Jul03GovtReport

We were invited to provide a speaker for a seminar hosted by Blackpool Pleasure Beach and organized by the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers, and Attractions (BALPPA) on the British Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This law, similar in many ways to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), comes into full effect in October 2004.

BALPPA requested that the representative address issues that occurred during the implementation of the ADA and describe lessons that were learned to help them during the similar DDA inclusion.

While disability access legislation is not yet as far along in other European countries, members of Europarks attended the seminar, so the information that was shared reached an even broader audience.

Bob Minnick, technical director of accessibility at Walt Disney World, was the IAAPA/ADA representative. He outlined the nine-year development process to create ADA laws for places of amusement. Minnick described the process through which government officials worked with industry personnel and advocates for individuals with disabilities to create standards that offered flexible approaches to providing access to amusement rides.

Other speakers included David Cam, from Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Laura Harcombe with Nicholson, Graham & Jones, who outlined legal aspects in an easily understood presentation. Architect John Penton gave practical guidance on completing an audit that emphasizes what can be considered reasonable and practical. Niall McPhilamey offered the perspective of a person with a disability, followed by Jon Thedham of TDM Services.

European Government Relations Issues
IAAPA is working to increase the government relations information sharing to benefit its members.

In a meeting that preceded the DDA seminar, the Europarks Council discussed other pertinent issues. Europarks has developed a newsletter for its membership, entitled Europarks Newsflash. The following information comes from its first issue, which was distributed at the meeting:

• Pam Cornelissen, director of Europarks, attended a bureau meeting of the Tourism Group of the European Parliament in April. It was decided to table a discussion in the European Parliament of a possible coordinated effort between the European Commission and all stakeholders to stimulate the tourism industry.

• The British Zoological Garden raised the issue of the inconsistency across European countries on health requirements affecting the movement of animals for zoological gardens. Cornelissen drafted an inquiry to the European Commission on this issue.

• A recent conference was held on European Union transport policies and European tourism competitiveness, organized by the Greek presidency in Crete. They stressed that transport and tourism are inextricably linked. Transport constitutes an essential element of the tourist market. The European Commission promised to integrate tourism aspects in the European Transport Policy through business impact assessment. One conclusion of the conference was that boosting the industry’s competitiveness through common policies in Europe is urgent.

• The European Commission invites all interested parties to comment online on the draft communication entitled, “Basic orientations for the sustainability of European Tourism.” The EC is particularly looking to receive reaction regarding the policy options for facing challenges of sustainable tourism in a European context, community contribution, the measures that the commission could envisage, and what other stakeholders should do.

The web site is: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/consultation/consultationdocs/cons_en.pdf.