon footprint caused by the personal assistant's commute.

The mobility and equipment necessary to carry out the activities and their locomotion is also a real need and that we will have to ensure to the tourist.

Therefore, this project pursues a number of objectives.

Firstly, the elimination of the long movements of the personal assistant, ensuring transport and mobility equipment, to eliminate expenses and halve the carbon footprint associated with these trips, as well as the creation of jobs in the destination by hiring personal assistants in Portugal and Spain and not in the country of origin.

From the user's point of view, this will mean the reduction of their own personal support bill, since they will only have to contract the intensities they really need.

In logistical terms, the personal assistant will have extensive knowledge of the accessibility conditions of the destination to ensure the correct and safe development of the trip. In addition, hiring a personal assistant at the destination ensures a better understanding of the environment, resources and services of the same and thus contributes to reducing programming times, looking for accessible resources and making the time spent on leisure more profitable.