Beyond Travel, the Right to Beauty Accessibility, Tourism, and Possible Design: the Vision of Cityfriend srl Società Benefit

There are organisations that do more than simply improve a service: they work to change the way that service is imagined in the first place.Cityfriend, a Benefit Corporation, is one of them.

Their vision is radical in its simplicity: to make cultural and travel experiences easier to access and richer in beauty.

For everyone.

Not as a slogan, but as a daily practice.

Accessibility Is Not a Favour, It Is a Condition of Possibility

In common narratives, accessibility is often reduced to a checklist of architectural barriers to be removed. Cityfriend overturns this logic: accessibility is not a concession, but a condition of possibility.

We are speaking about a vast and diverse human landscape: families with young children, older people, travellers with specific dietary needs, people with motor, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.For too long, traditional tourism has treated these realities as “exceptions”.

Cityfriend works towards the exact opposite: not adapting the journey to the person, but designing contexts so they are livable by anyone.

Information as the First Act of Care

One of the greatest obstacles to inclusive tourism is approximation.Saying that a place is “accessible” means nothing unless it is clear for whom and in what way.

In collaboration with sector associations, Cityfriend has developed rigorous mapping protocols that analyse every aspect of the experience: from parking areas to room automation, from menu transparency to the usability of shared spaces.

This work is not only technical. It is an act of intellectual honesty.Providing accurate and verifiable information gives people back the power to choose independently, turning information into a form of respect and self-determination.

Educating a New Culture of Hospitality

A facility can be technically flawless and yet relationally unwelcoming.For this reason, Cityfriend has already trained over 650 tourism and cultural operators, working not only on procedures but also on language, attitudes, and the quality of relationships.

The goal is to guide hospitality providers along a growth path that includes:

• inclusive design that combines aesthetics and functionality

• non-discriminatory communication, free from stereotypes

• quality certifications such as UNI/PdR 131:2023, which attest to a genuine commitment

From this perspective, accessibility ceases to be an additional cost and becomes an indicator of excellence and quality.

Universal Accessible Tourism: A Vision That Includes

Cityfriend openly speaks about universal accessible tourism.Not only the removal of architectural barriers, but the concrete possibility of participating in cultural, social, and tourism life under normal conditions.

This vision spans museums, cultural venues, guided tours, events, accessible digital tools, multimedia content, and simplified language.Tourism thus becomes a space of citizenship, not a privilege reserved for a few.

When Visions Recognise Each Other

Reading Cityfriend’s work, we realised we speak the same language.Inclusion is not something to be added at the end of a project, but its starting point.

Cityfriend works so that tourism can become a possible and beautiful experience.We work so that places and services can tell their stories in an honest, clear, and respectful way.Both of us believe that caring for relationships is the foundation of any design process that aims to be truly sustainable.

A Cultural Choice, Before an Ethical One

In an era where terms like “sustainability” and “inclusion” risk losing their meaning, Cityfriend shows that another way of doing business is possible: competent, concrete, and kind.

This is not about creating “special tourism” for some, but about making tourism universal.Because a more accessible place is not better only for someone — it is a place that works better for everyone.