The 48th edition of the Ho.Re.Ca industry’s leading event, set to take place from 5 to 8 February in Riva del Garda, will introduce three innovative and immersive pathways demonstrating how to design inclusive hospitality spaces that cater to all. With no shortage of training for The People Industry.
Hospitality is an industry made up of people, for all people. Offering accessible, sustainable, inclusive and high-quality experiences that meet everybody’s needs is both a challenge and mission for those who
work in hospitality, representing the focus of the upcoming edition of Hospitality-Il Salone dell'Accoglienza, Italy’s leading international exhibition for the Ho.Re.Ca. industry.
Thanks to new agreements and partnerships, the exhibition, set to take place at the Riva del Garda fairgrounds from 5 to 8 February 2024, represents a continuation of the exciting project launched last year. The offer has been
integrated with experiential and immersive pathways and actual examples of inclusive design, in addition to ad hoc training sessions designed to translate the needs of accessible tourism into feasible and manageable initiatives for operators, thereby supporting the growth of their business.
Following the agreement with Village for All – V4A, signed last year, Hospitality has intensified its focus on accessibility, working in partnership with Lombardini22, a leading Italian architectural and engineering
firm that strives to create value and foster trust in its selected projects, aiming to promote the growth and development of the entire supply chain. Because accessible tourism is a key market if one considers that people with disabilities rarely
travel alone, while also representing a valuable opportunity for growth and development. According to WHO data, 15% of the world population has some form of disability determining “accessibility needs”.
“At Hospitality 2024, a large area will be set up dedicated to accessible sustainability, called for all, a long-term project in collaboration with Village for All and Lombardini22, as part of which we aim to showcase design ‘for all’ in the hotel and non-hotel industry. A space in which to experiment with new ways of interpreting hospitality, complete with ideas and tips for seeing hotel spaces in a new light, accommodating the needs of a key market segment,”
explains Alessandra Albarelli, General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi. “And to truly illustrate inclusive design and offer practical and useful tools for operators, we have decided to start precisely from the reception area, where every experience begins. Thanks to the partnership with Lombardini22 and Village for All, we look forward to doing our part to create social well-being and economic value, enabling our exhibitors and visitors to broaden their business horizons.”
Attract, engage, inform, share: four keywords encompassing the concept of an experiential space designed to demonstrate how every accessibility need has the potential to become spatial ability through inclusive design.
This year, in the area "di ognuno" (for all) in hall D, inclusivity will be explored through reception areas, where neuroscience applied to architecture will allow the recreation
of the check-in and check-out experience, complete with three experiential pathways dedicated to visual, physical-motor and auditory sensory disabilities, enabling participants to see darkness,
move space and listen to silence. All this with the aim of not only improving the perception of the overall experience but also adding to the guest’s sense of well-being and reducing user stress levels in this particular space.
“The area is designed based on two notions: inclusive design serves as a catalyst for innovation, broadening the scope of the target market. It is the environment that disables,” points out Cristian Catania, architect at Lombardini22. “The architect, therefore, has a huge social responsibility in designing solutions. This year’s proposed set-up, themed Inclusive hospitality in reception areas, aims to showcase how space can serve as an enabling element if aligned with the design for all framework. We target the hotel and non-hotel industry, providing practical design insights that can be implemented in their facilities, essentially catering not only to the needs of people with disabilities, but also to their aspirations.”
Doing accessible tourism means making spaces, communities, territories, hospitality, services, restaurants, but also pathways and mobilityaccessible and usable for all. Future editions of Hospitality will, therefore, continue to pave the path towards inclusive and accessible hospitality, focusing on other spaces too such as the bedroom, bathroom, spa and wellness centre,
breakfast and dining hall, identifying ways of catering to different needs, combining the concept of beauty and function in a single experience.
“The hard work of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, the professionalism of Lombardini22 and the expertise of Village for all - V4A, will allow visitors of Hospitality 2024 – businesspeople – to experience first-hand how “accessible hospitality” and “transparent accessibility” can be effectively implemented, transforming the abstract into reality through practical solutions in line with the needs of all. In 16 years of business,”
continues Roberto Vitali, Director and Co-Founder of Village for all - V4A, “we have also seen how places that cater to people with disabilities on vacation also present opportunities for them to work. Providing accessible hospitality, therefore, means combining social responsibility and business through a tourism-oriented, non-marginalising product that looks great and works well. As we like to say: same place, same price, more Guests!”
In support of the area for all and precisely to promote a culture of inclusion, there will be plenty of training sessions for operators and people who work in hospitality – The People Industry – that is, the individuals whose professionalism,
dedication and passion are key in making every guest’s experience truly unique.
“When we speak of accessibility and inclusion, we mustn't think merely of people with motor, visual and hearing disabilities but also of seniors or families with young children, not to mention those with special dietary needs. Offering genuinely accessible hospitality means acting on all fronts of the tourism industry, doing things that go beyond mere compliance with the law,”
states Giovanna Voltolini, Exhibition Manager of Hospitality. “With Village for All, we will continue the partnership created last year, including working together on a series of training sessions, because only by working with skilled and properly trained personnel is it possible to effectively cater to the needs of all. The aim of our new campaign is similarly to focus on the challenges faced by operators and the importance of promoting a culture of inclusion, continuous training and social responsibility within the industry.”
At Hospitality, the theme of accessibility will be cross-cutting and addressed not only in the area "di ognuno" (for all) but also in the Outdoor Boom hall focusing on outdoor tourism, in
the numerous training sessions and in the themed pathways dedicated to varying dietary needs and habits.
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