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

The European Disability Forum is an independent European non-government organisation which has played a key role in ensuring that all relevant EU policies and initiatives  take disabled people into account.  It reports that the European Commission has just adopted a communication on tourism which proposes to better include people with disabilities.   The latest communication from the Commission points out that tourism plays an important role in Europe’s economy. It comprises 1.8 million enterprises, many of these being small and medium-sized businesses. It also points out that transport and tourism is a basic right for all citizens, including people with disabilities. The right to travel and to access tourist activities is enshrined in Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD).    The UN CRPD has been signed and ratified by New Zealand, so that these rights exist in this country.  However, we have not done a very good job in implementing this (see for example, this post, and this).   

CRPD has been signed and is in the process of ratification by the European communities and its Member States.  Read more……………

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Translink, the main provider of public transport in Northern Ireland, have produced a free online access guide to transport in the country and also with regards to travelling into Ireland. The guide gives great information about the different type of public information available including the Metro, Ulsterbus, Goldline and NIRailways.  It contains information and advice on how to use services, and contact details to help plan a journey. The guide has been produced in partnership with the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC), and identifies the degree of accessibility at rail and bus stations throughout the country, following major and ongoing investment in improving the facilities.
You can download a PDF version of the guide from Translink’s website and it is also available from rail and bus stations in Northern Ireland. Large print, Braille and audio tape versions can also be provided on request by Translink by contacting them on: 028 9066 6630 (or Typetalk 18001 028 9066 6630).  For other information about things to see and do in Northern Ireland, visit the OpenBritain Directory.

Reprinted with permission from Craig Grimes, Open Britain and Tourism for All

Passengers will enjoy easier access to information about their rights when travelling by rail or air thanks to a Europe-wide publicity campaign in 23 languages launched by the European Commission this month. Although the Commission has in recent years introduced legislation to ensure air and rail passengers benefit from the same standards of treatment throughout the European Union, not all passengers are yet aware of what they are entitled to. To remedy this, posters reminding people of their rights will be displayed in airports and train stations in all Member States and travellers will also be able to consult free leaflets and a specially designed website in all of the European Union’s official languages.  Passenger rights include a guarantee of equal treatment for people with a disability or reduced mobility.  In Europe, more than one in five people find travelling difficult due to old age, disability or other mobility issues, and the information includes information about the right of train transport for passengers with reduced mobility, information on accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility, assistance for persons with reduced mobility, and air travel for the disabled.

USA Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood of the Department of Transportation announced the first federal rule to specifically provide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protections on cruise ships. The action comes as the 20th anniversary of the ADA approaches on July 26. “This administration is committed to protecting the rights of passengers with disabilities in all modes of transportation,” LaHood said in a press release. “This rule will ensure fair treatment for people with disabilities who travel by ship or boat.”  The rule applies to two categories of vessels: vessels operated by public entities, such as public ferry systems, and vessels operated by private entities primarily engaged in the business of transporting people, such as cruise ships. The rule will ensure that vessel operators’ policies do not discriminate against passengers with disabilities, LaHood said. Under the rule, vessel operators cannot charge extra for accessibility-related services to passengers, cannot require passengers to furnish their own attendants, and cannot deny access to passengers based on disability. Vessel operators will have to provide information to passengers about the accessibility of their facilities and services and make a knowledgeable person available to resolve accessibility concerns.  The rule does not establish standards for building new vessels or altering existing vessels. Those standards will be developed by an independent agency, the Access Board, and eventually be adopted in future rulemaking.  It also does not apply to other private vessels that transport passengers while providing another key service, like charter fishing boats or dinner cruises. However, a Department of Justice rule will cover that group of operators.

From Open Britain.

In an interview with the London Evening Standard recently Tanni Grey-Thompson, the UK’s most famous Paralympian, gave OpenLondon the thumbs up. She said “The guide includes advice on travelling around London’s public transport network, where to eat and sleep and accessible tourist attractions. The British Museum, National Galleries, Madame Tussaud’s, Houses of Parliament, Shakespeare’s Globe and Tower of London are all highly rated.”  Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson showed her support for OpenBritain 2010 during its launch at the National Theatre on the South Bank in London in July 2009 and it’s great that we have her continued support for our new OpenLondon Guide.  Welcoming the OpenLondon guide, she said: “It’s nice to know that if you’re going to trek half-way across the city it’s going to be okay, and if not, at least you know what you’re letting yourself in for.”  During the Evening Standard interview Tanni was also voicing her concerns about access for disabled people in the West End of London, more specifically Covent Garden, as it’s “particularly difficult to get around, with lots of small shops and cobbled streets. She suggested that while major chains like Marks & Spencer and John Lewis were well equipped, some retailers had the wrong attitude to change.” 

The OpenLondon 2010 Guide which can be ordered through OpenBritain.net.

In size and purchasing strength, Baby Boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – represent the largest group of consumers. And, according to Margo DeAngelo and Phyllis Schiller, recession or recovery, they’re still spending in the USA. In their article, DeAngelo and Schiller quote some facts about American Boomers from a number of authorities.  These include: 

• 78 million American Boomers have an annual purchasing capacity of US$2 trillion despite the current recession; 
• they comprise a quarter of the population and thus the biggest generational segments;
• 14% are already over 65; over the next ten years, the growth of the 50+ age group will be 22%, compared to the growth of 18-to-49-year-olds, which is going to be 3%; 
• 33% have significant financial assets;
• Americans in their fifties, are less interested in “stuff” and more in experiences.

The influence of Boomers in the market place – including in tourism – is not confined to the USA.  According to Audrey Kauffmann (Vancouver Sun), “from Japan to Germany, senior citizens make up a lucrative and fast-growing opportunity in the tourism industry, with deep pockets, disposable income and free time.”   Older travellers have strong purchasing power, and have become common targets for marketers.  For example, travel companies in Germany and Austria are launching new programs to attract Boomers, and one businessman created a “50plus Badge” to help seniors identify ranked hotels across Austria and Germany that are suitable to older folk.  Amenities at these hotels include wider doors that are wheelchair accessible.

The Rolling Rains Report (RRR), the world’s leading website about Travel, Disability, and Universal Design, has again picked up a horror story of a New Zealander with a disability refused access to a bus.  This follows on from several other NZ horror stories that have gone viral over the last couple of years on the RRR and on other websites – a woman refused access to a bus,  another woman thrown out of her motel because she had a seeing-eye dog, councils being sued because they failed to comply with accessibility regulations, wheelchair users trapped on the Trans Alpine passenger train for 11 hours, blind hotel guests charged extra for their seeing-eye dog…….these stories are not a good look for New Zealand.  Tourism is our second-most important exchange earner and hugely important to our economy.  While we have no idea in this country how many of our domestic or international visitors are people with disabilities, it is known that about 17% of kiwis have a disability, that about the same percent are disabled in our major markets, that people with disabilities would currently travel more if tourism and travel products were reliably accessible, and that the number of people who will become disabled is set to increase as the large Baby Boomer segment ages, because disability increases with age.  It is also known that Access Tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism segments internationally.  New Zealand will miss out on this increasingly important sector if it does not work to improve its Access Tourism offer and to increase the number of positive instead of negative tourism and travel related stories.

The June 201 Access Exchange Newsletter  reports that Colombia is amongst world leaders in providing Accessible Bus Rapid Transit services for people with disabilities (PwDs).    Meanwhile in New Zealand, The NZ Tourism Guide (one of our largest tourism guide websites) advises that “most urban transport buses are not equipped to cater for the disabled.”    “If the world’s megacities are to be livable places in years to come, the Colombian approach to public transit is likely to be a big part of the solution. Access to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) by passengers with disabilities, which means better access for everybody, is a cutting edge feature of this solution” says Tom Rickert of Access Exchange International. Rickert examined bus systems in Columbia during a visit as part of a larger World Bank project. For example, the BRT system in the city of Cali includes: 

• Level boarding, from enclosed stations with doors that open in tandem with the doors of high-capacity articulated buses, permits wheelchair users and everyone else to safely board from a protected and well-lit environment.
• Audio and text announcements now being installed in buses and stations assist all passengers and especially those who are blind, or who are deaf, or hard-of-hearing.
• High-tech proximity debit cards allow easy fare payment at ticket machines as passengers enter the stations, a feature that assists those with cognitive impairments, including tourists, visitors, and other first time users of the system.

 Recent reports of new BRT projects are encouraging and include: 

• Guadalajara, Mexico’s, Macrobús BRT system has scored well in public opinion polls of users of the recently opened accessible system. A second accessible BRT corridor, Eje 4, has opened in Mexico City.
• Lima, Peru’s BRT systems is now operating and BRT systems are operating or planned in most of Latin America’s largest cities.
• Ahmedabad, India, recently opened an accessible BRT system and plans are moving ahead in Bangalore and Pimpri-chinchwad. 
• Hanoi, Vietnam, is planning construction of seven kilometers of its first BRT corridor. 
• In South Africa, Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya system opened in August of 2009. Cape Town’s system is under construction. 
• In Tanzania, construction is scheduled to begin in September on Dar es Salaam’s “DART” BRT line and the system should begin operation in 2012.

 (This article reproduced (with some edits) with permission from Access Exchange International. Contributors of information for this section include the ITDP, CTS Mexico, and Gerhard Menckhoff and Dieter Schelling of the World Bank.)

The NZ Tourism Industry Association, in a press release welcoming a reduction in marine safety charges paid by cruise ships, has recognized the importance of Baby Boomers to this market. “This is a high value tourism sector, driven by high-spending and discerning international baby boomers,” said Tim Cossar, TIA Chief Executive.  Eighty-one cruise ships and more than 112,000 passengers are expected to have visited New Zealand by the end of the 2009/10 season (year ending August), says Mr Cossar. In total they will make 479 port calls, with each cruise estimated to be worth about $1 million to the New Zealand economy. The sector is expected to grow by a further 30% in the 2010/11 season, with a record season forecast for 2011/12.  Cruise visit are really expected to take of in 2014, when the Panama Canal is expanded so that bigger ships can pass through and potentially head our way.

Cruise passengers in New Zealand tend to be in older age groups (over 70% are 55 or older), and as Access Tourism New Zealand has pointed out before (most recently, 6/11/2009,  9/12/2009, 13/1/2010, 3/2/2010, 24/2/2010), our ports are ill prepared for an influx of older visitors, especially when it comes to improving access for ageing Baby Boomers, cruise passengers who are already disabled, and the increase in cruisers who will have a disability in future.  Why?  Because disability increases with age.  Certainly the cruise industry is very aware of access issues in cruising – witness the fact that a session on accessibility and cruising was one of the six breakout sessions at the recent UK Cruise Convention.  Meanwhile, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, stipulates that the construction, acquisition and operation of all cruise and ferry terminals and vessels of signatory nations (including New Zealand) should comply with its accessibility provisions.  Lets hope NZ does so.

Are you a person with a disability?  Have you had dealings with JetStar airlines in the last twelve months?  Sheila King is asking people to contact her if they feel they have been discriminated against by JetStar.  Sheila is making a claim against JetStar after she was refused access on a flight because the flight already had two passengers who required wheelchair assistance.  Sheila’s email is sheilaking@bigpond.com

David Layton, a member of the young disabled campaigners group Trailblazers, has been shortlisted for the Uk’s prestigious “The Charity Awards 2010”.  The Greater Yarmouth Mercury reports that, amongst other things, the group has investigated accessibility on public transport and at leisure venues, and has campaigned to make changes in these areas for disabled people. Their transport campaign has even led to the Department of Transport launching a consultation to fine transport providers if disabled users can’t access the disabled spaces.  The Trailblazers Group has lobbied Parliament, met government ministers and handed in a petition at 10 Downing Street. They are currently investigating equality in employment and will be looking into Access Tourism later in 2010. For a news item on critiquing London’s bars, restaurants, theatres, and galleries, see the video clip “Trailblazers hit the Headlines”.

ENAT (European Network for Accessible Tourism) reports that TRANSED 2010 will include a technical session on accessible marine travel featuring cruise ship, ferry vessel, and terminal design as part of the Accessible Tourism Track.  In view of the recent passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the construction, acquisition and operation all cruise and ferry terminal and vessels of signatory nations (including New Zealand) should comply with its accessibility provisions.

The following are keynote speakers:

• Katherine McGuinness (Kessler McGuinness and Associates, LLC, Newton, MA):  expert in accessible ferry transportation; will discuss key issues in accessible ferry docks, and a successful negotiated rulemaking process that resulted in state and national standards for accessible water transportation;
• Douglas Playter, (Principal Project Manager, CH2M HILL, Seattle): prominent US cruise and ferry terminal designer/manager; will outline factors in accessible cruise terminal design and operation. Drawing on his extensive experience in over 35 ferry and cruise terminal improvement projects in North America, he will provide examples of cruise terminals embodying system-wide and intermodal transfer accessibility in accordance with the applicable ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards and guidelines;
• David Chapman (Program Manager, AMSEC LLC, a naval architecture and marine engineering design firm): expert on passenger vessel accessibility: will provide the companion technical piece on accessibility factors in cruise ship design, describe cruise ship universal design and construction features in adherence with the applicable US ADA accessibility standards and guidelines;
• Wanda Harbin (Customer Relations Officer, Marine Atlantic, Canada):  will discuss the importance of staff and personnel training to enhance accessibility in the marine transport systems;
• Clement Lau (Assistant Commissioner (Tourism), Tourism Commission, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, SAR Government of Hong Kong): will discuss “The Hong Kong Cruise Market and the New Cruise Terminal at Kai Tak”

There will also be many tourism related presentations and numerous conference papers on the demographic profile and travel patterns of the well-travelled baby boomers and persons with disabilities. Greater understanding of this emerging market segment will help the marine transport industry respond to their growing needs through adopting innovative designs, products, services and staff training.  The main conference and exhibition will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, June 5-8, 2010.

Grand River Transit – which travels over twelve million kilometres per year in parts of Ontario, Canada – will buy more technology to automate the announcement of bus stops, using speakers and digital readouts. The decision follows a landmark ruling won by a blind Toronto passenger in 2007.  Jeff Outhit of the The Record reports that the new technology will improve transit for all passengers in many ways. “Satellite tracking of all buses is required to automate announcements. Knowing where all buses are at all times helps keep buses on schedule. The technology can be further developed to tell passengers when their bus will arrive, in real time. It can help plan better bus routes, minimize delays, and speed responses when buses break down.”  In addition, while this will be a great boon for blind and deaf passengers, even sighted passengers are sometimes unsure of stops so once again, a technology that helps a section of the disabilities community will help people in general.

   New regulations in the USA mean that airlines – even foreign airlines originating from or landing in that country, or ticketed through American carriers – are required to provide for people who travel with respiratory assistance, service animals, or who have any kind of physical disability.  Airlines must also provide check-in assistance. Open Doors, a nonprofit  in Chicago, estimates that people with disabilities spend about US$15 billion annually on travel.   The New York Times reports Jani Nayar of the Society of Accessible Travel and Hospitality as saying that such improvements in airline accessibility are good for business.  “It is not a charity any more”.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports a claim today is to go to mediation in the Federal Court against Jetstar.  The claim will be lodged by Sheila King, director of Australia For All.  Sheila uses a wheelchair and was refused access to a Jetstar flight because the flight she booked was already carrying two passengers who required wheelchair assistance. King, on an interview on Ten TV (video here), asked why Jetstar only allows two wheelchairs per flight and points out that it probably does not restrict carriage of surf boards to just two.  “This really is discriminatory”, said King.  Paralympian Kurt Fearnley (AccessTourismNZ) will be watching the case carefully.  Fearnley crawled through Brisbane airport rather than use Jetstar’s wheelchairs, which dont allow independent use and and thus independent use of such facilities as toilets. Sheila is represented by Nicolas Patrick, a human rights lawyer and pro bono partner at DLA Phillips Fox in Sydney. He is also the lead author of the shadow report on Australia’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A just-released report shows that Germans between the ages of 50 and 69 increased their online shopping by 88% in the last five years compared an increase in online shopping by all age groups of only 33% in the same period.  The report, by ENIGMA Gfk points out that there is certainly potential for gaining more online customers in certain areas amongst the older demographic.  These areas include travel services, such as hotel bookings and car rentals.  Last year, a total of 34.1 million Germans bought goods and services online, which represents a rise of 2.2 million customers on the prior year. The statistics include 15.2 million consumers who purchased travel services online (for example, event tickets and hotel bookings).

Recognizing that people with accessibility needs represent a growth sector, Visit England has included the development of Access Tourism in its strategic planning.    The newly-released Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010-2020 includes the goal of improving access for people with disabilities (PwDs) as one of its objectives.  There is a commitment to continuing improvement in information about visitor accessibility throughout England, and to developing visitor and transport infrastructure.  To achieve this, Visit England will partner with the DCMS Stakeholders Forum (the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport forum of central and local government, the tourism industry, and charitable organisations set up to improve Access Tourism), destination management organisations, regional development agencies, local authorities, local government associations, Tourism for All (a national charity dedicated to making tourism welcoming to all), and Transport for London.   The sister publication,  A Strategic Action Plan for Tourism 2010-2020, describes how 12% of overnight domestic trips in England include at least one PwD, contributing almost £1 billion to the visitor economy.   There are over 11 million PwDs in England, and provision for them and overseas PwD guests is to be improved, especially in light of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012.  With the goal of mainstreaming accessibility so it becomes part of good business practice, the action plan outlines key priorities which include:

• Provision of comprehensive and accurate information about accessibility
• Raising the awareness of the tourism industry to improve provision and increase profits
• Encouragement of greater investment in facilities and infrastructures

PATA reports (22/3/2010) that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is to open an office in Auckland prompted by the boom in cruising.  About 40,000 New Zealanders took a cruise in 2009 – up about 10,000 over 2008, and Royal will double the number of sailings to New Zealand by the end of next year.  Cruise passengers in New Zealand tend to be in older age groups, and as Access Tourism New Zealand has pointed out before (most recently, 6/11/2009,  9/12/2009, 13/1/2010, 3/2/2010, 24/2/2010), our ports are ill prepared for an influx of older visitors, especially when it comes to improving access for ageing Baby Boomers, cruise passengers who are already disabled, and the increase in cruisers who will have a disability in future.  Why?  Because disability increases with age.

In January, Access Anything trained ground crew at Continental In Houston Texas on how to handle mobility and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and scooters.  The training was organised by the Open Doors Organisation with the help of The Mobility Shop.  Open Doors also runs IATA_OSO Air carrier Access Act workshops worldwide, which aim to explain the US Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act regarding the implementation and conduct of barrier-free travel and compare it to European Union regulations.

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the southern district of New York began a review in 2005 of about 50 hotels in NY City to determine if they operated in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 (ADA).    Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by private entities that own or operate places of public accommodation.  The Department of Justice (DOJ) is authorized to commence civil law suits where there are patterns or practices of discrimination, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties. 

The reviews began with hotels in the Theatre District, and include on-site inspections.  The USAO states that “it is imperative that hotles and other public accommodations so essential to the business of this international city fully comply with their obligations under federal law (the ADA)”.  To date, 23 hotels have undergone review, 18 of which have resolved their issues through voluntary settlement agreements and 5 were resolved by consent decrees.  The hotels that were sued all had “significant barriers to accessibility, and were unresponsive to the Department’s effort to negotiate settlement agreements with them” (Disability Rights Online News).  Non-compliant hotels are required to upgrade or create fully accessible guest rooms to people with mobility, hearing, and sight impairments (Universal Designers and Consultants newsletter).