FCB Lisboa promotes inclusive tourism with Wheelchange Tours

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, CSR, Innovation, People

The project, made in partnership with TUR4all Portugal, the first Iberian platform in the area of accessible tourism, aims at enabling people with reduced mobility to enter the job market as tourist guides.

The prototype – created with a piece made in Spain that allows wheelchairs to be attached to bicycles – was presented in March by the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, as part of the Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa investment programme. Ana Mendes Godinho considers this idea – born from an FCB Lisboa insight –  as “meeting all the requirements to be materialized.”

One in three people in the world has special accessibility needs, be they definitive or temporary. In Portugal only, there are approximately 1 million people with special needs, 2.5 million elderly people, 550 thousand children under 5 and thousands more people with temporary or definitive limitations.

This is “an idea for Portugal which sees the tourism industry as a priority. An idea that can create a new profession in the tourist business for people with motor disabilities, and that can be replicated elsewhere”, says Edson Athayde, CEO and Creative Director of FCB Lisbon, who developed this concept over the course of a year with his team, making the most of the know-how acquired in previous collaborations with the Paralympic Committee and the National Institute for Rehabilitation.

Since no one gets far on their own, this concept has been put at the disposal of those who want to materialize it, from town-halls to private initiatives.

The Wheelchange Tours states that this is “an open source project. You can use it any way you’d like, without having to pay royalties. You can even use it to create something new. The important thing is to help make the World a more inclusive place, one where all can work and collaborate without hindrance”.

One of the most awarded and highly regarded creative agencies in Portugal, FCB Lisbon is a fully integrated marketing communications company with a multidisciplinary team focused on changing behavior and bringing fame and relevance to its clients, through a “never finished” dialogue with brands and the people it wants to engage with. FCB Lisbon is a renowned and active part of the FCB International network, regularly contributing its talent, work, and expertise to the development of creative solutions for global clients in international markets.

Tur4all consists of a website and mobile app offering information about the offers of accessible tourism available in Portugal. The goal is to allow any person with accessibility needs to travel and enjoy tourism experiences, taking part in all kinds of recreational activities. Tur4all offers several resources of accessible tourism, analyzed by accessibility specialists and reviewed by users. Tur4all is a platform aimed at both tourists and businesses (private as well as from the public sector), promoting Portugal’s accessible tourism across the globe.