The sixth MONA webinar focused on accessibility in nature areas, addressing the full range of barriers that can prevent people from accessing these spaces. These barriers can be physical, or related to age, economic situation, or social background. After Emmanuelle Déon from Parc naturel régional de la Montagne de Reims (France) introduced the topic of inclusion for disadvantaged groups, Martin Kaiser from Müritz National Park (Germany) and Aynsley Clinton from New Forest National Park (UK) demonstrated how these issues are being addressed in practice.
How can nature areas and destination management organisations take action to make tourism more inclusive for disadvantaged groups?
Emmanuelle Déon, Sustainable Tourism and Active Travel Manager at the Parc naturel régional de la Montagne de Reims, presented the findings of her report on how nature areas and destination management organisations can take action to make tourism more inclusive for disadvantaged groups. She began by reflecting on the social dimension of sustainable tourism, noting that this dimension is often less visible in strategies developed by nature areas and destination management organisations. When inclusion is discussed, the focus tends to be on people with disabilities, with the broader population who do not have access to tourism being overlooked, including a significant proportion of European citizens who cannot afford a week's holiday away from home each year.
Déon argued that access to holidays and nature carries genuine social value, both as a source of personal wellbeing and as a means of promoting social integration. She cited a social worker involved in programmes supporting first-time holidaymakers, who described the preparation process as a powerful tool for addressing issues such as health, rights and family relationships. She also drew on the link between access to nature and conservation, arguing that people are more likely to protect what they know and love, and that inclusion is therefore not only a social imperative but a condition for the long-term conservation of nature.
The presentation drew on a report commissioned by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom, which identified an extensive list of groups facing barriers to enjoying nature, including people on low incomes, those without access to a car or public transport, people with physical or mental health conditions, and those experiencing barriers related to ethnicity, religion, sexuality or gender. Déon used this to introduce the concept of intersectionality, emphasising that effective inclusion work requires an understanding of the overlap of multiple disadvantages rather than addressing each one in isolation.
Several examples from across Europe were presented. Shropshire Hills runs a shuttle bus connecting a train station to leisure sites, coordinates a Young Rangers programme for 12- to 16-year-olds, and has commissioned dedicated research on engagement with underserved communities. Tourism Flanders runs the Iedereen Verdient Vakantie programme, coordinating a network of 142 offices to help people on low incomes access holidays. Tourism Province of Antwerp employs a dedicated staff member for threshold-free tourism and has run solidarity campaigns for access initiatives. In France, the non-profit Vacances Ouvertes works with social workers and destination management organisations to support first-time holidaymakers, while the Lens-Liévin metropolitan area launched a project in 2024 aiming to send 10,000 people on their first holiday.
The presentation concluded with practical recommendations for nature areas and destination management organisations, covering six areas:
• Understanding the needs of people.
• Building awareness and confidence within organisations.
• Working in collaborative partnerships across social services, tourism and other sectors.
• Integrating inclusive design into all development projects.
• Ensuring accessible infrastructure and transport.
• Providing personalised support, including staff dedicated specifically to inclusive tourism work.
Déon also presented work carried out within the Montagne de Reims park itself, including a capacity-building event for local tourism stakeholders and an accessible trail in the Rilly-la-Montagne forest, designed with attention to colour contrasts, font sizes, audio content and sensory elements. A mobile application is currently under development to help blind and visually impaired visitors navigate to and along the trail from the nearest train station.
How Müritz National Park is making the outdoors accessible to all
Martin Kaiser, regional manager of Müritz National Park, presented the park's history and accessibility offer. Established in 1990 in former East Germany, the park covers 332 square kilometres. Before reunification, two thirds of the territory had been inaccessible to the public, and the park's founding philosophy — to leave nature to its own devices while intensifying work with people — has shaped its approach ever since.
The park attracts a large number of visitors each year, the majority of whom visit independently without guided tours. Popular activities include cycling, hiking, swimming and canoeing. Accessibility initiatives include ten wheelchair-accessible visitor platforms located one kilometre from the nearest car park and a wheelchair-accessible coach. Since April 2018, the Müritz Rundum scheme has provided free public transport for overnight guests across five surrounding municipalities, improving sustainable access to both the park and the wider region.
Kaiser also presented plans for a new permanent exhibition at Boek Manor House, which will be fully accessible. Designed for people with mobility impairments, the exhibition will engage multiple senses through understandable texts, strong colour contrasts, large font sizes, tactile elements and digital tools to support visually impaired visitors.
Nature for everyone: inclusion in practice at New Forest National Park
Aynsley Clinton, Sustainable Visitor Experience Officer at the New Forest National Park Authority, presented a range of initiatives developed in line with the park's strategic objective of becoming a more inclusive destination. With 16-million day visits per year, the New Forest is one of the most visited national parks in the United Kingdom and operates within a protected landscape.
Clinton introduced PEDALL, a specialist cycling scheme now in its tenth year, which operates a fleet of over 20 types of specialist cycles designed for people with long-term health conditions, mobility or balance issues, physical or mental challenges, dementia or brain injury. In 2025, the programme provided 7,000 rides through 600 guided sessions and community events. Two personal stories illustrated what the scheme means in practice: Poppy, a 16-year-old with Down's syndrome who cycles with her mother on a side-by-side bike every week, and Tricia, whose progressive mobility condition had prevented her from cycling with her partner until PEDALL enabled them to do so again.
Alongside PEDALL, the New Forest Tour offers a 180-kilometre network of open-top bus routes providing a car-free way to explore the park, with particular appeal to local outreach groups. A 'virtual access' initiative used a Google Trekker camera to record trails and tracks, enabling people with limited mobility to experience the forest digitally and plan visits more effectively.
Clinton also described events focusing on refugee communities, which have been found to support wellbeing, ease trauma and facilitate rehabilitation, as well as junior ranger and young carer programmes for younger audiences. All of these sit within a broader Green Health Hub, described as a 'Natural Health Service', which provides an online directory linking access to nature with positive health and wellbeing outcomes.
Looking ahead, the park's priorities include expanding volunteer recruitment with a focus on people with lived experience of accessibility challenges, electrifying the New Forest Tour bus fleet and strengthening funding and climate resilience.
How can nature areas and destination management organisations take action to make tourism more inclusive for disadvantaged groups?
Emmanuelle Déon, Parc naturel régional de la Montagne de Reims, France
How Müritz National Park is making the outdoors accessible to all.
Martin Kaiser, Müritz National Park, Germany
Nature for everyone: inclusion in practice at New Forest National Park.
Aynsley Clinton, New Forest National Park, United Kingdom