MAKING TOURISM ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE: VISION OF THE ACCESS CITY AWARD WINNERS

Year 2025, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 125 - 144, 20.08.2025

Sümeyye Kahraman , Sarıyya Arslan Erkan Polat

Abstract

The Access City Award is an annual award given by the European Commission since 2011 and aims to recognize the efforts of cities to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and older people. The award recognizes the innovative and effective work that cities are doing for people with disabilities in areas such as the physical environment, transport, information and communication technologies. It also encourages tourism to become more inclusive and accessible: creating tourist destinations that are more suitable and accessible for people with disabilities, older people and people with reduced mobility. This article aims to examine the tourism-focused practices implemented in cities that have been comprehensively awarded the Access City Award between 2011 and 2024 and to evaluate the effects of these practices on urban tourism policies and spatial accessibility. As a result of the examinations, it was concluded that the Accessible City Award sets an example for other cities and contributes to the development of accessible tourism on a global scale, making tourism more inclusive and accessible.

Keywords

Accessible Tourism , Access City Award , Tourism , Accessibility

TURİZMİ HERKES İÇİN ERİŞİLEBİLİR KILMAK: ERİŞİLEBİLİR KENT ÖDÜLÜ KAZANAN KENTLERİN VİZYONU

Abstract

Erişilebilir Kent Ödülü (Access City Award), Avrupa Komisyonu tarafından 2011 yılından beri her yıl verilen bir ödüldür ve engelli bireylerin ve yaşlıların erişebilirliğini artırmak için kentlerin çabalarını tanımayı amaçlar. Bu ödül sayesinde kentlerin fiziksel çevre, ulaşım, bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileri gibi alanlarda engellilere yönelik yaptıkları yenilikçi ve etkili çalışmalar tanınır. Ayrıca bu ödüller sayesinde turizmin daha kapsayıcı ve erişilebilir hale gelmesi de teşvik edilir: engelli bireyler, yaşlılar ve hareket kısıtlılığı olan kişiler için daha uygun ve erişilebilir turistik destinasyonlar yaratılır. Bu makale, 2011–2024 yılları arasında Erişilebilir Kent Ödülü (Access City Award) almaya hak kazanan Turku, Krakow, Pamplona, Ljubljana, Arona, Chester, Lugo, Funchal, Viborg, Monteverde, Hanya, Bremerhaven, Florens, Palma, Córdoba ve Mérida kentlerinde hayata geçirilen turizm odaklı uygulamaları kapsamlı biçimde incelemeyi ve bu uygulamaların kentsel turizm politikaları ile mekânsal erişilebilirlik üzerindeki etkilerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Yapılan incelemeler sonucunda Erişilebilir Kent Ödülü’nün diğer kentlere örnek teşkil ettiği ve küresel ölçekte erişilebilir turizmin gelişmesine katkıda bulunarak turizmi daha kapsayıcı ve erişilebilir hale getirdiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Keywords

Erişilebilir Turizm , Erişilebilir Kent Ödülü , Turizm , Erişilebilirlik

References

• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona. (2010). Actuaciones. https://www.pamplona.es/sites/default/ files/2019-01/Memoria%20de%20Proyectos%202010%202-5%20ok.pdf (Erişim tarihi: 15 Mart 2024).
• Chen, S. (2023). Research on the requirements and functions of mobile applications for tourism among disabled individuals in China. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, 2(1), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/21/20230043
• Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
• Diken, E., & Onur, A. (2022). Evaluating sustainable universal design accessibility criteria at historical urban sites. Kent Akademisi, 15(3), 1327–1340. https://doi.org/ 10.35674/kent.1023525
• Muldoon, E. (2018). Barcelona and accessibility: A wheelchair users dream. https://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/enjoy/73/barcelona-and-accessibility-a-wheelchair-users-dream-.html (Erişim tarihi: 15 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2011). Access City: The European award for accessible cities. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2838/34235 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2012). Access City Award 2012: Rewarding and inspiring accessible cities across the EU. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2838/634 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2013). Access City Award 2013: Inspiring EU cities to become more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2838/41147 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2015). Access City Award 2015: Examples of best practice for making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/523207 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2017). Access City Award 2017: Examples of best practice in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/587342 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2018). Access City Award 2018: Examples of best practice in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/23017 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2019). Access City Award 2019: Examples of best practice in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/30203 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2020). Access City Award 2020: Examples of best practice in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/959272 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2021). Access City Award 2021: Examples of best practice in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/411493 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2022). Access City Award 2022: Examples of best practices in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/086 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2023). Access City Award 2023: Examples of best practices in making EU cities more accessible. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/197472 (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• European Commission. (2026). Access City Award 2026: Examples of best practices in making EU cities more accessible. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/ policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/disability/access-city-award_en#who-can-apply (Erişim tarihi: 10 Mart 2024).
• Fernández-Díaz, E., Jambrino-Maldonado, C., Iglesias-Sánchez, P., & Pedrosa, C. (2022). Digital accessibility of smart cities – Tourism for all and reducing inequalities: Tourism agenda 2030. Tourism Review, 78(2), 361–380. https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-02-2022-0091
• Gürbüz, S., & Şahin, F. (2018). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri (5. baskı). Seçkin Yayıncılık.
• Hristov, R. (2023). Making libraries accessible: The vision of Access City Award winners. IFLA Journal, 50(1), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352231219671
• Makuyana, T., & Nzo, Z. Y. (2022). Inclusive community development through events: Lessons from Casual Day with Persons with Disabilities event in South Africa. In Festival and event tourism: Building resilience and promoting sustainability (pp. 85–101). CABI.
• Matteis, F., Notaristefano, G., & Bianchi, P. (2021). Public–private partnership governance for accessible tourism in marine protected areas (MPAs). Sustainability, 13(15), 8455. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158455
• McKercher, B., & Darcy, S. (2018). Re-conceptualizing barriers to travel by people with disabilities. Tourism Management Perspectives, 26, 59–66. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.tmp.2018.01.003
• Michopoulou, E., & Hilton, S. J. (2021). Accessibility to spa experiences. In ICT tools and applications for accessible tourism (pp. 146–168). IGI Global.
• Nigg, J. J., & Eichelberger, S. (2021). Sustainable product development for accessible tourism: Case studies demonstrating the need for stakeholder collaboration. Sustainability, 13(20), 11142. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011142
• Qiao, C., & Mao, Y. (2021). Do city honors increase tourism economic growth? A quasi-natural experimental research study based on “civilized city” selection in China. Sustainability, 13(22), 12545. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212545
• Qiao, G., Ding, L., Zhang, L., & Yan, H. (2021). Accessible tourism: A bibliometric review (2008–2020). Tourism Review, 77(3), 713–730. https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-12-2020-0619
• Sica, E., Sisto, R., Bianchi, P., & Cappelletti, G. (2020). Inclusivity and responsible tourism: Designing a trademark for a national park area. Sustainability, 13(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010013
• Stephenson, M. (2013). Accessible tourism: Concepts and issues. Annals of Leisure Research, 16(3), 270–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2013.788973
• Werner, A. (2023). Key challenges facing the development of accessible tourism, using the example of Szczecin in Poland. European Research Studies Journal, 26(3), 680–689. https://doi.org/10.35808/ersj/3241
• Uslu, A. O., & Güneş, M. (2017). Engelsiz kentler – “Herkes için erişilebilir kentler”. Uluslararası Peyzaj Mimarlığı Araştırmaları Dergisi (IJLAR), 1(2), 30–36.
• Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2016). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (10. baskı). Seçkin Yayıncılık.