Noorderplantsoen

Today I also visited 'het Noorderplantsoen'. It was the last thing I visited before going back to my hotelroom. 'Het Noorderplantsoen' is on the way to the hotel, so it was a good reason to visit it at the end of the day.
'Het Noorderplantsoen' is a place which is loved by the inhabitants of the city of Groningen. It is a large park, in the northern part of the city, close to the city's centre. There is a fountain, a pond with ducks, a restaurant and there are lots of trees and fields. There are playgrounds for children. It is a place where festivals are held, for example, 'Noorderzon' at the end of August. When the weather is nice in the summer, people are picknicking and sunbathing in the park. Sometimes people even barbecue here! The park is also often used to run and to do other exercises like bootcamp. So 'het Noorderplantsoen' is accessible for different groups: children, students, sporters, nature lovers.
Before I visited this park, I was wondering if the park would also be accessible for people with a disability. When I walked through the park, I saw there were roads made of asphalt and there are sandy paths. The sandy paths are not suitable for people in a wheelchair, but the roads made of asphalt are suitable! I was very happy to see that. This way, people in a wheelchair are able to enjoy the beautiful nature of 'het Noorderplantsoen'. It is important that people with a disability get the chance to do the same things as those who don't have a disability. Some think that those with disabilities do not travel, but the opposite is true. I'm glad 'het Noorderplantsoen' already is accessible, but to make the whole tourism sector accessible, the tourism industry has to change their way of thinking. There need to be developed tourism products, services and environment, which will make it possible for people with a disability to function in an independent way and with equity and dignity. There is a need for collaboration between stakeholders who want to enable travel for people with disabilities, This have to be a 'whole life' approach, so people with a disability can benefit their whole life from the accessible tourism. Accessible tourism will be social constructed, the approach has to be for the whole tourism system (Buhalis, Darcy, 2012). There is a long way to go, but 'Het Noorderplantsoen' is a good example of an accessible place for people with a disability.


After this visit, I walked 'home' to my hotel room. There I took some rest and made plans for the next day. You will hear about it soon!  

References

Buhalis, D., Darcy, S. (2012) Accessible tourism: concepts and issues. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

Arriving in Groningen: an introduction

Hello everybody!

I'm Alison McIntosh, from New Zealand. I'm going on holiday in the Netherlands. I have chosen to go to Groningen, a city in the northern part of the Netherlands. I hope this will be a wonderful trip. I will give you some travel tips and, since I'm a tourism scholar, introduce you to some interesting tourism theories. I am very interested in heritage tourism, traveling with disabilities, and tourist behavior. My goals are giving a varied view of Groningen, making clear how important accessible tourism is and seeing Groningen through the eyes of a tourist, not only as a tourism scholar.

Today I made a long trip. First I flew from New Zealand to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. To reach Groningen, I had to take the train. It only took two hours to get there.

When I'm travelling, I think it is interesting to look around and see how accessible a place is for people with a disability. When you are on an airplane, you only have a small place to sit. When you're in a wheelchair, this could be very discomforting. You are not allowed to take your wheelchair, which feels as a part of your body, with you on the plane. It is also possible that staff will speak to you in an inappropriate way. But mostly, there is nothing wrong with the brains of somebody in a wheelchair. These things will lead to disembodied air travel experiences (Darcy, 2012). This are feelings that you're not complete, for example because you cannot sit in your own wheelchair.

When I arrived in Amsterdam and went to the train, I was positively surprised to see that there is train staff that is willing to help you to get on the train. There is enough space for a wheelchair in the train. So people who are in a wheelchair will not feel disembodied when travelling by train in the Netherlands.

So I arrived at Groningen. The first impression was very nice. I am curious about what I will experience the upcoming week.

I'll write more soon!

The beautiful old railwaystation.
Unfortunately they were renovating it,
 you can see this at the left side of the building.

References

Darcy, S. (2012) (Dis)embodied Air Travel Experiences: Disability, Discrimination and the Affect of a Discontinuous Air Travel Chain. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 19, 1-8.