Enrique Rovira-Beleta, the head of the Accessibility Area in the ESARQ School of Architecture, gave the presentation «Accessible Tourist Destinations: The Challenge of the 21st Century» at the 2nd Universal Accessibility Conference organized by the ACCEDE Foundation and held in Torrevieja on Tuesday, 22 October 2013.
In his paper, Rovira-Beleta described the changes made in Barcelona to remove architectural barriers. The architect has 30 years of experience in the field and was the Head of Accessibility for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He implemented changes that have made Barcelona one of Europe's most accessible cities.
The conference focused on the topics of architectural barriers and tourism. Eduardo Dolón, the Mayor of Torrevieja, attended the event with María Eugenia García, the ACCEDE Foundation President. Also in attendance were Guardamar Mayor Carmen Verdú, municipal councillors Almoradí and Rojales, numerous Torrevieja councillors and technical experts from different city councils in Vega Baja.
Raúl López Maldonado, the councillor for Accessibility and Mobility in the Málaga City Council, opened the conference with a interdisciplinary paper on accessibility management and municipal policies. López Maldonado was the first municipal councillor in Spain to head a department of this kind. His work has sparked interest in improving accessibility throughout the city and different municipal areas have become involved in this undertaking.
Pilar Soret spoke on behalf of Fundosa Accesibilidad, a business unit of the ONCE Foundation. She gave a presentation on accessible tourism and quality destinations, and stressed that accessibility is crucial to attract more visitors.
The event concluded with a roundtable discussion on accessibility and tourism moderated by the surveyor Fernando Yarza. Technical experts and promoters of tourism and business from all over the region contributed their opinions to the discussion.
