Ensure accessibility and use of the facilities for all in conditions of autonomy, comfort and safety, in accordance with the principles and techniques of " design for all " and put the providers of these services in a position to create an offer that is inclusive and accessible to all, making the appropriate adjustment actions if necessary.This is the objective of the UNI/PdR 131 reference practice for the accredited certification on the accessibility of accommodation facilities, spas and bathing establishments, sports facilities published in recent days.
The reference practice, developed by experts from the Ministry of Tourism, Accredia, the UNI system, and the conformity assessment bodies was in fact studied to provide the minimum requirements for the accessibility of the services offered to accommodation facilities, spas and bathing establishments and sports facilities.
These parameters concern different and specific areas:
- transport;
- urban and rural tourist spaces;
- recreational activities;
- MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions);
- accommodation facilities;
- food & beverage;
- sport facilities.
In terms of tourist accessibility, it is also useful to recall the existence of a special fund, set up by the Ministry of Tourism and included in Budget Law 234/2021, to support the development and diversification of the tourist offer aimed at people with disabilities and promote social inclusion.
The intervention - which provides for a budget of 6 million euros for each of the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 - is aimed at financing the services useful for obtaining the following accessibility certifications : UNI ISO 21902:2022; UNI CEI EN 17210:2021; UNI/PdR 92:2020.
A fund available to hotel and non-hotel businesses, spas, bathing establishments and sports facilities.
The UNI/PdR 131:2023 practice has a highly practical approach, oriented towards accredited certification which, in this sense, can be a powerful tool for differentiation and therefore competitiveness.
To encourage the adoption of these standards and their certification, the Ministry of Tourism - in implementation of art.4, c. 1, of the Interministerial Decree of 19 April 2022 aimed at certifying the accessibility of the tourist offer to people with disabilities - has published in recent months " the Public Notice containing the procedures for establishing the list of accredited bodies to certify according to UNI ISO 21902:2022, UNI CEI EN 17210:2021 and UNI/PdR 92:2020 ".
The Notice defines the procedures for the establishment of the list of certifying bodies to which hotels, non-hotel establishments, spas, bathing establishments and sports facilities can contact for the verification of the necessary requisites for obtaining the certification, for the verification of the maintenance of the possessed requisites, for any corrective actions carried out or the renewal of the certifications.
The accessibility compliance certification has a three-year duration.
For this specific certification, it is possible that during the certification cycle, in addition to the normal audits, a surprise audit (without notice) will also be conducted.
The UNI/PdR 131 reference practice is completed with 3 appendices:
- A contains recommendations for accessibility certification,
- the B shows a checklist for carrying out the audits (in which some requirements are essential for the issue of the certification),
- C provides an example of an audit report.