Hotel Nacional de Cuba reinforces training on accessible tourism

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 9 (ACN) Hotel Nacional de Cuba (HNC) is becoming a pioneer in staff training on the service to people with disabilities as part of its preparation to host the IV Ibero-American Summit on Accessible Tourism, to be held from December 15 to 19 in this city.

Dayami Fuste Arencibia, director of Assistant Areas, told ACN that the HNC is accessible from the technological and constructive standpoint, but its staff needs to learn the proper techniques and languages typical of the treatment these customers require with a view to increasing their satisfaction and helping them enjoy their stay.

The training course stems from a joint effort by the Ministry of Higher Education, the Association of Cuban Pedagogues (APC), the FORMATUR Branch School of Tourism, the Ministry of Tourism, and the hotel's management.

Lucía García Ajete, research professor of the APC's Inclusion, Gender and Diversity section, said that their approach to the concept of accessible and inclusive tourism through this training ensures the staff’s theoretical and practical readiness.

The training is divided into four sessions: intellectual disability and the autism spectrum; management of accessible resources; hearing, visual and motor impairment; and expressions associated with gender and sexuality.

One of the trainees, the restaurant waiter Ernesto Parra, praised the variety of specific techniques that they learned and the theoretical tools that they can use now for the benefit of social diversity and service quality.

The IV Ibero-American Summit on Accessible Tourism will bring together service providers, public agencies and universities in a space for scientific-practical exchange, unprecedented in Cuba, on the tourist experience for all types of people.