Collaborative Agreement Between the Association des restaurateurs du Québec and Kéroul
Back to the press releases listIn order to increase the number of restaurants accessible to people with disabilities travelling in Québec, the Association des restaurateurs du Québec (ARQ), the largest group of restaurant managers in Québec, and Kéroul, an organization dedicated to making tourism and culture accessible to people with restricted physical ability and the Ministère du Tourisme du Québec’s key accessibility consultant, are proud to announce that their organizations have reached a collaborative agreement.
With this new agreement, the ARQ hopes to encourage its members to implement initiatives that improve accessibility in their establishments. “Our collaboration with Kéroul will help restaurant owners learn more about best accessibility practices, and will help those who are preparing to carry out renovations achieve a functional restaurant layout while maintaining the desired design for their establishments. Many things can be done to improve restaurants’ access to people with disabilities, be they tourists or not. To do so, our members must be adequately informed and supported,” explained ARQ Vice President, Public & Government Affairs, Mr. François Meunier.
“This new collaborative agreement with the Association des restaurateurs du Québec confirms their commitment to accessibility. Many restaurant owners have already taken most of the steps to obtain a full accessibility certification. Our collaboration with the ARQ will thus allow us to give an additional impetus to restaurant owners who want to improve the services they offer customers with disabilities,” said Kéroul founder and President and CEO, Mr. André Leclerc.
More concretely, this agreement will allow restaurateurs to receive support from Kéroul, through consulting services upon request and at preferential rates, in order to improve their infrastructures. This will put them in a better position to meet Kéroul’s accessibility criteria, which are used to assign the accessibility ratings that appear in regional Québec tourist guides. In addition, food service establishments will now have the opportunity to offer their employees the Welcoming Ways training program, at a reduced cost, to provide them with the tools to meet the needs of this growing clientele.
Quality information
To effectively reach tourists with disabilities and help them plan their stay in Québec, the ARQ and Kéroul are focusing on deploying quality information. As such, Kéroul’s website will present up-to-date and detailed information on each establishment’s specific accessibility features.
In an increasingly ageing population, this joint ARQ and Kéroul initiative is proof their commitment to sustainable tourism in Québec.
Source:
Dominique Tremblay, Agente d’information
François Meunier
Vice-président aux affaires publiques et gouvernementales
Association des restaurateurs du Québec
514 527-9801 1 800 463-4237
Jean-François Lavoie
Director, Development and Partnership, Kéroul
514 252-3104
About the Association des restaurateurs du Québec
The mission of the Association des restaurateurs du Québec is to provide all food service member establishments across Québec with complete information, training, discount, insurance and government representation services. The ARQ focuses its efforts on bringing together all its stakeholders and raising their awareness of issues of common concern. Every action the ARQ takes aims to contribute to the growth of its members and to help them overcome new challenges.
About Kéroul
Nonprofit organization established in 1979, Kéroul's mission is to increase the accessibility of tourist and cultural facilities for people with physical disabilities, who represent over 15% of the population. A key consultant of the Ministry of Tourism Accessibility, initiator of The Accessible Road and the first World Summit Destinations for All, Kéroul is working with private and public sectors
