LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE STUDY TRIP TO TARB, FRANCE (14-17 MAY 2019)
31 May 2019
TARB
Saint-Larry-Soulin
Ideally located in the heart of the Aure Valley with pleasant weather and sunshine, the village of Saint-Lary is dominated by the ski resort overlooking it from 830 meters. The Pic Lumière cable car (built in 1957 and upgraded since) and the Vignec cable car (open only in winter) allowed access to the slopes. In 2010, these two ski lifts allowed a six-fold increase in the transport capacity to the slopes and a reduction in the waiting time of the athletes.
Located less than 20 kilometers from Spain, Saint Larry and its stone and half-timbered facades add to the authenticity of the village. People enjoy festive dinners that mix Iberian and French Southwestern atmosphere.
AVAILABLE TARB
The accessibility policy for people with disabilities has been implemented by the Pyrenees National Park and in the construction of routes-interpretive paths for the four types of disabilities – hearing impairment, visual impairment, motor impairment and mental impairment. All these facilities allow every visitor, regardless of their disability, to touch the heart of nature and discover the extraordinary richness of the mountain. The track facilities are fully autonomous. At the beginning of each of them there are boards that are equipped with audio terminals powered by solar energy. They broadcast commentary in French, English and Spanish. The texts on each board are written in French, English and Spanish, as well as in Braille. The models allow any visitor to understand the topics involved.
The trail in the valley of Tèche is one of the three trails in the Pyrenees National Park, it is located around the lake, it is 800 meters long and is accessible to everyone. It has five interpretive boards on geology, mountain landscape, pastoralism and hydropower. In the Arcoesh /Arcoèche/ hut, inhabited by a shepherd during the summer, two interpretive panels present the historical development of shepherding, as well as its current state. At the end of the route in the valley there are seven more stations that provide information about the water resources, forests and rocks in the Tesh /Teh/ valley.
The path Boucharo – Gavarnie /Boucharo – Gavarnie/ was created on an old road, closed to traffic and accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. It is located in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park and the UNESCO site “Pyrénées – Mont Perdu”, from the Col des Tentes to the Col de Boucharo. Through it, disabled people can discover the Gavarni cirque and its high peaks, including the Brèche de Roland. Three interpretive panels introduce visitors to natural heritage, geology and cross-border trade.
A tree-themed interpretive trail has been created for the National Park. It is known as the Etsaut Tree Trail. Relief designs on triangular revolving terminals show the tree, its leaves and fruit. The names of the plant species are written in French and Spanish, as well as Braille and enlarged signs for the visually impaired. More than 25 trees are thus illustrated. One of the islands is dedicated to geology and soil effects. It presents the most famous rocks of the valley. A wheelchair-accessible observation telescope and two interpretive signs about birds of prey and bears complete the trail. Resin prints of wild animals with identification in French, Spanish and Braille are also featured.
The routes and houses in the Pyrenees National Park, as well as in nine other parks, have been developed thanks to the sponsorship of the insurance company GMF – since 2008. In the Pyrenees Park, the company’s support ensures the renovation of the Cauterets and Saint-Lary houses.
VISITED OBJECTS IN TARB
During their stay in Tarb, the project team members visited the following sites:
– The houses in the national park in Arrens-Marsous.
They are iconic tourist sites that are fully accessible to people with disabilities and all four types of disabilities – hearing impaired, visually impaired, motor impaired and mentally impaired. The first house of the National Park in the Arrens-Marsous valley is an office of the National Park, a tourist center and has a small interactive exposition on the development of tourism in the region. The building also has a screening room.
After the House, there is an accessible tourist route, carefully researched by the experts of the project, which has unique tourist information signs, suitable for people with visual and hearing disabilities.
At the end of the Arrens-Marsous valley (in the heart of the mountain) a new House National Park has been built, which is a tourist center and has an interesting exposition about the developed local economic activities related to animal husbandry, cheese production, herb harvesting, beekeeping and others.
– The National Park House in Saint-Larry, a developed tourist center for skiing, hiking and cycling. The house is located in the beautiful building – Khachan Tower, has a tourist information center and an attractive exhibition (indoor and outdoor) dedicated to trees, forests and the industries developed through them. The multi-sensory exhibition is made of only natural materials, has the inscription “Tourism and disabilities” and is suitable for people with four types of disabilities – hearing, vision, motor and mental. Visitors are offered sensory animations, sound and scents to enable sensory exploration of these different animal and plant species. For environmentally responsible use of wood, all applications of wood can be observed in the form of tactile animations. There is also a tactile terminal for disabled people to familiarize themselves with the accessible hiking trails in the Aure Valley. The house in Saint-Lary has a screening room and a gift shop.
STUDY VISIT TO TARB, FRANCE
A visit to the Pyrenees National Park showed that care for people with disabilities, even in much more difficult places such as mountains, valleys, peaks, winding paths and uneven roads, lakes and other bodies of water (as well as in visitor centers and in exhibitions of open) are not only entirely possible but also challenging, including providing the means to overcome the huge percentage of barriers for people with disabilities. In most of the places in the park, the “Tourism and disabilities” sign is for the four types of disabilities – auditory, visual, motor and mental.
Parc Pyrenees is the first national park in France to receive the label “Tourisme et handicap” /”Tourisme et handicap”/ for the four types of disabilities for two of its houses: the Maison du Parc national des Pyrénées d’Etsaut en vallée d’Aspe/ and the Maison du Parc national de Laruns en vallée d’Ossau/.
From what I saw at the sites, from the information and the materials I read, it is clear that the park wants to reach 100% accessibility for people with disabilities. Certainly this is in harmony with the policy of the French state and the full understanding in society that people with disabilities are full citizens who, with common support, can live to the full of their potential and be useful for the development of civil society and well-being and the progress of the French Republic.
What was seen and learned during the visit to the Pyrenees National Park can be applied at the national level in Greece and Bulgaria. It is not only funding that is needed. Full synchronization in the work of the state, civil society and organizations of people with disabilities will lead to the practical realization of the French experience. Whether it is on the same lines or scales depends on many circumstances. But the direction is more than right.