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

At a UN ESCAP meeting held in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (APCD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security Thailand (MSDHS), Air Asia achieved a first by being represented at a regional conference on facilitating accessibility for people with disabilities (PwDs).  Imtiaz Muqbil, executive editor of Travel Impact Newswire reports that with an estimated 400 million PwDs in Asia Pacific, half of whom women, and 58 million in the ASEAN countries, the market opportunity is clear. As most PwDs also travel along with a care-giver, the prospective revenue stream doubles.  The objective of the meeting was to assess progress made by countries in implementing the projects and programmes under the second UN Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012 and to look into the prospects of initiating a Third Decade.  The result was an “inclusive” policy that seeks to boost the human capital development of staff as well as enhance the services and facilities offered to passengers. The airline also decided to “champion the cause of guests with reduced mobility with government authorities, airport management, ministries, etc.”  Kenneth Chan, chief for guest services at Air Asia said that the airline “engages in constant dialogues with organisations representing people with reduced mobility to gauge travel needs and requirements – these may change with the course of time, and we have to be very up to date to render the best services.”  Nanda Krairiksh, director for social development of ESCAP, hailed the contribution of key innovators from the private sector who had been invited to offer their expertise and share their experiences.  “Viewing persons with disabilities as contributors to our region’s economic dynamism as entrepreneurs, employees or an emerging market segment not only helps to change outmoded stereotypes that we are all fighting against but also enhances everyone’s prospects for prosperity,” she said.

As the Asian and Pacific region struggles to sustain its dynamism in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the estimated 400 million disabled persons living in the region are emerging as a force for change, including for their still mostly untapped consumer power.   The potential for the business sector to embrace the rights and concerns of persons with disabilities was a key focus of a regional meeting on South-to-South Cooperation on Disability held on 19 and 20 August at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).  Over 60 participants, including senior officials from 10 ASEAN countries, representatives of the business sector and disabled people’s organizations explored ways in which business development plans and employment practices could become more inclusive, recognizing that persons with disabilities are generally an untapped consumer market.

The Meeting was organized by ESCAP and the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (APCD), in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
It reviewed the implementation of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action — a regional plan for a barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities, in particular concerning community-based inclusive development. It discussed the feasibility of an ASEAN mechanism to facilitate the movement of persons with disabilities. “We are focusing on the ASEAN subregion to develop a mechanism to enhance legislation and policies related to equal opportunities and inclusive development for persons with disabilities”, commented Tanin Kraivixien, President, APDC Foundation. He continued: “But this Meeting is epoch-making since the business sector has also been invited to promote socially inclusive business development”.

UNESCAP press release 20 August 2010

If you haven’t seen much yet about “age friendly” communities, you will. Starting next year, in the USA alone 10,000 Baby Boomers a day will turn 65. The cumulative impact of an aging society has moved — slowly, to be sure — into the mainstream. So writes Philip Moeller in US News. Older residents say that there are a number of things that would make their community more age friendly: housing that better accommodates older occupants and visitors; public and volunteered transportation that provides affordable, physically accessible, safe. and flexible service; downtown areas and, especially in the suburbs, gathering places that are pedestrian friendly and don’t require a car to reach; retailers who “get it” about legible store signage, senior sensitivity in product selections, and accessible store layouts. 

Why bother? According to the World Health Organization:

• In 2000, the global population of people aged 60 and over was 600 million; by 2025 there will be 1.2 billion and, by 2050, almost 2 billion.
• The proportion of the global population aged 60 will double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050.
• Older people play a crucial role in communities – in paid or volunteering work, transmitting experience and knowledge, or helping their families with caring responsibilities. These contributions can only be ensured if older persons enjoy good health and if societies address their needs.
• Making cities age-friendly is one of the most effective policy approaches for responding to demographic ageing.

The WHO has set up an Age-Friendly Environments Programme which is an international effort to address the environmental and social factors that contribute to active and healthy ageing in societies.  Since cities have the economic and social resources to undertake the necessary changes to become more age-friendly and are in the position to lead the way for smaller communities, most of WHO’s initial work in this area has focussed on the urban environment. Cities wishing to become more age-friendly can take part of the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities©.

In addition, the European Commission has recently launched an “Access City Award to highlight the European cities that are taking the most effective and innovative action to improve their accessibility for disabled citizens (read more here).

A new study by a Masters student at Leeds Metropolitan University will look at the travel needs of people with mobility disabilities.  Carlos Buj is working under the supervision of Dr Simon Woodward at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT).  ICRT work focuses on the principles of the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, in order to harness tourism to make “better places for people to live in and for people to visit.”  ICRT has since 1997 worked with governments, tour operators and accommodation providers to realise the aspirations of the Responsible Tourism Movement. 

The study will include a survey which will review the specific needs of travellers using a wheelchair or other mobility aids or those who simply experience some form of mobility limitation. Carlos hopes that people with these disabilities, or a person they often travel with, will provide information about mobility problems experienced when travelling. The survey is completely anonymous, and people can provide their email address if they are happy for Carlos to send follow-up questions or to send a  copy of the final report.  For further information, you can contact Carlos at correoacarlos@gmail.com

Lilian Müller is currently President of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) and Managing Director of Tourism for All Sweden. She has worked in the field of accessible tourism since 1995, and was one of the initiators behind Tourism for All in Sweden.  She has been instrumental in building up services like the Swedish accessibility database EQUALITY, providing accessibility counselling for the tourism sector, produced training material and holding training courses for staff in tourism companies, and training accessibility auditors.  In an interview with the Design For All Foundation, Müller describes how tourism for all is not about designing and creating solutions and products just for people with disabilities, but is about making sure that these products fit the widest possible number of customers.   ENAT, which was established in 2006 with a grant from the European Union, partners and/or supports many projects around Europe such as CETA (Competitiveness for European Tourism for All).  ENAT also established ETCAATS (European Training Certificate – Access for All in the Tourism Sector), an online training course in Tourism for All, and a ‘road map’ for an EU certification system in the area of accessible tourism vocational training.   Müller describes how Access Tourism is becoming better known in Europe as a concept with the potential to increase visitor numbers.  Access Tourists are attractive because many are willing to spend more money in the low season and they are more loyal to destinations than the average tourist.  She points out that with an ageing population likely to experience increasing disability over time, no tourism operation can afford to ignore improving access.

Photo Courtesy National Sports Centre for the Disabled

Christchurch New Zealand is to host the 18^th International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA2011) in July 2011.  The International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA) holds these symposia every two years.  IFAPA is a cross-disciplinary professional organisation of individuals, institutions, and agencies concerned with promotion and dissemination of knowledge and information about adapted physical activity. The International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity is a vehicle to raise local awareness and provide an outstanding setting for local professionals to interact with world leaders and international colleagues in adapted physical activity. ISAPA 2011 will give New Zealand the opportunity to make an international contribution to adapted physical activity. Participants at ISAPA include practitioners, researchers, scholars, pedagogues, scientists, teachers and students in a broad spectrum of fields. Fields include regular and adapted physical education, community and therapeutic recreation, dance and creative arts, sport training and competition, leisure education, psychomotor therapy, kinesiology, medicine, nutrition, rehabilitation, special education, occupational and physical therapy, and many other areas.

The European Commission’s “Access City Award”, the first European Award for Accessible Cities, has now been launched. This annual award aims to highlight the European cities that are taking the most effective and innovative action to improve their accessibility for disabled citizens.  The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) reports that the award will celebrate and showcase the most successful initiatives that allow people with disabilities to participate fully in society. Accessibility is not difficult to implement, this is the initiative’s key message.  Approximately 80 million Europeans have disabilities. 16% of them are of working age, whilst almost 70% are over 60. As disability is so closely linked to ageing, it is likely to affect everyone at some point in their life. Accessibility is therefore a key element of the European Union’s disability policy.  The EU regards accessibility for all of its citizens to public buildings, transportation, information and communications to be essential in order to ensure sustainable economic and social benefits in the long term.  In addition, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility will remain at the core of the new EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (ENAT).

A two-day international seminar on marketing Access Tourism, and Access Tourism development will be held in Hyvärilä, Nurmes, Finland on the 15th and 16^th September.  The seminar will concentrate on providing information about accessible tourism businesses to  consumers, and the use of classifications and standards as a solution to information transfer challenges will be discussed.  The programme includes a tour of North Karelian resorts which have invested in accessible tourism services, including the Lieksan Matkakaverit resort in Ruunaa, Lieksa and the gorgeous Neitikoski rapids and to the Erä-Eero wild animal observation hut in the Lieksa wilderness. Park Superintendent Kyösti Tuhkalainen will accompany the group in Ruunaa and demonstrate accessible solutions of Metsähallitus.

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.)

A European Award for Accessible Cities has been launched by the European Commission.  The award aims to promote accessibility for people with disabilities in four areas:

• the built environment and public spaces,
• transport and related infrastructures,
• information and communication, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and
• public facilities and services.

The four finalists of the European competition will be invited to attend the award ceremony that will take place in Brussels on 2 and 3 December 2010 at the European Day of People with Disabilities conference. The winner of the European competition will receive the ‘European Award for Accessible Cities 2011′ and will feature prominently in activities to promote accessibility at European level during 2011.  In addition, a special ‘European Champion for Accessible Cities’ award will be made to recognise the work of a network of cities or initiatives.

Accessibility is a broad concept that addresses the removal and prevention of barriers that cause problems for persons with disabilities in using products, services and infrastructures on equal terms as those without disabilities.  Accessibility to the built infrastructure, transport, services and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is essential for people with disabilities to be able to exercise their rights and participate fully in society. This includes the right to education, to engage in work, citizens rights related to voting, access to documents, and freedom of movement as well as access to leisure and cultural facilities (libraries, museums, theatres, cultural centres, concert halls, hotels, restaurants, etc.) Accessibility is also a fundamental part of the social sustainability of the urban environment.

More information about the awards will be made available shortly on the European Commission’s website.

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.

This article from the Rolling Rains Report. 

All wheelchair users travelling through the ACSA Terminals of O.R. Tambo International, King Shaka International and Cape Town International airports during the 2010 World Cup will be greeted with a gift of a wheelchair repair toolkit and the Rolling Inspiration magazine.  Rolling Inspiration is Africa’s glossy, lifestyle magazine for people with mobility impairments.

The QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA), Rolling Inspiration magazine and CE Mobility have joined forces to provide this surprise package in order to keep wheelchair users mobile during the tournament. The football fans’ wheelchairs, which may not be used to the pace of life in South Africa, will probably require some small maintenance or adjustment as a result of whizzing around the country to support their favourite soccer team.

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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.

The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) reports that a two-day congress fully dedicated to Access Tourism and its prospects for the future will examine in June  “Development of Tourism for All – Promotional Strategies and Good Practices in the Offer” at the congress hall of the Ferrero Foundation.

The congress is addressed to all those (from tour operators to the specialized journalist) who are interested in tourism for people with disabilities. The goal of this event is to characterize strategies that can leverage off  of the potential demand of over 50 million people in Europe who have disabilities by providing Access Tourism products.  Also examined will be examples of effective transformations and the work of organisations and institutions in different European regions.

The congress is jointly organised by the Association CPD (within the project Turismabile), the Association Sportabili Alba, the IsITT – Italian Institute for Tourism for All, with the support of the Regione Piemonte and of the Ministero del Turismo. Minister Michela Vittoria Brambilla will attend.  Speakers will include representatives of the United Nations, the UN World Tourism Organisation, The European Disability Forum, ENAT, Fundación ONCE, and many other significant tourism businesses and organisations.  The conclusions will be delivered by Giovanni Ferrero (Director of the Council of People with Difficulties Onlus), and the representatives of ENAT to the Ministry of Tourism and the UNWTO.

Cape Town is making sure that hotels, stadia, transport, and transport hubs in the city are fully accessible to people with disabilities (PwDs), not only for the FIFA World Cup, but for decades to come.  Cape Town Tourism chief executive Mariette du Toit-Helmbold says that “ World Cup has provided us with the perfect opportunity to ensure that our city is accessible to disabled visitors. Extensive efforts have been made to ensure disabled visitors can access not only World Cup stadiums, but also public transport, hotels and other facilities. I believe disabled visitors will see for themselves that Cape Town has left no stone unturned in its quest to make the city accessible to them and Cape Town Tourism wishes them a thoroughly enjoyable stay in the Mother City. “

Read on……………………….

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The CETA (Competitiveness for European Tourism for All) conference kicks off in Falsterbo, Sweden in just over a month (May 27-29).  The conference aims to inform tourism enterprises (especially those small and medium-sized) about innovative as well as tried-and-tested methods for making tourism businesses accessible to people with disabilities.  It will also look at sustainability and competitiveness.  The conference is organised by Tourism for All Sweden and is supported by a number of organisations, including the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) and the University of Surrey.

Speakers will include representatives of the European Union and Swedish Enterprise Ministry, members of the CETA consortium, ENAT, academics, and business and destination managers. Topics will include accessibility in Swedish tourism policy, business and access tourism, accessibility indices and labelling, tourism sector access training, and a discussion of the CETA Information Toolkit for small and medium-sized tourism enterprises.

The EU has approved a declaration which includes Access Tourism.  So reports the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).  The Madrid Declaration – which makes recommendations to the European Commission to implement a first-ever European tourism policy –  includes the following:

“With a view to the “Communication on the renewed EU Tourism Policy Framework”, which the Commission is to present before the EU Council, the Tourism Ministers meeting in Madrid wish to invite the Commission to take into consideration the pertinence of:

(3)  Facilitating the access to holidays to groups with impaired mobility or those who are socially and/or economically disadvantaged, promoting as the same time a better and more prolonged use of tourist infrastructures, the maintenance of tourist activity in the regions for longer periods, and a strengthening of the feeling of European citizenship”.

Vice-president of the Commission and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, and Spanish Industry, Tourism, and Trade Minister Miguel Sebastian agreed that the Declaration is a first step to the commitment of the EU to socially responsible tourism, that tourism should be an asset that all citizens – including those with physical disabilities – can enjoy, and recognized the potential role of ageing citizens to maintaining tourism in the low season.

Scott Rains, Access Tourism hero, is featured in this month’s Universal Design Newsletter. In an article subtitled “Building the Case for Inclusive Tourism” (Access Tourism), Lindsey Scherloum describes how Rains, founder of the Rolling Rains Report, has brought together people in the field from across the world, and how he has been  a key player in developing Access Tourism nationally and internationally.  For the full article, read on…………………..

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The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will at its sixty-sixth session in Incheon, Republic of Korea (13-19 May 2010) review progress in the implementation of commission resolutions, including resolutions relating to social development.  This will include a review of Resolution 58/4, “Promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century”.  This resolution arose out of a congress held in Takayama, Japan in November 2009, at which Access Tourism New Zealand gave a presentation.  The ESCAP Takayama Congress on the Creation of an Inclusive and Accessible Community in Asia and the Pacific and its outcome document serves as a guide for promoting accessible tourism as an effective means to build inclusive communities in which all people, including persons with different types of impairments, older persons, families with infants and persons with diverse linguistic backgrounds, can participate equally in all aspects of community life, including the enjoyment of recreational and cultural activities. The Declaration also underscored the importance of the involvement of the private sector for the development of inclusive communities.

Accessible Portugal and the Municipal Chamber of Lousa have together won the European Commission European Enterprise Award (EEA) with their project, ‘Internationalization of Lousã, Accessible Tourist Destination’, under the category ‘Supporting the Internationalization of Business’.

Accessible Portugal is a tourism company specialising in tourism and travel for people with disabilities. The EEA recognizes and rewards outstanding regional entrepreneur initiatives and partnerships between businesses such as this and local administrations. The project will now represent Portugal in the European Competition, and winners will be announced May 31 during the EC ‘European SME Week 2010’.