Costa Rica has been recognized worldwide as a sustainable destination in permanent innovation and that little by little is walking on the path towards universal accessibility tourism, thinking about the enjoyment of all tourists on equal terms. Precisely, as part of the fulfillment of the sustainable development objectives of the World Tourism Organization, the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network was born, an association based on the pillars of information, verification and education.
To strengthen this last pillar, said network generated a strategic alliance with the Argentine institute Noun Eventos y Capacitación Executive, the State Distance University (UNED) and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) to develop the first national certified E-Learning program and internationally with exclusive content focused on accessible tourism and equal opportunities for people with disabilities.
Registration for the Accessible Tourism E-Learning Program is officially open and will begin on September 13th. According to the organizers, it will be made up of three modules of three months each, in a virtual classroom that will be open 24 hours a day and throughout the week. The contents will be developed jointly by the professional members of the network, ambassadors and allies.
Education as a fundamental pillar
“One of our fundamental pillars is education and to achieve this alliance to create a complete training program in which the entire tourism industry, including teachers, students, as well as professionals from the guild can learn from scratch, with all the bases to define what It is accessible tourism, how to treat them, customer services, infrastructure development, among others and now, through an innovative technological platform to enhance these efforts nationally and internationally it is for us a dream come true” explained Stephanie Sheehy, Executive Director of the Network Costa Rican Accessible Tourism.
For his part, Alberto López, ICT General Manager recalled that “Costa Rica has bet in the last three decades on a tourism development model that focuses on three fundamental pillars: inclusion, sustainability and innovation. Thinking about the axis of inclusion, all the efforts made by the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network focused on creating an environment conducive to allowing any tourist to enjoy the beauties of the country, will always be supported by the ICT. We are surprised with this innovative project focused on inclusion and how accessible tourism should develop and serve in an appropriate and responsible way, allowing us to continue growing in a relevant axis in our model”.
100% accessible innovation and training
From the aforementioned alliances, the technological support of the platform of the Argentine organization expert in E-Learning, Noun Eventos and Executive Training has been fundamental. They currently have headquarters in nine countries such as Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Chile, Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, together with 122 locations in Argentina, together with the global reach from virtuality for more than 20 years of content generation and training.
“Our institute saw in the Costa Rican Accessible Tourism Network an ideal ally to enhance the efforts that we have been carrying out for years. Accessibility must be thought of for everyone and we detect the importance of working in teaching for the protagonists of the tourism industry for those who have hotels, restaurants, spas, tourist transport, among others. The virtual classrooms are officially open to those who want to be certified with an accessible tourism diploma with the endorsement of the UNED from home or from the company”, explained Betina Anzilutti, Director of Noun Eventos y Capacitación Executive de Argentina.
Finally, the support of the UNED completes the project cycle with the support of professors from the tourism field to contribute to the revision and expansion of contents to the program. “We will jointly develop and design content so that representatives of the tourism industry can manage proposals and tourism offer for all people,” concluded Mildred Acuña Sossa, head of the Chair of Tourism Entrepreneurship at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of the UNED.
Registration is officially open and the first of the modules will begin on September 13th.
Those interested in more information about the diploma of the first Accessible Tourism E-Learning can enter:
https://nouneventos.com.ar/oferta-academica/turismo-accesible
As well as the Facebook profile: https://m.facebook.com/AccesibleCR/
