Essentia’s main goal was to provide Lousã municipality with a strategy to develop accessible tourism. The project was pioneering and innovative, and raised awareness among other Portuguese municipalities and several public institutions regarding the economic value of the “accessibility” concept in their territories.
Based on adopting a systemic approach that gave equal importance to both the “accessibility” dimension (public areas, trails, infrastructures) and the immaterial dimension of customer service, which impact directly on the quality of the services provided, the project received an award from Turismo de Portugal (Portuguese Tourism Agency) and an honorable mention in the European Enterprise Awards.
