The Route of the Romanesque promoted, on 18 June, in the (future) Interpretation Centre of the Romanesque, in Lousada, a training initiative on the topic "Inclusive tourism - Welcoming and assisting visitors with specific needs".

Within the scope of this initiative, provided by trainers from the company Waterlily - Specialised Tourism, there will be a new session on Monday the 25th.

More than 70 people registered for this initiative, coming from several institutions and companies from the Route of the Romanesque territory, but also from Northern Portugal, such as the Northern Regional Directorate for Culture, the regional entity of Tourism of Porto and Northern Portugal, the Monastery of Tibães (Braga), the Palace of the Dukes (Guimarães) and the Museum of Lamego.

The increase in the number of people with some type of limitation (dexterity, visual, hearing and intellectual), as a result of the ageing process or special pathologies, makes it increasingly urgent to raise awareness among players in the tourism and cultural sector of the importance of welcoming and assisting visitors with specific needs.

The Route of the Romanesque has always been concerned with improving mobility and access (physical, social and intellectual) conditions since its presentation to the public, in 2008, when its Accessibility Promotion Plan was launched, under the slogan "Heritage for All".

This Plan has been promoting the elimination or reduction of physical and architectural barriers in the Route of the Romanesque, as well as the publication of affordable communication materials and the implementation of several training/awareness-raising initiatives.

The initiative "Inclusive tourism - Welcoming and assisting visitors with specific needs", as the initiative "Digital marketing applied to tourism", which is already in place, are part of the project "Tourist Enhancement and Development of the Route of the Romanesque", co-financed by Turismo de Portugal, I.P., through the Valorizar Program - Support Line for Tourist Development in Inland Portugal.