Niepełnosprawni w podróży – pokonujemy bariery w sektorze turystycznym

The main result of the project is an educational package, which we have titled 'Effective communication and customer service adapted to people with special needs'. The package is available in thre...

The main result of the project is an educational package, which we have titled 'Effective communication and customer service adapted to people with special needs'. The package is available in three language versions: Polish, English and Portuguese. The package concerns customer service with disabilities in hotels, catering and tourism. We hope that it will be an important tool supporting vocational education for the tourism, catering and hotel industry. It was developed in order to expand the topics of classes in vocational subjects to include issues related to serving people with disabilities and is a 'knowledge base' that allows you to prepare future employees to more effectively fulfill the tasks and responsibilities resulting from their profession in such a way as to be able to meet the needs and requirements of the market, which has recently been opening up to the needs of customers with various types of disabilities.

Activities conducted within the project include: 1. Organization of a project meeting in Poland. 2. Development of an educational package. 2. Conducting discussion seminars in Portugal. 3. Conducting testing in Poland and Portugal. 4. Developing guidelines for implementing the educational package. 5. Organisation of a conference summarising the project in Poland. 6. Taking action to disseminate the project results.

Thanks to the use of the materials included in the educational package by teachers and trainers/coaches during vocational lessons/activities, young people and participants of vocational training (educated in professions related to the tourism, hotel and catering industry) were better prepared for their professional careers and participation in the labor market. The implementation of the project also contributed to the self-development and self-improvement of people cooperating in the project. The European dimension of partner organizations was increased and interest in foreign culture increased. Conducting test classes using lesson scenarios from the package as part of one of the project activities resulted in the development of soft skills and empathy skills by the young people subjected to testing. Young people were also equipped with key skills in the field of serving people with disabilities in the HGT industry. People who conducted such test classes improved their work - they are now more experienced teachers and trainers who have the appropriate knowledge and tools to transfer knowledge on this subject.