“Di Ognuno” (Everyone’s): that’s the name of the area dedicated to accessible hospitality, a significant innovation in the 48th edition of Hospitality – The Welcoming Fair, scheduled to take place in Riva del Garda from February 5 to 8, 2024.
Within this area, set up in Pavilion D, three experiential and immersive paths will illustrate how to design hospitality with user-friendly design spaces for everyone. It will provide concrete examples of inclusive design and offer specific training activities for professionals in the hotel and non-hotel industry looking to develop their business by embracing the challenges and opportunities of inclusive tourism.
This market is becoming increasingly relevant, considering that people with disabilities often do not travel alone, representing a definite opportunity for growth and development for the tourism sector.
Inclusive reception, according to Lombardini22
The initiative stems from the collaboration between Hospitality, Village for All – V4A, and Lombardini22, a leading group in Italy in the fields of architecture and engineering. “To narrate inclusive design and offer practical and useful tools to operators,” explains Alessandra Albarelli, General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, “we decided to start from the reception, the place where every experience begins. Thanks to the collaboration with Lombardini22 and Village for All, we want to contribute to creating social well-being and economic value, allowing our exhibitors and visitors to broaden their business horizons“.
The focus, therefore, is on the reception and innovative projects that integrate neuroscience with architecture to make the check-in and check-out experience accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments, physical and motor disabilities, and cognitive disabilities. The three experiential paths will allow experiencing darkness, moving in space, listening to silence, with the aim of making all reception services accessible and contributing to the well-being of the guest.
As highlighted by Cristian Catania of Lombardini22, the architect has a great social responsibility. Inclusive setups designed for the reception transform a space not normally suitable for those with disabilities into a space that “enables”, making the perception of the experience possible for everyone: “Space is an enabling factor when designed with the matrix of ‘design for all’. We address the hotel and non-hotel industry with small design suggestions that can be applied to their structures and aim to respond not only to the needs of people with disabilities but also to their ambitions“.
A commitment that will continue in the coming editions of the Fair
But Hospitality will not stop here. The commitment is to continue, in the next editions, to indicate the way towards accessible tourism for everyone, paying attention to other areas, such as the room, bathroom, spa and wellness center, breakfast room, and restaurant. All places where, thanks to inclusive design, accessible hospitality experiences can be created. “Our 16 years of activity,” recounts Roberto Vitali, Administrator, and Co-founder of Village for All – V4A, “have also shown us that where people with disabilities can go on vacation, they can also work. Therefore, offering accessible hospitality means combining social responsibility with business, thanks to a unique non-ghettoizing tourist product, of great aesthetic and concrete social value. As we like to reiterate: the same place, the same price, more guests!“.
Accessibility will be a cross-cutting theme at Hospitality and, in addition to the “Di Ognuno” area, will be addressed in the Outdoor Boom pavilion dedicated to open-air tourism, in numerous training events, and in thematic paths dedicated to different dietary needs and habits.
In the opening photo, from left: Alessandra Albarelli, Giovanna Voltolini, Cristian Catania, Roberto Vitali
