In order to increase the competitiveness of the tourism sector and promote the full participation of different groups in society, it is important to ensure that tourist attractions and services are adapted and offered to all tourists, taking into account their different conditions. This is one of the things that Panevėžys has worked on in the development of their Small Scale Action.
Thus, the purpose is to start adapting tourist services in Panevėžys to the needs of different groups of society, regardless of the physical limitations or age of their members. The project prioritises the needs of women and single parents. Women make up the majority of the elderly population, and among single parents with young children they are also predominantly female, and even when raising children with a partner, they are more likely to take care of children. This initiative makes it easier for them to access tourist services. However, it is not limited to women - some of the tourist services offered in the city will be adapted for people with physical disabilities, families with small children, etc.
One of the initiatives is the publication of tourism leaflet adapted to the needs of different groups in society, in particular families with young children and single people raising children. The publication provides a tourist route relevant and adapted to the target audience, as well as other important information about children's playgrounds, catering establishments adapted for children and their parents, easily accessible objects for wheelchairs, etc. It has been printed in 2000 copies - 1000 in Lithuanian, 500 in English and 500 in Russian.
Another initiative is a public survey to identify how different social groups get access to and consumes open spaces and main public amenities in Panevėžys City. The survey will provide essential data to better understand gender equality situation more in depth in the specific city context. Previous discussions with members of the local action group have identified professional stereotypes in the society, challenges to ensure equal and accessible open space to different social groups (especially women with small child, older people), etc. Therefore, the public survey results will provide a useful data that will be integrated into IAP and will support further discussion on specific and SMART actions.
A third Small-Scale initiative is a cycle of excursions and educations adapted to the needs of different groups in society. Participants of excursions and educational programs will be introduced to the history of Panevėžys city, relevant and adapted tourist attractions to promote equal access to open spaces and create opportunities to safely consume the space and public amenities by different social groups. The created trajectories and programs will be reusable in the future.
