Ecotourism for people in wheelchairs? You may wonder what that looks like, how it’s done. You’d be pleasantly surprised to learn that in many destinations there are efforts in place to improve tourism infrastructure to better serve people with disabilities. Brazil is one such example.

Accessible Tourism

Travel and Tourism is recognized as the largest service sector industry, and as such it is imperative that people of all ages and abilities are allowed access to its activities. Accessible Tourism is a movement that has evolved to represent this important concept, as well as to represent a group that is too often denied desired travel experiences due to inaccessibility and a lack of knowledge at many destinations worldwide. Groups such as the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) promote extended travel opportunities for people with disabilities by establishing partnerships, networks, educational material and certifications/guidelines pertaining to the accessibility of service sector facilities and operations.

Accessible Tourism recognizes the universal right to participate in tourism by having access to “independent travel, accessible facilities, trained staff, reliable information and inclusive marketing,” and notes its wide-spread benefits. “Accessible tourism benefits everyone. More individuals enjoy the opportunity to travel; the tourism industry gets more visitors, longer seasons and new incomes. Society as a whole benefits from new job opportunities, more tax revenue and an accessible environment for both inhabitants and visitors.” (ENAT, 2011)

Virtual Accessible Tourism Project

Thankfully, these days one can find many accommodations and operators in Brazil that have adapted their facilities to receive individuals with decreased or limited mobility. Recently the Brazilian company Acessivel – Turismo Adaptado (Accessible – Adapted Tourism) has developed a new project featuring an online tour guide for travelers with reduced mobility.

This unique guide, only in Portuguese for now, is posted online through oviajanteespecial.blogspot.com and will soon become a website with information about Brazilian accessible tourism destinations. The aim of this guide is to enable people with disability and reduced mobility to travel throughout Brazil. Adriana Braun, who uses a wheelchair herself, is responsible for coordinating this project.

Adriana Braun: Active Adventurer on a Wheelchair

In 2001, Adriana was the first person in a wheelchair to travel to the Fernando de Noronha islands, a popular ecotourism destination in Brazil. Adriana realized that with a little guidance and specific training for local guides and service sector employees, accommodations could improve their offerings so that people in wheelchairs may travel more. Thus began her instrumental work in accessible ecotourism. For Adriana, ecotourism and responsible travel experiences represent an excellent tool for rehabilitation to people in wheelchairs.

Accessible Ecotourism in Brazil

Fortunately there are many ecotourism destinations in Brazil that can be visited by people in wheelchairs, yet there is one that deserves special mention: the beach settlement of Itacaré, in the region of Bahia on the eastern coast of Brazil.

Itacaré is revered as one of the most beautiful places on the coast of Bahia. It is synonymous with beautiful beaches and relatively few people, protected Atlantic forests, pristine rivers, amazing waterfalls, and a very lively town during the summer. Nowadays this small town of Bahia is very popular with visitors, and especially surfers, who are attracted to the local beaches and their famously rough waves.

If you are a traveler in a wheelchair and want to visit Itacaré, you can be assured that there are many opportunities for accessible tourism and recreation in the area. Many local service operators have met with trained ecotourism guides and consultants in order to enable them to better cater to the needs of travelers with special needs. Because of this, it is possible for people in wheelchairs to go hiking in the local forests, to visit the beautiful beaches, to walk in the mangroves, to visit stunning waterfalls and even to enjoy adventure sports such as rafting.

The small town of Itacaré, on Brazil’s Bahia coast, is the most recent addition to the whl.travel family of travel destinations.

Visit the site at www.itacare.travel.

Itacaré is well known as a gathering place for people from all around the world drawn by the diversity of things to see and do – superb surfing, trekking in coastal Atlantic rainforests, rafting on the Contas River,  rappelling/abseiling down the Noré waterfall (yes, Itacaré has waterfalls near the sea!) and more

than 14 beaches to explore.

The tranquil coastline of Itacaré, Brazil. Photo by Flickr/ground.zero

Visitors are also attracted to Itacaré by its ambiance The baianos (people who were born in Bahia) are friendly, hospitable

and like to party. Tourists are immediately drawn into this vibe. There’s magic in the air of the little bars at night, so full of different and beautiful people.

Our local partner in Itacaré is Sérgio Cavalcante from Eco Trip Itacaré. Eco Trip was selected as the whl.travel local connection because of the company history as an agency helping incoming travellers to Itacaré. Eco Trip was the first tourism agency in Itacare. The Eco Trip team members have great local knowledge and are incredibly passionate about their destination.

“I’m very glad that Eco Trip were selected by whl.travel to be the local connection,” said Cavalcante. “This is a huge opportunity to bring all the accommodation provi

ders and our partners to the online market and also push them toward sustainable practices.”

A pequena cidade de Itacaré na Bahia, costa do Brasil, é o mais novo destino adicionado à rede de sites de viagens da whl.travel. Visite o site em www.itacare.travel.

Surf's up in Itacaré. ©Auro Queiroz

Itacaré é famosa por promover encontros de pessoas de várias partes do mundo e pela diversidade de coisas para se ver e fazer – boas ondas para o surfe,  trekking na Mata Atlântica, rafting no Rio de Contas, rapel na cachoeira do Noré (sim, Itacaré tem cachoeiras junto ao mar!) e mais de 14 praias paradisíacas para explorar.

Os viajantes também são atraídos à Itacaré pelo alto astral do lugar. Os baianos são amigáveis, hospitaleiros e gostam de um bom agito. Os viajantes são imediatamente arrastados para esta ‘vibe’. Há magia no ar e os pequenos bares a noite estão sempre cheios de pessoas diferentes, interessantes e bonitas.

O nosso parceiro local em Itacaré é Sérgio Cavalcante da Eco Trip Itacaré. A Eco Trip foi selecionada como a conexão local da whl.travel devido a história da agência que sempre deu suporte as pessoas que viajam à Itacaré. Eco Trip foi uma das primeira agência de turismo na cidade. Os membros da equipe têm grande conhecimento local e são absolutamente apaixonados pelo seu destino.

“Estou muito satisfeito pelo fato da Eco Trip ter sido selecionada pela whl.travel para ser a conexão local”, disse Cavalcante. “Esta é uma enorme oportunidade para trazer todos os nossos parceiros e fornecedores para o mercado on-line e também para empurrá-los em direção a práticas sustentáveis.”