Access Tourism NZ TOURISM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, AND AGEING BOOMERS IN NEW ZEALAND AND WORLDWIDE

Sandra Rhodda, for the European Network for Accessible Tourism©.  August 2009

September 2009

Abstract

To date, there has been little development of an Access Tourism sector in New Zealand.  There are few tourism operators offering genuine accessible tourism products, no reliable sources of coordinated information about such products, and little interest on the part of government, industry, or training organizations in the topic.  However, a group has been set up to inform government and industry about the economic benefits of providing accessible tourism products, and the group has just completed a strategy and action plan which it hopes will be examined by appropriate bodies.

Access Tourism in New Zealand

The New Zealand tourism industry has been closely associated with health and wellness tourism, if not Access Tourism, since its beginning.  The first tourists to New Zealand included those who wished to “take the waters” to combine “the advantages of self-treatment for any kind of malaise with the charms of a change of scene” (McClure, 2004, p9).  Government involvement in tourism in New Zealand began when William Fox, a former premiere, bathed in the thermal waters of Orakei-Korako near Rotorua in 1874.  Realizing the potential for tourism in the area, particularly the potential of a sanatorium, he urged the government to take on the role of developer and protector.  In response, the government moved over the next decade to control the valuable hot springs in Rotorua and build bath houses and a sanatorium, and was the first in the world (in 1901) to set up a government tourist department, The Department of Tourist and Health Resorts (McClure, 2004).

In spite of this historical foundation of caring for visitors and their health needs, Access Tourism specifically for people with disabilities has been almost totally disregarded in New Zealand.   Currently, only about a dozen tourism operations across New Zealand concentrate to a greater or lesser degree on offering tourism activities for people with disabilities, but with many of these, descriptive details of the kinds of products offered are sparse or non-existent, or there are no responses to email enquiries about supposedly accessible products.  This makes it impossible in some cases for a disabled person to assess if the product will be suitable to them.   Many more claim to offer accessible tourism products.  However, a recent research project found that only 25% of tourism businesses that claim they are accessible truly are so.  The project (Rhodda, 2007, a) looked mainly at wheelchair access to the premises of tourism businesses because there was no funding for a more in-depth assessment.  It also looked briefly at accommodations stated as wheelchair-accessible and found that not all are accessible as claimed.   While the research was conducted in one region of New Zealand, there are clearly access issues in tourism throughout the country.

In addition, there are no websites where a potential visitor in or to New Zealand can find reliable, accurate, extensive, and consistent information about Access Tourism products in New Zealand.  The information available on the official government Tourism New Zealand website for consumers is sparse and inadequate.  On a page headed “People with Special Needs”, there is currently (August 2009) a statement that “most facilities have wheelchair access, but it is wise to check when booking.”  However, research findings (Rhodda, 2007, a), anecdotal observations, and personal communications from people with disabilities who have toured in New Zealand clearly show that not only are most facilities NOT wheelchair accessible, or are not accessible with ease, but that calling to check when booking does not necessarily result in correct access information being given.

The statement that most facilities have wheelchair access when they do not belies a goal of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, which states that “Our marketing promise must be backed up with quality information supplied through traditional and online channels” (NZTS 2015, p. 17).   Clearly, the marketing promise (that most facilities have wheelchair access) is inaccurate and is not backed up with quality information.  On top of that, the Tourism New Zealand website, by citing wheelchair access only, ignores accessibility to tourism products by people with disabilities other than those that makes use of a wheelchair necessary (for example, sight or hearing impairment).

There is also a link to a brand new (June 2009) website called Accomobility  on the Tourism New Zealand website.  Currently, it lists about 135 accommodations throughout the country that have assessed themselves as accessible to a greater or lesser degree.  This website is a major step forward for Access Tourism in New Zealand.  However, as noted, accommodation providers self-assess, and Rhodda (2007, a) has shown that self-assessment by tourism operators is not always accurate or reliable.  Unfortunately, the creators of the website do not have the resources to assess the accommodations they list, and they have no choice other than to “rely on the information entered into the facilities checklist….by the accommodation proprietor”.  Nevertheless, the website provides a service that has been lacking to date.  Hopefully funding will in future become available so that commendable organisations such as Accomobility can list independently assessed and rated tourism products, perhaps through an agency such as Qualmark, New Zealand tourism’s official quality rating system.

The Tourism New Zealand website certainly has nothing to compare to the kind of information about Access Tourism  available, for example, on the UK Tourism for All website, which lists tourist board graded properties that have been inspected and given an access rating useful to people with disabilities,  Accessible Barcelona, which has assessed listings in conjunction with Barcelona Turisme, assessed information on Free2Wheel Delhi Travel Guide for Tourists with Disabilities, India,  Access North Carolina, with reviews by the Department of Health and Human Services, or Accessible Tourism Naples, which assesses properties in conjunction with Turismo Comune di Napoli and Turisom Provincia di Napoli.

Nor are there readily available print/guide books like the Open Britain Guide, which assesses accommodation under the National Accessible Scheme in partnership with the Automobile Association (http://www.openbritain.net/),  Access Africa, safaris for people with limited mobility, which describes access (with measurements) in nearly 300 safari properties from Kenya to Cape Town (http://www.access-africa.co.uk/), or Access Unlimited: Your guide to Israel (Access Unlimited, 2003), which assesses a large number of tourism products through the Ministry of Tourism in that country.  Of the two books concerning Access Tourism products in New Zealand, one (Jameson and Jameson, 2000) covers only accessible walks in the south island, and the other (Pickering, 2000) is out of print.

Besides problems with the information available on the Tourism New Zealand website, there are problems concerning information about Access Tourism on the websites of other umbrella organizations offering information for tourists in or to New Zealand.  For example, the New Zealand Automobile Association Travel website (http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/index.php) returns no hits when a number of terms related to other than mobility impairments (for example, “sight impairment”) are used (August 2009). When “wheelchair accommodation” is searched, 87 hits result.  However, none have in depth information, some have no further information about access (even on visiting the accommodation’s own website), and some, while having no accessible accommodation, come up because the term “wheelchair” occurs in a description for a nearby wheelchair accessible attraction, such as a nature path.  Some also have such statements as “The cottage is wheelchair friendly apart from 2 outside steps”, which is clearly not acceptable.   Once again, assessment of accessibility is left up to the operator, and leaves much to be desired.

Qualmark New Zealand Limited is a government and private sector partnership between Tourism New Zealand and the Automobile Association, and is backed by leading tourism industry associations.  It acts to license professional and trustworthy New Zealand tourism businesses to use the official quality mark (Qualmark) as a sign of good quality.    It uses qualified assessors to evaluate businesses for such things as customer service, standard of facilities, overall business operations, environmental practices, and general safety, but not access for visitors with disabilities.  Nor does the Qualmark website (http://www.qualmark.co.nz/) allow for searches of accessible tourism products by, for example, allowing a search of its site for accessible accommodation.  Therefore, there is no rating system in New Zealand of the quality of access in tourism operations and no quality control.  In other words, any operator can claim their business is accessible when it is not, and many use the international symbol of access without understanding the full meaning of doing so.  Operators do so out of a lack of knowledge, rather than out of any attempt to deceive.  The consequence is that visitors end up having less-than-ideal experiences, and reports of such negative experiences on international social networking sites do not reflect well on our tourism industry.  As has been previously suggested (Rhodda, 2008, a), there is a potential role for Qualmark New Zealand Limited to assess Access Tourism products in New Zealand so that visitors with disabilities can access accurate information about such products.

The New Zealand Ministry of Tourism website has a page headed “Accessible Tourism” with very little information except for a link back to the Tourism New Zealand page, a link to the Accomobility website, and a statement that “the Ministry is currently working with the Office for Disabilities Issues [Ministry of Social Development], Department of Conservation, and tourism industry representatives to ensure there is adequate information available to the sector to meet the needs of visitors with limited mobility” (http://www.tourism.govt.nz/Tourism-Quick-Facts/Accessible-Tourism/).  However, emails over the last year to the Ministry of Tourism under the last government and under the recently elected new government have provided no information to my enquiries as to what progress is being made to ensure such adequate information is available.  Enquiries about what, if any, research into Access Tourism or into the related silver/ageing Baby Boomer tourism markets (related because disability increases with age) is being conducted by the Ministry of Tourism have also remained unanswered to date (August 2009).
A recent development has been the publication (June 2009) of an Accessible Christchurch Map, published by the Christchurch City Council (http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Community/DAG/AccessibleChristchurchMap.asp) .  However, the map has problems, not least of which is that most accommodations and all tourist attractions are self-assessed by operators, and as has been noted, self-assessment often is inaccurate.  The map is similar to a Wellington City Council access map which has been in existence for several years, and which has the same problems (http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/disserv/pdfs/accessiblemap.pdf).

We are left therefore with the unfortunate fact that in New Zealand at least, people with disabilities who want to tour have only social networking-type websites from which they can gain reliable information from peers.  This is in spite of the fact that it is a clearly stated goal in the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 that New Zealand be a “trend-setter, rather than a follower, and develop products to back this up” (NZTS 2015, p. 13).  It is also in spite of the fact that the age of our domestic and international visitors has been creeping up and that disability increases with age (Rhodda, 2008, c). There is only one website in New Zealand that provides assessments (by disabled users) of tourism products from the point of view of access for people with disabilities.  Walking is Overrated (http://walkingisoverrated.com/) carries about a dozen assessments of variable quality and usefulness of a variety of tourism products in New Zealand.  The site also covers many other subjects of interest to people with disabilities, and does not concentrate solely on Access Tourism as some international websites do.

The international Access Tourism websites do not in any way attempt to provide consistent, standardized information about assessed tourism products for people with disabilities.  They do however present user-generated information about tourism products from around the world in the form of blogs and news postings.    While there are several postings on international sites that include some positive information about Access Tourism in New Zealand (for example, see Travelling with a disability in New Zealand), many postings do not paint a good picture.  The latest example about Access Tourism in New Zealand that has appeared on an international site is a posting on the highly-respected Rolling Rains Report.  The website picked up and posted a news item about a blind women in New Zealand who achieved an-out-of-court settlement from a motelier here after the motelier evicted her for having a seeing-eye dog (Rolling Rains Report, 2009).  One can only wonder at what a potential tourist to New Zealand would think of such a story.

Since the publication of the Access Tourism assessment report (Rhodda, 2007, a), a further report has been produced looking at how New Zealand has an obligation to develop Access Tourism because of commitments in a number of its own strategies and policies (Rhodda, 2008, b).  Strategies and policies which include implied commitment to the development of Access Tourism in New Zealand include the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, Ministry of Tourism Research and Development Strategy, The New Zealand Transport Strategy,  The New Zealand Disability Strategy, Ministry of Tourism policy, The Department of Conservation Statement of Intent 2008-2011, The Ministry of Health Strategic Plan, and the Sport and Recreation New Zealand No Exceptions Strategy and Implementation Plan (Rhodda, 2008, b).

Also since the publication of the initial analysis of Access Tourism products in New Zealand, a number of smaller articles have appeared in print and electronic media warning of the danger to New Zealand of ignoring Access Tourism and the related seniors/ageing Baby Boomers tourism markets.  These articles include Rhodda, 2007 b-e, 2008 d-g, and 2009 a-b.   In them, I argue that New Zealand should not extend all its efforts on just trying to attract and cater for the youth market, the adventure market,  and the backpackers market as is apparently current policy (for example, see Inside Tourism 753, 2009).  We should as well, and I believe more so, spend effort on trying to attract older markets that have the money and time to indulge in tourism activities, and who are already almost half of our visitors. In addition to in print, I have also argued these points at a number of fora, including most recently a presentation to the plenary session of the Ecotourism New Zealand conference (Rhodda, 2009, c).

New Zealand was a leader in negotiations on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=259), signed the Convention on the 30 March 2007, and ratified it on 26 September 2008.  The Convention, according to the New Zealand Office for Disabilities Issues,  “builds on conventional understanding of what is required to implement existing human rights as they relate to disabled people” (ODI, a).  Like the New Zealand Disability Strategy, the Convention covers all areas of life, all ages, and life stages.  In doing so, it places obligations on government and the private sector, and “government agencies need to take leadership in encouraging action by the private sector” (ODI, a).  Article 30 of the Convention states in part that “States Parties…..shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities ….enjoy access to places of cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries, and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national and cultural importance ….and…. ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational, and tourism venues.” (UNCRPD).  Generally, “States need to take action to remove barriers to participation …..through legislation, policy, and other measures” (ODI, b).   Clearly, the Convention explicitly includes access to tourism as a right, and by ratifying the Convention, New Zealand has committed itself to in fact ensuring that people with disabilities enjoy access to tourism services and tourism venues.

One small advance has been that the regional tourism organization on the West Coast will this year (2009) include an Access Tourism category in newly created annual regional tourism industry awards (http://www.west-coast.co.nz/Search/SearchResult_IDL=3_IDT=1452_ID=18520_.html).  This is the first time that any tourism business in New Zealand will have been so honoured for providing accessible products for people with disabilities.

Another advance, although very peripheral, has been a statement from the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand to the incoming Minister for Tourism that investment in niche markets such as the wellness market is an immediate requirement (TIANZ, 2008).   While it is probable that TIANZ would be surprised that wellness tourism should include Access Tourism, Access Tourism must in fact play a part in the development of this niche market.  This is because wellness tourism includes medical tourism, and both wellness and medical tourism products are likely to have customers who have disabilities, both of a temporary and a permanent nature.  In fact, the first ever New Zealand Wellness Symposium (in September, 2008) included a talk on medical tourism which pointed out that visitors coming to New Zealand for medical procedures would definitely need Access Tourism products during their stay (Rhodda, 2008, g).  These products include of course accessible accommodation and transport.

Again, not strictly Access Tourism, but this year the New Zealand Winter Games comprise competitions in which all athletes will compete together, regardless of whether they are able bodied or not (Winter Games). Both able bodied and adaptive competitors will race alongside one another in Alpine and Cross Country events.  The games are supported by the government, and are an initiative of the Pacific Rim National Olympic Committees of New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan, Canada, the United States, and Australia, and act as a lead up to the Winter Olympics.  Such an important step forward in inclusive sport is of course indicative of the fact that far more sport and recreation activities for people with disabilities have been developed in New Zealand (and probably worldwide) than have tourism and leisure activities (Rhodda, 2009, c).

In order to advance the development of Access Tourism in New Zealand, a group of interested people has formed to bring to the attention of government and industry the fact that New Zealand ignores the development of Access Tourism to its peril.  The Advisory Group for Access Tourism New Zealand (AGATNZ) comprises academics, individuals with disabilities interested in furthering Access Tourism, people working for or affiliated with the Ministry of Social Development, Disabilities Organizations, and/or local governments, and people interested in accessible website development.  AGATNZ has created an Access Tourism strategy and action plan which it hopes to place before a ministerial committee some time in the near future, and which it hopes to bring to the attention of other parties as appropriate.  However, the presentation of this document (and indeed the presentation of any information relevant to advancing Access Tourism in New Zealand) depends upon the willingness of intended recipients to look at the information.  The advancement of Access Tourism then depends upon understanding being gained, and finally, being acted upon.   

 

References

Access Unlimited (2003).  Access unlimited: Your guide to Israel. Israel Ministry of Tourism.  ISBN 965-90448-1-X

Inside Tourism 753, 2009.  TNZ will use inaugural backpacking conference to launch a global youth market campaign, says Shields.  Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Jameson, A., and Jameson, A. (2000).  Accessible Walks.  A guide to scenic walks in the south island of New Zealand.  Madyeti Publications.  ISBN 0-473-07258-0

McClure, M. (2004).  The wonder country.  Making New Zealand Tourism.  Auckland University Press. 318 pp.  ISBN 1 86940 319 3

NZTS 2015.  New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015.  Ministry of Tourism website.   http://www.nztourismstrategy.com/.  Accessed 10.8.09.

ODI, a.  Office for Disabilities Issues, Ministry of Social Development.  United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

http://www.odi.govt.nz/what-we-do/un-convention/.  Accessed 10.8.09.

ODI, b.  Office for Disabilities Issues, Ministry of Social Development.  Background and update on the Convention – December 2008.

http://www.odi.govt.nz/what-we-do/un-convention/2008-december-background-and-update-on-the-convention.html.  Accessed 7.8.09.

Pickering, A.  (2000).  Accessible New Zealand.  Birkenhead, Auckland. McLaren Brown Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-473-06984-9

Rhodda, S. (2007, a).  Tourism for visitors to New Zealand with mobility problems: a West Coast perspective.  Tai Poutini Polytechnic website.  Retrieved August 2009 from http://www.tppweb.ac.nz/pdf/resreports/disability%20studyv2.pdf.  Accessed 23.8.09.

Rhodda, S. (2007, b).  Focus on travellers with disabilities.  Inside Tourism May 4 2007.  Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Rhodda, S. (2007, c).  Does your business need to focus on the baby boomers? Tourism Business magazine, Summer 2007.  Available from www.tourismbusinessmag.co.nz.

Rhodda, S. (2007, d).  Catering to disabled travellers.  Travel Memo 29 May 2007.  Available from www.travelmemo.co.nz.

Rhodda, S. (2007, e).  Niche tourism market all but ignored in New Zealand.  Tourism Business magazine, Winter, 2007.  Available from www.tourismbusinessmag.co.nz.

Rhodda, S. (2008, a).  Researching in isolation: Access Tourism for people with disabilities.  Paper presented at the fifth biennial Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics New Zealand Research Forum Conference, Tauranga, October, 2008.  http://www.boppoly.ac.nz/index.cfm?objectId=AD40E432-9CDD-7EAA-F5EF9F18FD430248

Rhodda, S. (2008, b).  Access tourism for people with disabilities, the New Zealand Tourism Strategy, and other New Zealand government strategies.  Tai Poutini Polytechnic website.   http://www.tppweb.ac.nz/pdf/resreports/Report_Tourism2008.pdf. Accessed 18.8.09.

Rhodda, S. (2008, c). Barking up the wrong tree: why New Zealand should focus on Baby Boomers and silver tourists, and on access tourism for people with disabilities.  Recreating Tourism.  New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference, Abstracts, p 69.  ISBN 978-0-86476-204-7

Rhodda, S. (2008, d).  Access Tourism for people with disabilities.  Travel Memo 18 July 2008.  Available from www.travelmemo.co.nz.

Rhodda, S. (2008, e). Don’t forget the disabled during RWC2011 planning.  Inside Tourism 25 July 2008.  Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Rhodda, S. (2008, f). Domestics getting older too.  Inside Tourism 5 September 2008.  Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Rhodda, S. (2008, g). Access Tourism and medical tourism: important considerations for wellness tourism.  Talk given at the New Zealand Wellness Tourism Symposium, Nelson, September 19.  http://www.wellnesstourismnz.com/.

Rhodda, S.  (2009, a).  New Zealand missing out on a lucrative market.  Inside Tourism.  29 May 2009. Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Rhodda, S. (2009, b).  Wrong end of the stick.  Inside Tourism 26 June 2009, p. 6.  Available from www.insidetourism.com.

Rhodda, S. (2009, c).   Impact of the ageing tourist.  Presentation to the plenary session, Ecotourism New Zealand annual conference, August 6, 2009. http://www.ecotourismnz.com/ecotourism/conference-09-topics/#state_ecotourism

Rolling Rains Report. (2009).  Get up.  Stand up. Stand up for your rights.  August 3 2009.  http://www.rollingrains.com/2009/08/get-up-stand-up-stand-up-for-your-rights.html.  Accessed 4.8.09.

TIANZ, (2008).  Tourism industry: New Zealand’s future.  Brief to the incoming ministers.  Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand.  http://www.tianz.org.nz/content/library/000BIM.pdf.  Accessed 7.8.09.

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UNCRPD.  United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 30.  http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=290. Accessed 7.8.09.

Winter Games.  Adaptive Snow Sports New Zealand.  http://www.disabledsnowsports.org.nz/images/WGNZ%20Profile.pdf.  Accessed 26.8.09.