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Rural Tourism Cluster
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Network: Rural Tour

Title - Name

Rural Tour: European Federation of Rural Tourism: Access-IT & PANTOUR

Scope / Sector / Industry

Accessibility and linking rural tourism with skills development.

Country / Region

Europe and Central Asia

Why is it good practice?

Through this initiative, two projects were developed relating to tourism – and, more specifically, rural tourism – in conjunction with accessibility (Access-IT) and the development of skills among the next generation of professionals (PANTOUR). 

How is it applied?

Access-IT

Access-IT was established in response to numerous research reports which highlighted the sharp rise in demand for accessibility in areas where rural tourism is developing. The overall aim is to build the capacity of EU small and medium-sized tourism enterprises operating in rural areas to bridge accessibility gaps through the co-design of innovative solutions for tourism products aimed at customers with specific accessibility requirements.

More specifically, the programme aims to:

  1. Identification of the key factors influencing the accessibility of tourism in natural and rural areas.
  2. Development of case studies on accessible tourism in rural areas, using video and other methods to document improvements in accessibility and first-hand experiences.
  3. Provision of business support and guidance, thereby promoting the capacity of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises to innovate, with a view to developing accessible tourism products in collaboration with key stakeholders.
  4. To establish a solid foundation for the usability and transferability of the project’s results to a wider audience.
  5. To raise awareness amongst small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in the EU operating in rural areas.

PANTOUR 

PANTOUR is a monitoring project run by the NTG (Next Tourism Generation Skills Alliance). The PANTOUR consortium is a multi-sector partnership comprising 13 European partners – from industry and the tourism sector, universities and transnational partners – and aims to stimulate innovation through collaboration on the development of activities, strengthening partnerships and generating resources to implement the plan for developing sector-specific skills in tourism across Europe. The project and its partners aim to design innovative and collaborative solutions to address skills needs across the entire tourism ecosystem in Europe. 

Where is it applied?

Access-IT

For small and medium-sized enterprises interested in improving accessibility at their premises. 

PANTOUR

For small and medium-sized enterprises and educational institutions interested in identifying skills gaps and developing these skills within the tourism sector. 

When did it apply?

The initiative was established as a legal entity in 1991, under the name “EUROGITES”.

Results

Access-IT

The following results are listed on the official Access-IT website:

  1. A mapping report on the key factors affecting tourism accessibility in rural areas.
  2. Case studies— video on accessible tourism, based on interviews with small and medium-sized enterprises operating in rural tourism, which have implemented innovative solutions to improve the accessibility of their products/services and succeeded in commercialising their new, improved offering. 
  3. An interactive toolkit to support businesses, comprising guidelines for developing a strategic approach to innovation in the development of accessible tourism products, an online accessibility performance assessment tool and scenarios for co-creation sessions. 
  4. Book of Recommendations which summarises the best practices and success stories of stakeholders involved in the co-design of accessible tourism options. 

PANTOUR

The official PANTOUR website lists the following as the long-term outcomes of the programme:

  1. Collaboration on skills development through the NRSG (National Regional Skills Group), which will include partners from all sectors at both national and regional levels.
  2. Practical tools and solutions that are user-friendly for end-users across all target groups (businesses, the workforce, training institutions and governments) to implement the project’s outcomes.
  3. Innovative approaches and content that reflect the skills needs of micro-enterprises in the «sharing economy».
  4. Improving collaboration between vocational education and training institutions and higher education institutions, including the exchange of knowledge, practices and the delivery of modules in a straightforward, flexible and accessible manner, available to students and teaching staff.

As part of the implementation of PANTOUR, tools were developed aimed at both the tourism industry and the educational community, forming the basis for skills development in the European tourism sector. These are:

  1. The Skills Assessment Methodology – NTG Skills Assessment Methodology (SAM)
  2. The Tourism Skills Toolkit
  3. The Skills Matrix – NTG Skills Matrix
  4. The Tourism Skills Workshop – NTG Skills Lab
  5. The Quality Standards Skills Framework
  6. Draft strategy for the development of sectoral skills in tourism – Blueprint Strategy for sectoral skills development in tourism
  7. The collaborative framework for the development of sectoral skills in tourism – Collaborative framework for sectoral skills development in tourism

Other information

The Rural Tour’s original aim was to foster collaboration in the areas of knowledge, promotion and advocacy for the agritourism sector within European and global institutions.

It was originally formed by 10 organisations from various countries and now has members from 27 countries in Europe and 4 in Central Asia. 

According to its official website, it is a recognised part of the European tourism industry and represents the sector in transnational bodies and at the European Commission. 

As regards Access-IT, it has achieved success in a total of 6 cases across 5 countries:

  • Italy: Accessibility in the mountains
  • Poland: Museum modernisation
  • Spain: Improvements to local tourist offices
  • Ireland: Collaborative policy and initiatives on accessibility: Gleneagle Hotel Group
  • Spain: Adapting a farmhouse for people with hearing loss
  • Bulgaria: Velosigners – deaf cyclists 

A total of 13 partners represent PANTOUR, hailing from 10 EU countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece), including the University of the Aegean.