Town Council and PREDIF sign an agreement to position Benidorm as the most accessible sun and beach destination in Spain

Both institutions will develop jointly the First Plan for Accessibility Tourism of Benidorm in line with the standard of Smart Tourist Destinations

The City Council and the State Representative Platform for People with Physical Disabilities (PREDIF), the non-profit entity with reference to accessible tourism, will sign an agreement on Thursday, January 19, in Fitur to position Benidorm as "the most accessible beach and sun destination in Spain ". The mayor and delegate of Tourism, Toni Pérez, explained that this agreement is the result of the contacts maintained with PREDIF in an Accessible Tourism Conference organized by the Valencian Tourism Agency last November in Invattur.

Pérez pointed out that in order to make Benidorm the leading destination in accessible tourism, the City Council and PREDIF are going to develop the First Tourism Accessibility Plan of Benidorm, through which "initiatives, programs, projects and actions will be promoted. Improvement of the accessibility conditions of the city's tourist environments, products and services ".

The mayor clarified that this Plan will follow the requirements of the standard UNE 178501 Management System of smart tourist destinations, which Segittur is testing in Benidorm; Besides it will be promoted by the TUR4all accessible tourism platform, its website and its mobile app.

Among the actions included in the agreement are, among others, studies to determine the accessibility of Benidorm's tourist offer; training municipal staff linked to tourism in terms of accessibility and attention to public with disabilities or other diverse needs; publishing the accessible tourist offer of the city; sensitizing the agents and operators of the sector on the importance of customers with accessibility needs, which is a growing market; or eliminate architectural barriers in municipal facilities and services.

Pérez stressed that the City is demonstrating its commitment to universal accessibility, for example in the works being developed in the city, "in which we are eliminating all architectural barriers and promoting the transit of people with reduced mobility or functional diversity ".

The mayor pointed out that this I Tourism Accessibility Plan is important "to be more accessible and pioneer" in this field "as we have been with the accessibility on the beaches". A service of accessible beaches that this summer improved its offer incorporating a system that allows bathing to blind people. In the last edition of the Tourism Awards, Benidorm recognized PREDIF in the national category for its work in promoting accessibility.