ALTERTRIP IPA INTERREG CBC Greece – Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020, Promotion of ICT Tools for Accessible Tourism Intended for Persons with Disabilities
The Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities of Bitola, Demir Hisar and Resen – MOBILNOST Bitola, the 3rd project beneficiary in the project “Alternative Touristic Experience – ALTER TRIP”, promoted ICT tools for accessible tourism intended for persons with disabilities, thus making Bitola the first city in the region with an accessible tourist offer at the city level. The tools were created by the experts of the Foundation for New Technologies, Innovations and Knowledge Transfer – GAUSS Institute from Bitola, as part of the ALTER TRIP project funded by the IPA INTERREG CBC Prorgamme “Greece – Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020”. The promotion took place in the newly renovated Officer’s House (House of Army) in Bitola on 2 December 2022, coinciding with the celebrations of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), as well as the 35th anniversary of MOBILNOST Bitola.
The tools include tourist signage for the 10 most significant cultural and historical monuments in Bitola intended for persons with disabilities that were handed to the Municipality of Bitola to be placed in front of the selected cultural and historical monuments, application for mobile devices – tourist guide for Bitola for persons with disabilities (City Bitola – Accessible Tour | izi.TRAVEL), and printed tourist guide for Bitola for the blind and visually impaired. The signage that will be placed in front of the selected monuments contains tactile images and description in Macedonian and in English printed in Braille, and QR code for the application “Bitola – Accessible City Tour”, containing written and audio narration in Macedonian and in English, as well as video narration in sign language. The printed tourist guides are in three languages – Macedonian, English and Greek – printed in Braille.
Following the international motto of the persons with disabilities – nothing for us without us – throughout the production process the experts worked closely with persons with visual impairment (members of the Association of Blind Persons from Bitola). Demonstrating the use of the ICT tools for accessible tourism, they were impressed with the final results and the experience these tools provide.
The promotion was covered by multiple local and national media, and attended by members of various disability organizations, NGOs, public institutions etc.