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

In 2011, the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) commissioned the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI) to conduct research into the tourism, travel, and hospitality experiences and needs of people with hearing impairments.   Hearing impairment ranges from slight hearing loss to total loss. The research was led by Dr. Sandra Rhodda, Research Programme Leader in Access Tourism. The research included two surveys, one for residents of New Zealand (“NZ”) and one for residents of countries other than NZ (called Internationals, or “Int”) who are deaf or have hearing loss.   The aim of the research was to find out what it is like to travel with hearing loss, how the travel experiences of hearing impaired people can be improved, to establish what people with hearing loss want in terms of tourism products and services, and to offer a better understanding of Access Tourism as a legitimate tourism market.  It also evaluated the case for the development of a ‘Hearing Tick’ for tourism businesses that cater for people with hearing loss.

In summary, the survey found that

• The top four reasons why NZ and Int respondents travel in general are: for enjoyment (84%/91%), to connect with friends, family or partner (84%/59%), to have new experiences (65%/72%), and for relaxation (53%/57%).  In other words, for the same reasons as people without hearing loss travel.
• NZ respondents on average took 7.18 overnight domestic trips during 2010; this is more than the number of domestic overnight trips (4.2) taken by NZers in general. NZ respondents took either one (30%), two (11%), or three or more (10%) international trips during 2010. Forty-nine percent did not travel internationally.
• The primary reasons NZ respondents took their most recent domestic trip were to be with friends and family (31%), to holiday (25%), for business (11%), or to attend conferences (10%).
• The majority (82%) of NZ respondents travelled with at least one other person on their most recent domestic trip – mainly a spouse or partner (73%). Eighteen percent travelled alone.
• On their most recent domestic trip, NZ respondents stayed an average of 4.6 nights away from home, and spent on average $107 per person per day on transport, accommodation, activities and attractions, and food and beverage.
• Thirty-three percent of Int respondents took between three and five domestic overnight trips in their own country. The mean number of domestic overnight trips taken by Int respondents was 6.8.
• Forty percent of Int respondents did not take any international trips during 2010. Of those who did travel internationally, the majority (83%) took between one and three trips.
• Forty-three percent of Int respondents have previously visited NZ, 47% have never visited NZ but plan to do so one day; 10% have never visited and have no plans to do so.
• For those Int respondents who have been to NZ, the main reasons for their last visit were ‘holiday’ (42%), to be with friends and/or family (15%), and to attend a conference or similar event (13%).   The majority (83%) of Int respondents who visited NZ travelled with at least one other person on their  last visit – mainly their spouse or partner. Seventeen percent of Int respondents travelled by themselves to NZ.  On their last visit to NZ, Int respondents stayed an average of 13.2 days.
• Just under half (46%) of NZ respondents are somewhat dissatisfied with the number of domestic overnight trips they currently take. Factors that prevent these respondents from travelling more domestically are cost (74%), a concern that their hearing needs will not be met (37%), and difficulty finding information about access for visitors with hearing loss (24%).  Fifty-nine percent of NZ respondents ‘agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’ that they would take more domestic overnight trips if the level of service for people with hearing loss across the tourism industry in NZ was improved.
• Just under half (43%) of Int respondents are somewhat dissatisfied with the number of international trips they currently take. Factors preventing Int visitors from taking more international trips are cost (73%), time constraints (54%), concerns that their hearing needs will not be met (33%), and difficulty finding information about access for visitors with hearing loss (25%).
• Both NZ and Int respondents agree (mean 4.4-4.6 out of 5) that the most important access needs when travelling away from home include customer service staff who have a ‘can-do’ attitude and the provision of reliable information. This includes information about safety in clear print, emergency alarms in public areas that are visual as well as audible, public audio announcements also provided in text on TV screens, and customer service staff who are knowledgeable about serving guests with hearing loss.
• When asked what other things would make their travel more enjoyable and accessible, both NZ and Int respondents highlighted the importance of understanding, patient staff trained to know how to accommodate people with hearing loss, how to meet their needs, and what to do in an emergency.
• Over two-thirds (70%) of NZ and half (52%) of Int respondents indicated that it is difficult to find information about NZ tourism products that are accessible to people with hearing loss.
• Forty-two percent of NZ and 29% of Int respondents agreed with the statement that ‘information about services for the hearing impaired is often wrong or misleading’.
• The reasons most often stated by both NZ and Int respondents for not seeking information about NZ tourism products were: a lack of knowledge on how to seek information and a perception that it is too hard to find. Some also think the information does not exist, and that businesses do not cater for people with hearing loss.
• The majority of NZ (90%) and over half (55%) of Int respondents feel that the level of service in the NZ tourism industry for people with hearing loss needs to be improved.
• Nearly two thirds (60%) of NZ and three quarters of Int respondents indicate they would ‘often’ return to a tourism business that has good services for people with hearing loss; 64% and 76% would tell friends and family about such a business.
• The majority of both NZ (88%) and Int (89%) respondents think it is a good idea to have a hearing-rating symbol that NZ businesses could use to show they are accessible to people with hearing loss.
• The main reasons given by both domestic and Int respondents for saying the use of a ‘hearing tick’ is a good idea are: to show that people with hearing loss are accepted and provided for, to reduce anxiety and frustration, to make the business easily recognisable, to promote awareness by businesses of people with hearing loss, and to improve first time and repeat patronage by people with hearing loss.
• The majority of NZ (83%) and Int (91%) respondents indicate that they would visit a website that had reliable information on tourism businesses in NZ that cater for people with hearing loss.

The full report can be found on the NZTRI site and on the NFD site.

Baby Boomers in the USA are a quarter of the population, control 80% of personal financial assets and over 50% of discretionary spending, make 77% of prescription drug purchases, and 61% of over-the-counter medication sales. And Boomers are ageing.  By limiting themselves to wooing younger generations, businesses risk shunning a demographic that will continue to be a significant influence in business and political decisions in the U.S. and other developed countries with declining birth rates, writes Michael Janger for brandchannel.com.   Michael goes on to point out that marketers should also be aware of a market that millions of Boomers will become part of because of debilitating conditions associated with aging: people with disabilities.  The disability market currently cannot be ignored: more than 54 million Americans have a disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For decades, consumers who are over 60 have generally been treated as a separate entity in consumer purchasing decisions, as infirmities associated with aging give rise to products and services that specifically accommodate them.   For decades, marketers were used to advertising to younger people  because they typically represented the largest age group.  This group is ageing and Baby Boomers present a challenge for brands that want to capture the aging market, but are not well equipped to understand what the market wants.  A pioneering report from AT Kearney called “What do Mature Consumers Want?” surveyed almost 3,000 people in 23 countries. It found that ”retailers will deal with older consumers who will have difficulty reading labels in their stores, and who need a place to sit down and relax while shopping. For businesses that focus on efficiency for busy younger consumers with little free time, this will be a major change in their retailing philosophy.”   In fact, Boomers are a huge opportunity to engage a new set of brand loyalists. By understanding and adapting to the shifting needs of mature consumers, including looking to lessons learned from marketing to disabled consumers, they can figure out ways to make their products and messages reach a much wider and deeper audience of influencers. As Boomers increasingly cope with the challenges that millions of people with disabilities have been dealing with every day, the consequences could be profound.

To see Michael’s full article, go to brandchannel.com

The Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia has added to its existing access features. Located on Independence Mall (access information here) in Independence National Historical Park, the Visitor Center is already totally accessible to wheelchair users, and wheelchairs are available for rental all year-round upon request. In addition, open captions have always been part of the two films shown in the Visitor Center’s theaters. “As the first stop for many visitors during their stay, the Independence Visitor Center plays a significant role in shaping first impressions of the Philadelphia region,” said James J. Cuorato, President & CEO of the Independence Visitor Center Corporation.

Now there are two new additions designed to provide a positive experience for visitors with hearing loss. They are a portable loop system and a mobile application which will be available for download in American Sign Language. The loop system (available at the Concierge Desk) is compatible with telecoil-equipped hearing aids, cochlear implants and induction loop receivers. Visitors who do not have a compatible hearing aid device may benefit from an individual receiver with headphones.

The Visitor Center is also launching Philadelphia History This Way, a mobile application that will guide visitors along Philadelphia’s historic square mile. This interactive tour will feature 24 sites and will be available in six languages, including American Sign Language.

These recent additions are a direct result of an ongoing partnership with Art-Reach, a local non-profit that advocates increased accessibility at cultural venues. Art-Reach advises the Independence Visitor Center on programs and equipment that will further enhance the accessibility of its facility. “The Independence Visitor Center is one of the most important gateways to our region’s rich array of cultural assets and they have demonstrated a real commitment to being welcoming to all guests,” stated Art-Reach Executive Director Michael Norris. “We are thrilled to be advising them on their accessibility enhancements.”

Art-Reach enriches lives by connecting underserved audiences to cultural experiences so that they may enjoy and benefit from the transformative powers of the arts. Each year, Art-Reach enables more than 15,000 people of all ages, economic backgrounds and abilities to experience the richness of the arts. Art-Reach is dedicated to creating proactive relationships with organizations in Philadelphia to ensure opportunities are readily available for those who may be at a disadvantage.

(from PRNewswire)

Barbados Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy told a recent Inclusive Tourism Symposium that the economic benefits of making Barbados fully accessible to all tourists should not be ignored. Noting that in Barbados’ fourth largest market , Canada, people with disabilities account for Can$25 billion in consumer spending, and noting that 2.7 million Britains with disabiites travel annually, Sealy pointed out that it was important to recognize the value of creating accessible spaces for all. He urged   that the efforts by the tourism industry in Barbados to improve accessibility continue and increase. The Ministry has fully supported the development of a Fully Accessible Barbados programme which has just launched a new website to highlight accessible areas on the island.

Scott Rains, of the highly regarded Rolling Rains Report also spoke at the forum, where he pointed out that creating accessibleenvironments not only benefited people with disabilities, but retirees of the “silver tsunami”, who have the time, money, and desire to travel.

Congratulations to Salzburg, winners of the European Commission 2012 Access City Award for excellent infrastructure for disabled citizens. The Award recognizes European cities with over 50,000 inhabitants which take exemplary initiatives to improve accessibility in the urban environment.  In the context of a steadily ageing population living in European cities and its correlation with disabilities, accessibility has important social and economic benefits.  This initiative is organized in partnership with the European Disability Forum and Age Platform Europe assists in selecting the winner.

The award is given to the city that:

• has demonstrably improved accessibility in fundamental aspects of city living:
  • the built environment and public spaces;
  • transport and related infrastructure;
  • information and communication, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT);
  • public facilities and services.
• is committed to continued improvements in accessibility in a sustainable way;
• can act as a role model and encourage the adoption of best practices in all other European cities.

Three finalist “runners-up” were Kraków (Poland), Marburg (Germany), and Santander (Spain). The European Jury also decided to attribute special mentions in each of the four key areas of accessibility. These went to:

• Terrassa (Spain) for the built environment and public spaces Ljubljana (Slovenia) for transport and related infrastructures
• Olomouc (Czech Republic) for information and communication, including new technologies
• Grenoble (France) for public facilities and services

According to Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, not only is making tourism more accessible a social responsibility, but there is also a compelling business case to boost the competitiveness of tourism in Europe.   Why? The population in Europe is aging: by 2050 the number of people aged over 65 will triple that of 2003 and the over-80 will be 5 times more numerous that they are at the moment.  This represents a huge market potential which today remains vastly under-served. Worldwide the number of people with impairments accounts for 600-900 million, representing a significant potential market for Europe.   Many examples show that by implementing basic adjustments to a facility, providing accurate information, and understanding the needs of disabled people, an increased number of visitors has resulted.  Also, improving the accessibility of tourism services increases the  quality and enjoyment for all tourists.  The European Commission is committed to mainstream accessibility in tourism by:

• raising awareness, sensitizing stakeholders and economic operators in the tourism sector
• gathering knowledge about demand from travellers with special access needs
• identifying options to improve the offer of accessible tourism services

The Commission has a publication on improving information on accessible tourism for people with disabilities.  It also has a programme called Calypso which aims to facilitate tourism access for groups for which going on holiday represents a difficult or even impossible undertaking.

Two new text books on accessible tourism are available through the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) from Channel View Publications. The first is “Concepts and Issues” (eds: Dimitrios Buhalis and Simon Darcy), which sets out to  explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues  in the study of accessible tourism.  Professor Nigel Morgan, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research states that this volume harnesses “the best conceptual  developments on the topic” and that it will “take accessible tourism and universal design debates into the mainstream of academic enquiryand industry practice“

The second volume is “Best Practice in Accessible Tourism” (eds: Buhalis, Darcy, and Ivor Ambrose).  It focuses on policy and best practice in accessible tourism, reflecting the ”state-of -the-art” as expressed in a selection of international chapters. It brings together global expertise in planning, design and management to inform and stimulate providers of travel, transport, accommodation, leisure and tourism services to serve guests with disabilities, seniors and the wider markets that require good accessibility. Chapter 8, written by Sandra Rhodda of Access Tourism New Zealand, describes the state of accessible tourism in this country.  Overall, the book gives ample evidence that accessible tourism organisations and destinations can expand their target markets as well as improve the quality of their service offering, leading to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty and expansion of business.  Accessible tourism is not only about providing access to people with disabilities but also it addresses the creation of universally designed environments that can support people that may have temporary disabilities, families with young children, the ever increasing ageing population as well as creating a safer environment for employees to work. Noel Scott, of the University of Queensland, Australia says that the volume “provides a ‘state-of-the-art” assessment of both theory and practice. This book establishes a new field of study and provides the benchmark against which other contributions will be judged. It integrates the work of all the key players and should be read by academics, managers and government policy makers.”

Leicester City Council has joined online access guide DisabledGo to provide a guide
to Leicester for anyone who wants to know more about disabled access in the area.  The guide covers more than  1,000 venues including cinemas, hotels, parks, leisure centres, council offices, high street stores, restaurants, and tourist attractions, amongst other things.  The guide will enable people to find out not only whether venues have accessible toilets or parking close by but also specific details such as whether there are tactile or Braille markings in lifts or on doors, the dimensions of toilets, the positioning of fixtures and fittings, and whether they can request information in large print or Braille.

Commenting on the launch of the guide, Dr Gregory Burke, Chief Executive of DisabledGo noted that it will make a real difference to both residents and visitors to the City who have access concerns, empowering them to find services and venues that suit their own specific requirements.  The online guide will provide benefits for business too, helping them reach more customers by publicising the access they offer.

Current figures estimate that there are 11 million disabled people in Britain who spend £80 billion each year, numbers that every business should take notice of. All businesses that take part also receive Disability Awareness Manuals, designed as a 20 minute introduction to disability and access.

All of the information provided in the online version of DisabledGo-Leicester will also be available on the ‘Looking Local’ service on the red button on local TV, so that if people don’t have access to a computer at home, they can still get the information they need.

Disabled World reports that the Special Needs Group (SNG) is launching a powerful, unprecedented online Accessible Travel Advocate course for all travel professionals. The SNG is the leading global provider of special needs equipment for the travel industry.  The one-hour, three-module program objectives focus on understanding accessible travel, building expertise in accessible travel and demonstrating accessible travel advocacy skills and runs November 14.    The accessible travel market is the  fastest-growing segment of the travel market, and this is the first time travel professionals can become conversant with it through online study and testing, available here.

Special Needs Group has also formed a new advisory board, the SNG Inner Circle, consisting of key players in the travel industry such as cruise line CEOs, etc. The board will convene several times per year to discuss key travel accessibility issues and how to improve travel experiences for individuals with special needs.

The 2011 M-Enabling Summit and Showcase for Mobile Applications and Services for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities will bring together leaders in the global emerging mobile accessibility eco-system to foster discussion and decision-making among mobile technology, aging and disability experts, and policy professionals in the United States and abroad. The Summit’s Inaugural Briefing Session, hosted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will cover the latest legislative and regulatory steps taken by the United States and other countries on mobile accessibility. The event is presented by the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ict) and E.J. Krause & Associates (in cooperation with the  International Telecommunication Union and the FCC.  Participants will include representatives from AT&T, Verizon, W3C, Daisy Consortium, the AAPD, AFB, and UNCRPD, amongst others.

Key tracks will highlight new innovations addressing the specific needs of users living with different types of disability, as well as major emerging market opportunities, such as accessible and assistive applications and solutions for travel and tourism.

“More than 5.4 billion mobile phones are in service today while, according to the latest WHO-World Bank Report on Disability, 1 billion persons live with disabilities – 54 million in the United States alone – including a large proportion of seniors,” said conference co-organizer Axel Leblois, Executive Director of G3ict. “The M-Enabling Summit will be the first opportunity for all stakeholders involved to participate in a groundbreaking sharing of experience among mobile industry, private sector leaders, senior and disability organizations, IT professionals, operators, apps developers, government, and accessibility experts.”

The Summit will be held in Washington D.C. from December 5-6, 2011 at the Gaylord
National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor.

The World Travel Market is a major international travel industry event held over 4
days.  Last year, nearly 50,000 industry participants, and over 5000 exhibiting companies took part in the market.  This year, the market is being held on 7-10 November in London, and will have two seminars and an Advice Clinic on accessible tourism.  One seminar will cover the business case for developing Access tourism and will be chaired by John de Vial of the British Travel Association (ABTA).  The second seminar will be presented by members of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) and will highlight market data and research findings.  The session will be introduced by Veroniek Maat, a one-time intern at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute of Auckland University of Technology (NZTRI) and a contributor to Access Tourism New Zealand.  The advice clinic will be run by Brian Seaman of Tourism for All UK, and 15 minute one-on-one sessions are available by registering and selecting someone to speak to from a list of fourteen industry experts.

The travel industry should be targeting the over-55 market because fewer students can afford to travel on gap years, says Post Office Travel Insurance, UK. The company says that UK students starting their degrees in 2012 are expected to face an average debt of 56,000 pounds on graduation, compared with around 27,000 pounds if they began their studies this September.  With increased university fees, only 19% of students are considering a gap year or extended break this year.

In contrast, 25% of over 55s Brits plan to take a break of three months or longer, spending more than £4,000 each.  And – importantly for New Zealand – the most popular destinations for “grey gappers” are Australia, New Zealand and the US.
Recent research has shown that people in their 50s who have always wanted to escape are saying: “Let’s just do it”. They are trekking in Borneo, going on a cruise around the world, climbing the Himalayas, or exploring Alaska. There is definitely a desire to do something exciting.  ‘It is often the first thing that a lot of people do when they have retired. They go on a very long holiday’  (Ros Altmann, Saga).

The Rolling Rains Report writes that the first international certification programme for accessible tourism destinations has been developed and carried out in Lousã, Portugal by the Belgian Accessibility Office, Toegangelijkheidsbureau (TGB).

The Accessible Tourism Destination Certification Programme or ATDCP is based on an extensive audit of the Destination Management Organisation’s accessible  tourism policies, infrastructure, transport, services and visitor information, and includes accessibility assessments of the outdoor environment, overnight accommodation, attractions, and activities and offers for visitors including persons with disabilities, older persons and families with small children.

Designed and developed by accessibility and tourism experts, TGB Belgium, the ATDCP is a completely new destination management tool which provides an accurate measure of the excellence of an accessible tourism destination, based on strictly defined criteria.

The Accessible Destination Certification Programme involves assessment meetings with destination managers coupled with on-site audits and document analysis, thus building a picture of the capacity and level of achievement of the accessible destination.  Each element of the assessment is scored against a set of indicators, thus enabling managers to track the destination’s performance over time and allowing for benchmarking across any number of destinations.

The Programme also provides a tailor-made Action Plan for destination managers, with priorities for improvements to be made in the different facets of the accessible destination.  The Action Plan aims to ensure that the destination will continue to develop and improve its offers to all visitors, giving them fulfilling, accessible experiences, whatever their interests and regardless of their age or abilities.  The TGB Accessible Tourism Destination Certificate is valid for two years, after which time it must be renewed through a re-assessment process.

For background on this advance, see the European Network for Accessible Tourism website.

This year’s November Pro-ICAT conference  Tourism For All in Malaysia will discuss just that, amongst other things.  With an emphasis on what developing accessible tourism can do to promote national and regional economic development, the conference aims to:

• highlight the existence of Accessible Tourism through hosting events that will draw attention to this niche in the tourism sector
• provide information on Accessible Tourism to the public locally and internationally
• make known to the public the obstacles and challenges in Accessible Tourism and ways to overcome them
•  encourage a tourism system in Malaysia that welcomes people with disabilities having good liaison between disabled organizations and tourism organizations so that attractions can be facilitated more systematically.
• encourage the Ministry of Tourism in Malaysia to do more research in promoting Accessible Tourism.
• advocate for the removal of architectural and transportation barriers that prevent people with disabilities from sharing fully in all aspects of our society including going for tours.

In the USA in the past decade, many grandparents have seen substantial and real increases in their household income while their offspring have fallen behind (Metlife).  The percentage of inflation-adjusted household income that accrued to households ages 55 or older has risen from 28% to 34%, which meant a real income increase for those households of $659 billion. During that same decade, the total real income of households ages 25 to 44 (most of whom were the adult children of those ages 55 or older) declined from 43% to 36%, which meant a real aggregate income loss of $312 billion.  Despite wide economic variation, the economic impact of a record number of relatively affluent grandparents is both substantial and growing rapidly. Consumer spending by households ages 55 or older, the vast majority of which are grandparents, has been rising at rates well above inflation and faster by far than any other age category.  Some results?   Older customers now dominate the Tablet and eReader market, so that 51% of owners are 45 years old or older (Neilsen), and grandparents are responsible for 25% of all toy sales in the USA.  What does this mean for marketers?  A Silver Group Asia reports on almost 15,000 responses to a poll on Asian Boomer consumer thoughts, feelings and actions. Highlights include that 59% say age-friendliness is critical to their choice of product or service (they are more likely to buy age-friendly brands), and that this is true across product types (sports gear, clothing, skin care, bank/insurance, or airlines).  More (82%) are very likely or likely to place importance on age-friendly advertising, social network reviews (72%), age-friendly retail environments (63% ) age-friendly websites (42%), and age-friendly product service and design.

A study by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research estimated that one in 10 visitors to Montana arrived on a motorcycle. That’s about 1 million people (Billings Gazette).    And increasing numbers are older riders on big cruising or touring bikes. Survey data from the Motorcycle Industry Council, a private industry group, shows that the median age of bikers increased from 27.1 in 1985 to 41 in 2003. At the same time, the percentage of owners in the 40-to-49 age group increased from 13.2 to 27.9 percent, and the percentage of owners 50 or older went from 8.1 to 25.1.  That means more than half of owners are 40 or older, supplanting the once-dominant 15-to-29 age group. The transition to older motorcycle owners started to make its statistical presence known as early as 1990, and has been edging up since.

Meanwhile, the American Motorcyclist Association’s latest data shows the average age of motorcyclists is even older, at 48.

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (Tokyo Internatinal Airport) has a new runway and new international terminal that “makes life easy for international travellers”.   So writes Harriet Baskas  in USA Today.   “And in a country well-known for its high-tech toilets, the airport restrooms are a delight. “Ordinary toilets” have wider-than-normal doorways to accommodate both manual wheelchair users and travelers with suitcases. Folding doors on the cubicles include a sign indicating whether or not there’s a baby seat and a fold-down changing table inside. And inside each women’s restroom area there’s a urinal for use by small boys.

“Multipurpose toilets” are exactly that. To accommodate wheelchair users, passengers traveling with babies or toddlers, elderly people and anyone with a special need, there are restrooms equipped with just about every facility imaginable. In addition to diaper changing tables, beds and changing platforms, these restrooms have ostomate showers and sinks, layouts that allow for right or left hand transfers to the toilet seat from a wheelchair and an emergency button linked directly to the airport’s Disaster Control Center.

And, in what is certainly an airport first, there’s even a restroom designed specifically for use by service dogs.”

Amongst the improvements making this airport highly accessible to all, including people with disabilities, is excellent information on the airport website about access.

Visit Scotland – the national tourism organisation – says that that the accessible tourism market is already hugely important and is growing.  Between January – June 2009, 12% of all domestic trips to Scotland were made by visitors with access needs, or those accompanying someone who has access needs. This amounts to:

• 659 thousand trips, contributing almost £121 million to the Scottish economy in just six months, and rose to £325 million pounds for the 11 month period 2009/10.
• Senior tourists, over 55’s hold 80% of the nation’s wealth, and the 11 million disabled people in the UK have a potential spending power (disposable income) of £80b per year.

This is significantly higher than some more established targeted markets.

VisitScotland is leading an Accessible Tourism Steering Group (ATSG) with representatives from Capability Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Tourism Forum, the Scottish Government and other leading individuals from the accessible tourism industry. ATSG have planned a series of activities looking to engage and help tourism businesses to grasp emerging opportunities in accessible tourism market. The key objective of this programme is to raise awareness, alter perceptions and enable the Scottish tourism industry to better plan for accessible tourism product development.

VisitScotland has commissioned Capability Scotland to set up and run six events from August – October 2011 to engage with disabled people and find out what needs to be enhanced or changed to make Scottish tourism more accessible.   Disabled people with a range of impairments and conditions will meet with representatives from Capability and VisitScotland to talk about their experiences as a tourist in Scotland and the barriers that they face.  Recommendations will then be made to VisitScotland and the Scottish tourism industry.

Engaging the tourism industry

• Business Workshops – ATSG will attend about  12 Industry events in autumn at which they will present the findings, the statistics around the economic value of accessible tourism and run question and answer sessions.
• VisitScotland is making a film in three parts, based on the findings from the project, with interviews. This will be used to promote Accessible Tourism throughout 2011/12, with a showing of the finished film at the 2012 conference.
• Industry conference – October 2012: workshops and presentations; opportunity for businesses to ask questions in an open and helpful environment.

The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) will give a presentation at the 2011 World Travel Market Conference in London 7-10 November.  The presentation will include a round-up of the key issues in making tourism offers accessible and  inclusive for all visitors. Highlighting will be the latest market data and research findings which show how businesses and destinations are winning market share by offering accessible infrastructure and services.  Also discussed will be how England is making ready for all visitors to enjoy the London Olympic and paralympic Games 2012.  Tourist Boards, DMOs, attractions, hotels, airlines and booking agents can all play a part in catering for the growing market of seniors, families with young children and people with disabilities, and information will be provided on how it’s done and where to begin.   ENAT is a non-profit association of organisations and individuals from the private, public and NGO sectors. Their mission is to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all visitors and to help promote Accessible Tourism around the world.

Tourism Victoria (Australia) now has a page on Accessible Tourism about developing tourism destinations, products, and services so that they are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disability, or age.  This includes parents travelling with prams and large groups including people with disabilities.  The aim of the state government organization is to develop local and global market potential by working with the tourism industry to deliver growth.    The site presents the business case for making Victoria’s tourism industry more accessible, and points out that in Australia:

•  The population is ageing and there is a growing market for travellers with accessibility needs.
• Almost one in five people has a disability of which nearly 90% take a holiday each year.
• People with a disability account for some 8.2 million overnight trips and spend $8 billion or 11% of Australia’s overall tourism expenditure

Tourism Victoria’s Accessible Tourism Plan 2010-2013 aims to encourage the Victorian tourism industry to see the social and economic benefits of offering tourism products and services for people with access requirements and outlines strategies and actions to do this.  Many Victorian tourist attractions are now developing disability action plans.