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DigAccessAgrotourism Project

DigAccess Agrotourism is a project supported by the COSME EU fund that aims at boosting the digital transition of social economy enterprises in the agrotourism sector to become more accessible for persons with disabilities.

Tourism plays an important part in Europe, being an a source of growth and development for the economy. However, tourism is not always accessible and may prove to be challenging for persons with disabilities as finding the information, booking, get adequate assistance, often prove to be difficult, costly and time consuming. The situation is even more challenging if we look at rural tourism, which focuses on travel experiences in non-urban areas, providing visitors with a chance to immerse themselves in local culture, nature, and traditional lifestyles. In recent years, the European Commission and various relevant stakeholders emphasized the need for barrier-free tourism, yet agrotourism facilities—especially in rural areas—remain largely inaccessible. This affects not only individuals with disabilities but also those with temporary mobility challenges (pregnant women, individuals recovering from injuries, etc.).

At European level there are more than eighty million people with disabilities, and globally, it is estimated that over 1 billion people experience disabilities (15% of the population). Making tourism accessible is therefore important, and not only for legal and ethical reasons connected to the need of building an inclusive society where everyone has the chance to explore, learn, and contribute, but also for economic reasons as it implies a market expansion and ultimately increase revenue for the operators. When tourism is accessible, it can reach to a broader audience as persons with disabilities, older adults, and families with young children represent significant market segments that contribute to the tourism economy. By attracting a more diverse group of visitors, destinations can see increased visitor numbers and spending, which in turn boosts local businesses and economies. Making a place accessible is therefore a long-term investment, as improvements made to enhance accessibility—such as better transport, clearer signage, and adapted facilities—benefit everyone and can lead to sustained economic growth. Applied to rural tourism, accessibility involves ensuring that rural destinations, services, and experiences are designed and adapted so that all visitors—including those with disabilities or other special needs—can fully participate and enjoy what these areas have to offer. 

This is the challenge took up by a very committed partnership covering Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and Cyprus: OIC Foundation, EUROSUCCESS, Legacoop Emilia-Romagna, FENACERCI, Greek-Italian Chamber of Commerce, Agrotiurism Company, and ARFIE. In these countries in particular, partners noted that while there is an increase of government initiatives such as funding and legislation to support agricultural facilities and activities, there is an increasing need of aiding the agrotourism sector for accommodating tourists with disabilities. Similarly, partners noted that the agrotourism sector is gaining an increasing amount of interest and thus will greatly benefit from becoming more inclusive and accessible towards individuals with disabilities. Likewise, they noted that there is also a gap related to the information and communication by agrotourism providers when it comes to accessible information incorporated in their websites and promotional materials in order to make it easier for individuals with disabilities to plan their visits and activities.

These considerations are at the base of the DigAccessAgrotourism, a EU funded project (COSME, Action 101167990) aimed at making the EU agrotourism sector more inclusive, supporting both businesses and individuals with disabilities. The project fosters a sustainable, digital, and accessible rural tourism sector, ensuring equal participation for all. To do so, the project is guided by the following objectives:

  • Map the needs of agrotourism organisations from the partner countries in terms of digitalisation and accessibility
  • Map the needs of ‘enabling organisations’ in the tourism sector from the partner countries in supporting their members with regard to digitalization and accessibility
  • Develop national capacity building, training, mentoring and advisory activities to support agrotourism organisations of the social economy to digitally upskill in technologies and data driven solutions to become more accessible
  • Develop transnational capacity building and training activities for 16 supporting ‘enabling organisations’ to improve their capacity for guiding their agrotourism members and social entrepreneurs in digital transition towards digital social innovations in terms of becoming digitally more accessible.
  • Involve operators into the project activities.

DigAccessAgrotourism aligns with the European Commission’s objectives of:

  • Strengthening digital transition and capabilities of SMEs in the social economy
  • Enhancing the role of the social economy in digital social innovation
  • Supporting the European Industrial Strategy and Social Economy Action Plan

By leveraging digital tools and capacity-building initiatives, DigAccessAgrotourism aims to make the EU agrotourism sector more inclusive, supporting both businesses and individuals with disabilities. The project fosters a sustainable, digital, and accessible rural tourism sector, ensuring equal participation for all.