Fundación ONCE and UNWTO join forces to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the tourism sector

PR No.: PR 19004

(Madrid, 21 January 2019).- The Executive Vice-President of Fundación ONCE, Alberto Durán, and the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, signed in Madrid on Monday a letter of intent to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the tourism sector.

The objectives are to raise awareness among UNWTO member states and affiliated entities about the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market, to promote the direct, effective and lasting labour insertion of persons with disabilities in tourism businesses, and to raise awareness among the latter about the employment of persons with disabilities in the context of bids and contracts related to the public sector and the legislation in force. Among the activities foreseen is the dissemination of good practices and lessons learned through recommendations and guidelines directed to the tourism sector as well as support for labour inclusion initiatives within the UNWTO.

In order to realize these aims, Inserta Empleo, Fundación ONCE’s training and employment arm, will address selection processes of candidates for positions that companies may require and carry out possible training and professional qualification actions.

Inserta’s activity is part of the operational programmes of Youth Employment and Social Inclusion and Social Economy, which are being carried out by Fundación ONCE through Inserta Empleo, with co-financing from the European Social Fund, with the goal of increasing the training and employment of persons with disabilities.

AWARENESS-RAISING CAMPAIGN

The event also served as an occasion to unveil a video jointly produced by the UNWTO and Fundación ONCE highlighting the contribution of persons with disabilities to the tourism sector, as well as the importance of tourism for the employment of persons with disabilities.

According to the Observatory of Universal Accessibility of Tourism in Spain, a study carried out by the ONCE Foundation, persons with disabilities travel with the same frequency as people without disabilities, but have an expenditure of 813 euros per person compared to 637 euros for tourists without special needs.

The video can be viewed at:

https://youtu.be/0gkJkdNaAgg (in Spanish)

Contacts ONCE:

91 506 88 88 comunicacion@fundaciononce.es