'COOL' is an experimental project by Tabanaa, with the valued support of Tourism Flanders. The project wants to ensure that people can go on vacation carefree, even if they need extra care or support. Tabanaa is therefore building a smart, centralized booking platform tailored to people with medical or physical needs. From rehabilitation after surgery to living with MS, food allergies or autism: Tabanaa wants to make vacations possible for every guest.

Under the experimental project name 'COOL' - COmmunity tOurism for alL, Tabanaa is adding another layer to the booking platform. This layer is an interactive community platform for vacationers with asthma, allergy and MS. The dream is that these vacationers will not only be able to smoothly book adapted accommodation, but also find discussions, package tours, a travel buddy or even a roadmap.

"What inspired us most to do this (project) is to remove barriers, both for guests and for accommodation providers," says Vicky Martens of Tabanaa. "I notice that there are still a lot of barriers, both among vacationers and tourism providers, such as fear of doing something wrong or a shortage of staff."

The goal of the COOL project is to bring together the needs of the vacationer and those of the vacation provider, by, among other things, developing package tours that respond to the financial threshold of guests and the challenges around occupancy among vacation providers.

In addition, during this project period, Tabanaa is also developing and organizing training for accommodation providers so that they learn to hospitably respond to vacationers with additional needs. To this end, the organization is collaborating with Wetravel2, vzw Kompaan, the Asthma and Allergy Association and the MS League.

When is the project successful? "If we can become a great place of inspiration where guests and partners can find everything - then for me it is a success. A place where people discover that vacations really are possible for everyone," says Vicky from Tabanaa.

Want to read more about COOL? Surf to the Tourism Flanders website.