Barrier-Free Day
Supporter
Participants yearly
Common Goal
We held the first Barrier-Free Tourism Day in 2017 in Orfű. This place is one of the most popular tourist destinations with amazing location, four lakes and numerous beach, sports and leisure activities.
In addition to organizing an all-day cheerful festival, our main goal is to provide experiences to disabled people who otherwise cannot or only with difficulties can experience them.
This event contribute to let everyone have fun the same as a disabled or an able bodied person, as a child or an adult, while exploring that disabled people are the same people like us and we are able to help each other, and helping others is wonderful.
Inclusion is a main purpose, sensitizing the society to be, live and fun together disabled and able bodied people.
Social sensitization basically means that we let the able bodied society know disabled people’s abilities, opportunities and how can we help them. But we, the organizers are also thinking in another perspective: disabled people also need to get to know able bodied people’s attitude, why they are helping them the way they’re doing, and they need a lot of information about needs and everyday life of disabled people.
The fact that our guests came from all over the country, and on every previous occasion we had 700 participants in Orfű shows our events’ success. In 2019 our event became international which brought new guideline, new programmes and even a new place.
The Barrier-free Tourism Day usually has accompanying programs like professional day, conference or barrier-free trip.
Traditionally the date is always the first weekend of September!
The Barrier-free Tourism Day offers experience programs to disabled people, their relatives, their assistants and even able bodies people can participate. The following programmes are included in the repertoire:dragon boating, boating, sailing, fishing, motorcycling, horse riding, horse-drawn carriage and driving a car for visually impaired people. Furthermore, other events also add colour to the program, like craft fair, concerts, shows, events for children and buffet. We ensure free lunch every year for disabled people, their assistants and our enthusiastic volunteers.
The place is barrier-free, including the toilets.
About 30 volunteers helping us every year, they assist in administration, giving lunch, during the programmes and our strong male volunteers occasionally provide support in participating for disabled people (for example lifting them in the boat, up to the horse, getting into the car, the motorcycle or the carriage). Volunteers are always welcome, principally our previous ones and the ones from Baranya County Volunteer Center, but high school students are also common help, and we can also account for as the usual compulsory community service in Hungary as well. We’d like to have more college students as volunteers, especially with social or tourism-related studies.
The event’s main organizers: Gyeregyalog.hu Közhasznú Egyesület/Gyeregyalog.hu
Nonprofit Association, People First Egyesület – Pécs/People First Association Pécs, Orfű
Turisztikai Egyesület/Orfű Tourist Association. Disabled people had advantaged role in the organizer committee.
We’re constantly sharing news on our Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/turizmus.akadalymentes/). If you have any questions or you’d
like to be our volunteer, feel free to contact us via email (akadalymentes.turizmus.nap@gmail.com).
The organisers
Get to know them and join our team!

Veronika Pataki
As president of the People First Association, I bring together the organizing committee, coordinate and train the volunteers, organize the experience programs, invite the partners. My job is also the marketing… and everything that still comes as a task 🙂

Zita Kajdy Füziné
I am very proud that Orfű is hosting the Barrier-free Tourism Day. As mayor, it is my lovely duty to support the event by all means.

Timi Bányainé
Heart and soul of the organizing committee. She coordinates, reports, looks for supporters and pulls the team together. On the day of the festival she is actually everywhere.

dr. Tibor Gonda
Creator, master of idea of the Event for Barrier-free Tourism Day. Lecturer at the Institute of Marketing and Tourism at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Pécs.

Róbert Posta
As a driving instructor I share the driving experience with the participants. I’ll help you in any way I can. I am honored to help organize the Barrierfree Tourism Day.

Evelin Almadi
I try to help the work of the organizing committee as an employee of the Kerek Világ Foundation and a member of the Baranya County Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Zoltán Murányi
Head of ecotourism Visitor Centre of the Medvehagyma House in Orfű, the main driver and organiser of the Barrier-free Tourism Day programmes.

Gergő Berkes
Secretary of the People First Association – Pécs, member of the Hungarian Para Boccia national team and the PTE PEAC Boccia team. I am a graduate student of University of Pécs Department of Geography, Tourism specialization. I am writing my dissertation on the topic of barrier-free tourism.

Attila Tóth
Curator of the Dragon’s Nest foundation in Orfű, enthusiastic promoter of the local tourism, and supporter of charitable goals. His main “role” is the web development and aiding the technical background of the project.
How to get to Orfű?
Public transport
Car and car-sharing
Write to us!
Would you like to help with organizing this event, or maybe you have a good activity idea? You have some spare time that you could use for a good cause? Do you want to assist us with coordinating the event on site? Don’t hesitate, contact us!