Inclusive Travel Wriggling Between Barriers and Terminologies

Over the last decade, in the field of Tourism and Travel, much has been done to break down, first of all, the "Archietectonic Barriers" and then those that were the Social and Prejudicial barriers. Today, after the past years, the many conferences, laws, investments (in economic terms and changes in "status"), words, everything should now be resolved, "normalized", yet the watchword is still "Inclusion", a sign that, unfortunately, there is still a lot to do. Yet, we who have lived and live friendship and shared days and journeys with people with "special needs" have never had to stop to think or discuss terminologies, limits, barriers, looking for politically correct definitions or terminologies. Our daily life has always been simply that of friends who lived everyday life together and traveled as equals, going somewhere together, without obstacles to stop us.

Today that we are in MeTour and that we deal with Tourism, for our past and experiences, it seems absurd that in 2022 (almost 2023) in the Travel sector we still have to ask ourselves about guaranteeing "Inclusive Travel" or about what definitions and behaviors to keep towards travelers with "special needs" or words such as Handicap, Disability, Disabled People. In our opinion, in the world of travel and tourism, but also in everyday life, we are all "able" and at the same time "differently able" !! What do we mean by this? We are all different from each other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, with their own impulses and with their own fears. We have astronaut aspiration, but we are afraid of the Abyss, we love Bears, but we are allergic to Cats, we like heights, but we are afraid of speed, we love to fly, but we are afraid of swimming. In travel, then, there are those who love to relax and those who experience adventures, those looking for extreme sports and those who are looking for the best spas, the beach or the calm of the mountains, bike tours or playgrounds ... from this it is clear that we are all different, skilled in living a certain adventure or type of Travel and, at the same time, disabled in not experiencing things, adventures, journeys that we do not like, that scare us or that are not suitable for us. So what? What does this reasoning lead to?

We mean that each of us has his Perfect Vacation and his Perfect Tourism, as he has his Terror Holiday or simply that he would NEVER Book because it is unsuitable for him! What distinguishes one from the other? It is the information provided by our Agent, Tour Operator, Catalog or Website that, through clear information and cards, allows us to know in advance what we will find, what we will experience, how we will experience it, what may or may not be suitable, prerogatives or limitations, thus allowing us to choose based on our UNIQUENESS!

We hope in this change and that is that all the cards of the Tourist offer are CLEAR and DETAILED, because in this way we should no longer speak of inclusion, disability, limitations, handicaps, denials or unpleasant surprises. Information gives the power to choose, while it is ignorance, the lack of information that makes Prisoners!

On our Metour.it portal, this is the philosophy we want to adopt and we commit ourselves every day with our Partners to offer simple, clear, easily readable, complete cards, with immediate icons that tell us the merits and usability / limitations of what we are booking However, we believe that this is not enough and therefore we are actively engaged with local politics, with partners who offer tourist services, with museums, local authorities, associations in the creation of new and innovative services that give the opportunity to those who have "needs. Specials "to fully experience the Tourist offer. This is why we are creating, with important collaborations, visits, tours, tailor-made experiences, for example, for those who need translation into sign language because they are deaf or need tactile paths because they are blind or partially sighted.