Visit Brussels, the Belgian capital’s tourism office, has partnered with non-profit organization Access-i to certify an increasing number of sites, including tourist attractions and accommodation establishments, for accessibility for people with reduced mobility.
Brussels is setting itself up to be a city for everyone, already having lifts in metro stations, floor guidance, audible signals at pedestrian crossings, adapted taxis and assistance in the metros and trains. Visit Brussels visit.brussels is doing its utmost to make the tourism sector more accessible. With the Access-i certification – a benchmark tool for accessibility – it is raising awareness and supporting tourism actors who commit themselves to accessibility in order to improve the visitor’s experience but also to stimulate the development of a more inclusive brand of tourism.
Anyone coming to Brussels should be able to visit a museum, catch a concert or book a hotel room without any worries.
Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels Region
“A lot of the tourist infrastructure in our region is already adapted to the needs of everyone, but there is still room for improvement. With this certificate, we want to continue to promote inclusive tourism and encourage players in the tourism sector to adapt their infrastructure”, explained Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels Region.
Besides enabling people with reduced mobility to access and discover more of the city, the initiative also aims to raise awareness, support those who commit themselves to accessibility and stimulate the development of a more inclusive brand of tourism.
Access-i informs people with specific needs about the accessibility of places that are open to the public (tourist and sports facilities, parks and gardens, cycling routes, events, etc.). Every establishment certified by Access-i receives a visual summary of their level of accessibility by type of disability. The organization has already audited and certified more than 500 locations in Wallonia and Brussels and works with 6 subcontracted experts in accessibility, who visit each site to carry out assessments.
Over the past year, Access-i has certified 38 sites in Brussels, comprising of 18 museums, 15 tourist sites and 5 accommodations, as well as three festivals – Brussels Pride, Iris Festival and Bright Festival. The newly certified places see landmark attractions of the capital, like the Mini Europe exhibition next to the Atomium and the Royal Library of Brussels.
Visit Brussels has compiled a brochure with all the accessible museums and tourist attractions in the city and even more information and guidelines can be found on Handy Brussels.
