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

Guest Post by Ivor Ambrose, ENAT

Happily, more and more tourism professionals are “discovering” accessible tourism and why it is important to so many people. One of the most Frequently Asked Questions posed by business owners and tourist agencies is: “How many disabled tourists are there”?   And then there is the more probing question: “So, if it is not just about disabled people, how many people actually need better access, and what kind of things do they need?”.  Answering these questions accurately requires all sorts of qualifications. (I am tempted to say it is like asking: How long is a piece of string….?). We have websites such as the ENAT website, the Quality Accessible Tourism website, and this website (ATNZ) just to illuminate these issues! 
Happily there ARE a few people who have done the necessary research and have some answers about the numbers of people requiring accessible tourism. One of these is Dr. Simon Darcy, Associate Professor at the University of Technology, School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, Sydney, Australia (and QAT). He himself is disabled and has worked with the tourism industry, NGOs and government agencies for many years. He recently opened a blog called Accessible Tourism Research.   Visit his blog and read his article on accessible tourism statistics. I think you will find out why the answers to the above questions are not so simple (!) but also you’ll get some evidence about how the market is adapting in some parts of the world in order to deliver better access for all tourists.

With updates and  with permission from Competitiveness for European Tourism for All (CETA).