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

The New Zealand population is ageing, along with that of the rest of the world.  This fact is significant for the tourism, travel, and hospitality industry because disability increases with age.  And it is older people who already comprise our biggest domestic and international visitor groups.  Statistics New Zealand reports that at 30 June 2010, half the male population of New Zealand was over 35.5 years of age, and half of females were over 37.6 years of age. Over the last 10 years, the median age has increased by 2.0 years for males and 2.5 years for females.  The population aged 40-64 (all Baby Boomers and some leading edge GenX) increased in number by 1.5%, while those 65 or older increased by 3% between June 2009 and June 2010. Over the decade ended 30 June 2010, the population aged 15–39 years reduced from 36% to 34% of the population, while over the same period, those aged 40-64 increased by 1.5% to 32%, and those aged 65-79 grew at an average annual rate of 1.9%. In the 10 years ended June 2010, there was also an increase in the proportion of the population aged 80 years and over (80+), from 2.8% to 3.5%.

New Zealand needs to begin to seriously consider improving access in all walks of life – including in tourism, travel, and hospitality – if we are to manage the opportunities presented by the ageing of the population and the resulting changes in ability in our population and the populations of countries that are our major tourism markets.  We can only build a truely sustainable tourism sector by including access considerations.  Unlike our main rivals, we are as yet taking very few steps in this direction.

It is good to see that Prime Minister John Key has recognized the growing importance of older tourists to  New Zealand tourism.  Inside Tourism 798 reports that in a speech to the Motel Association of New Zealand (MANZ) conference recently, Key said that moteliers should not be surprised if their market becomes increasingly retired people. “They will travel around New Zealand as they will have more time on their hands and will want see the West Coast or whatever and you will get more of them as at the moment New Zealand has 535,000 over 65 and in 40 years it will have a million. We are aging fast.”  He said the average New Zealand male dies at 79 and the average female at 82. The average age of death rises 2.5 year ever decade and Mr Key said his son Max, now aged 15, will have the statistical probability of living to be 100. People will have more leisure time and will be fitter.

Given that the government’s own data shows that:

• the largest group of both domestic and international travellers in New Zealand are already 45 years old or older
• more visitors engage in sedentary activity while in New Zealand
• people experience increasing disability with age

then Access Tourism NZ  hopes that our government and industry will begin to take into consideration what the needs of older and more disabled visitors are.  We need to do this in older to make sure our tourism is sustainable and does not continue to lag behind our major competitors who are already tapping into this growing market.

Reprinted with permission from ADPN, Auckland, New Zealand newsletter, July 2010.

Early in 2010, with the help of some of our members, the Auckland Disability Providers Network (ADPN) made a written submission to the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) on the Regional Parks Plan. Vivian Naylor, Barrier Free Advisor and Educator (of CCS Disability Action) and I (Pam Antill, Executive Officer ADPN) also made a verbal presentation at a hearing and feel that changes are being made as a result of our efforts. Here is a quote from the feedback:  “As part of the deliberations, the sub-committee agreed on several amendments as a result of your submission, including the following new policy:  ‘Over the life of this plan undertake facility and service improvements (in accordance with the policies in Part 12 Infrastructure) at a range of beach and ilderness locations within regional parks to ensure that there is adequate shelter, toilet facilities, seating, disability parking spaces, firm surfaces from the disability car park space to the park entry and appropriately designed and maintained tracks to destinations such as viewing points and beaches; focusing in the first instance on destinations within the following coastal and wilderness locations: Arataki, Hunua Falls, Long Bay, Muriwai, Tapapakanga and Tawharanui.’…..”

Some Barrier Free audits have yet to be undertaken, but in time, it should be possible for everyone to enjoy access to at least some of the amazing wilderness that is part of our city. Interestingly, the submitters who followed us were from Shakespeare Regional Park, responsible for a new project run by a voluntary group called ‘SOSSI’. They are building a predator proof fence across the end of the peninsula and had just the previous week cut a new quick access path for convenience to a natural beauty viewing spot. On hearing our presentation,  they latched onto the idea of making this suitable for wheelchairs and other mobility vehicles. So! If nothing else, we may have influenced another group to make positive changes to their thinking.

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.

About 50 people attended a seminar on Access Tourism given in mid-May by Sandra Rhodda of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI)and Director of Access Tourism New Zealand.  The seminar was held at Auckland University of Technology.  (AUT).    Audience members included tourism operators, business people, academics, and individuals from local councils, Qualmark, a government member, and people from a variety of NGOs.   Rhodda gave a summary of why New Zealand needs to develop an Access Tourism sector, mainly from the perspective of the economic imperative to do so.  She also gave examples of developments in Access Tourism in the rest of the world, pointed out how New Zealand is lagging in this area, and discussed the kinds of research that New Zealand needs to do to get such an industry sector going.  To see the presentation, go here. 

The seminar was a prelude to the up and coming one day conference on Access Tourism - also to be run by NZTRI/AUT at the central Auckland campus – on October 4th.  The conference will look at various aspects of Access Tourism, including some of the following: the current situation NZ and worldwide, website access and information best practice, government strategy, policy, and obligations, best practice in transport , accommodation, and attractions access, legal aspects, and quality rating for Access Tourism products in New Zealand.  It will also include brainstorming sessions on strategies for advancing the development of Access Tourism in New Zealand and developing collaboration as a tool to advance that development. These topics are based on those most popularly picked from a list of possible topics in an online survey. Registration and programme details will be available shortly on this website and on the NZTRI website.

Guest blog, continuing on from 22 June

I spoke in the last blog about the fact that the more research we have done, the more comfortable we feel about our business idea and whether it’s a go-er. We plan to look at all the facts and figures at the end of June and then, take a deep breathe, and decide whether we ‘go for it’ or not.  I tell you one of the things we have been a bit blown away about has been the people involved in this part of the business community. Two main comments here really.  Firstly, every single person we have spoken to or contacted to ask for assistance, advice or information has fallen over themselves to be helpful. Does this sector attract a certain type of person? A repeated comment that comes back is along the lines of ‘yes, please start this business, there is plenty of opportunity”.  Existing operators have had to deal with the fact that whilst they operate their business well, there are such gaps in other areas (the stories I have heard about accommodation that really is accessible ……) that they are thankful to have others starting to consider if they can provide extra service or plug some of the gaps. Can you name another sector where existing operators open up and tell you what they know because they are keen to help you get started???   Secondly, the same names come up time and time again. It’s a small, almost intimate sector where, in the words of the Cheers show, ‘everyone knows your name’.  Hopefully for our next blog, we will be able to share with you some of our findings from our survey – until then!

October 4 2010 has been set as the date for the first ever conference in New Zealand on Access Tourism.  The conference will look at various aspects of Access Tourism, including some of the following: the current situation in NZ and worldwide, website access and information best practice, government strategy, policy, and obligations, best practice in transport , accommodation, and attractions access,  training for access in the tourism and hospitality sector, legal aspects, and quality rating for Access Tourism products in New Zealand.   It will also include brainstorming sessions on strategies for advancing the development of Access Tourism in New Zealand and developing collaboration as a tool to advance that development.  These topics are based on those most popularly picked from a list of possible topics in an online survey.   The conference is being run by the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology, and will be a no frills sustainable event.  For more information, contact sandrarhodda at hotmail.com.

Guest Post from Bruce Mumford.

The great thing about New Zealand is that there is a great diversity of things to do and see for people of all levels of ability.  Like anywhere else, there are still places in New Zealand that either cater poorly for those needing good access, or which don’t even bother trying.  At one place I was sat in front of a video because seeing the real thing would have been too difficult.  I had an exciting time trying to get down a moss-covered path into a glow-worm cave (run by a very big tour company) that had a walkway that was only about 3 feet lower than the cave roof over a raging stream.  Tricky on crutches!  I gave up after one punt in the dark was followed by more steps, more steps, more walkways, and another punt.  As there was no wheelchair available, I had to get a “fireman’s chair” all the way back to the wharf.  It didn’t surprise me much that the same company had no access on a lake cruise they ran.  They had a wheelchair, but it was at the destination on the other side of the lake.

However, many tours made an effort and I liked the attitude of staff on a “Kings swim with the Dolphins” cruise we did in the Bay of Islands.  “You tell us how you want us to help”.  That works.  A good number of tourist attractions were very well set up for disabled visitors, and a number provided me with great help.  At “The Buried (by a volcano) Village” in Rotorua, not only did they have a wheelchair available, but the site was mostly accessible with a great indoor display and easy paths around the site.  While the rest of the family went to explore inside the excavated huts and down to the waterfall, I was able to read the information on plaques (conveniently placed at wheelchair height) and to trundle around the scenic walkway on the edge of the escarpment.  The Albatross Centre outside of Dunedin even had an electric scooter available allowing me to take the steep, but spectacular scenic path up to the viewing hide.  We did a small bus tour to Milford Sound with “Trips n Tramps”, which wasn’t expensive, but was very well organized for me, with wheelchairs waiting whenever I needed one.  Even though I decided kayaking wasn’t for me at Okarito, the owner kindly drove me for a tour of the old gold-mining town, while the family kayaked across the lagoon to see nesting white heron.

Accommodation was variable, but best when I had booked it myself, contacting the managers months before on the internet.  The internet is a great tool for the disabled traveler and I found New Zealanders very helpful here too: all of my queries were answered and often if a place could not take a booking, they would refer you on to someone else who could.  When emailing Europe, I was used to about a 60 per cent reply rate.  In New Zealand, it was more like a 100 per cent.  By all means try to avoid any places with “lodge”, “manor”, or “resort” at the end of their names, as in my experience, this just means vastly inflated prices with very little or no help for the disabled traveller!  Some “accessible” places the travel agent had booked for me had plenty of room inside, but getting through the door was impossible in a wheelchair because of the step!  But many places we stayed in were great and not at all expensive.  A proportion of all motels in New Zealand are now required by law to be accessible.  One bathroom even had a mirror at wheelchair height – most access designers forget this one!  In short, I found the size and price of tours, attractions, motels, or companies was rarely proportional to the access provided or the help given to the disabled tourist.  In fact it was usually the reverse.

(Bruce is an Australian who was diagnosed with MS 20 years ago.  Formerly a Drama, History, and English teacher, he has travelled in a wheelchair to many countries, and is involved with his local council access committee.   Post reprinted in part and with some adaptations with the author’s permission from Paraquad News.)

Hold on to your hat, we are off to a conference!!

Want input into an Access Tourism Conference being planned for Auckland, NZ in October?  Go here to have your say.  Even if you don’t plan to attend, you can still give us valuable input.  So far, we have had 62 responses.  This form will only run a few more days so do it now!  Thanks, ATNZ.

Guest article by Veroniek Maat, Intern, NZ Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, and Masters Student, Leisure, Tourism, and Environment, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Regional festivals, art and culture exhibitions, food tasting events, and markets are planned in anticipation of the Rugby World Cup 2011 to be held in New Zealand.  During the six week event, locals and visitors will be keen to explore more of New Zealand, enabling the regions to showcase their industries, people, arts and culture.  As the regions get ready to host overseas tourists and Kiwis, events have been listed on the Festival Programme 2011, an official RWC2011 site. Welcoming visitors means welcoming all ranges of potential visitors, including children, youngsters, adults, seniors, men, women, foreigners, locals – and people with disabilities. 

The events presently listed on the Festival Program give very little or no information about access, whether access for visitors with a visual, hearing or mobility impairment. Parts of this  website are still under construction but few of the events listed at the time of writing have taken into account  visits from the disabled. Outdoor events such as festivals and markets state nothing about disabled parking lots, paved paths, ramps, Braille trails, or audio tours. Regrettably, out of the 49 events listed, only one of the theater performance group shows engagement with less mobile visitors by describing on their website ease of access to their shows.  

The museums and galleries of New Zealand will also open their doors for RWC tourists. The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington has included visitors with a disability in their strategy. Disabled parking, adapted guided tours, education programs, wheelchairs, a scooter, audio guides, captions on videos and hearing loops are provided in this venue and people with disabilities will feel welcomed. Govett Brewster Art Gallery is also pro-active in welcoming disabled guests.  It was actively involved with New Plymouths District Council’s Disability Strategy, offered its first Sign Language-interpreted exhibition tour during the Sign Language Awareness Week in 2009, and altered the size of text on wall labels. Besides providing access for the visually impaired, mobility- impaired visitors are encouraged to visit, knowing the galleries’ space lends itself for wheelchair access and wheelchairs are for hire (website). Extensive search for disabled access at other significant museums and galleries throughout New Zealand shows that their websites lack access information about their premises. If New Zealand event producers, museum, and galleries want to offer an “unforgettable RWC experience”to all visitors, they will need to catch up with the access strategies of Te Papa Tongarewa and Govett Brewster Art Gallery.  They should invest in accessible experiences and information provision for people with disabilities because lack of attention for the fastest-growing, largest-spending segment of Baby Boomers (who will have more disability with age), seniors and people with a disability will result in loss of revenues and decline of New Zealand’s destination image.

Access Tourism NZ is pleased that efforts in Auckland around access for people with disabilities (PwDs) and Rugby World Cup 2011 are continuing.  We first noted on this website last month that Auckland is leading the way when it comes to this topic.  Now the latest Auckland’s Rugby World Cup 2011 Newsletter (May 2010) lists a discussion of disabilities and RWC as one of six newsworthy items.  The newsletter is aimed at tourism businesses and in the article – titled “Don’t miss out on a big part of your audience” – operators are given compelling reasons for catering for PwDs. 

Minnie Baragwanath, Auckland City Council’s disability programme advisor, says in the article “The Disability Resource Centre has been doing a lot of work looking at the facilities at the key venues and we’ve received a really positive response. People are keen to know what they can do to help.”  One of the first initiatives Minnie’s team is tackling is having mobility scooters available to visitors to the city.  Then she plans to study access implemented at other world-class events.  “Nick Morris from Melbourne is helping us put together an action plan of what we want to achieve. Nick’s worked on accessibility planning at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, so he’ll be a great source of ideas.”

The next step is to communicate to businesses about what they can do to ensure people with a disability can access their business.  “It might be something as simple as whether a disabled person can actually get into your shop.”  To aid in this, an Event Ready kit for businesses – which will be available early next year – will include information on how to improve access.

Guest article by Bill Forrester, Travability

The Wellington Cable Car is well equipped for people with disabilities visiting the top station and they even have an electric scooter available. The cable car’s own web site, however, has no information of accessibility at all. This is a common practice and I think is at the heart of the inclusive tourism debate. The facilities are built because compliance is still the key issue. While the government of New Zealand is clearly taking accessibility seriously in requiring built infrastructure to comply, the  operators are still not seeing any value in the market and are not promoting the fact that the facilities exists. An added issue could well be that they are afraid of the market.

(A description of access to the Wellington Cable Car by Bill Forrester can be found on Travability, along with other information about Access Travel for people with disabilities -  Admin ATNZ).

Guest Post:  Continuing on from April 16, 26, and May 13………….

One of the interesting things we had to get our heads around was our own assumptions and thinking about the disability sector. I am personally desperate to avoid offending someone by the words I use or the assumptions I make about what the disability sector (can I call it that???) wants or needs. It’s very easy to have it creep into your business planning “surely they won’t want to do that activity” but in reality, if I asked them they might respond and say “of course I want to, why shouldn’t I?” It’s like dealing with a foreign culture and not knowing the subtle rules. We have been thinking around this question of how to find the information we need to help us with the planning of our business proposal and we have decided to go to the “horses’ mouth” via a survey. More on this soon.  Another thing we discussed was why we were thinking purely in terms of the international visitor market for customers; why not consider the domestic visitor market? Much to think about.

 At the beginning of this week, tourism operators in New Zealand received an email from the New Zealand Tourism Guide (NZTG) about updates to the site.  The updates are centred around Rugby World Cup, a major sporting event to be held here in 2011.  NZTG is part of the Yellow Pages Group.  Information for people with disabilities is scattered on the site.  For example, there is a page headed People with Special Needs (an unfortunate use of language) which claims that “most facilities have wheelchair access, but it is wise to check when booking” (see yesterday’s guest post for a discussion of this statement).  Another page – titled Accessible Accommodation – states that

 “For travellers with visual impairment, it is important to check whether accommodations welcome your guide dog………..”

This is unfortunate.  Under NZ legislation, guide dogs, guide dogs in training, guide dog puppies and breeding stock are legally protected from discrimination by three Acts: The Human Rights Act 1993, Dog Control Act 1996, and Transport Services Licensing Act 1989.  This legislation entitles guide dogs to go into any public place and on any public vehicle including: motels, hotels, restaurants, shops, beaches, cinemas, hotels, buses ferries, domestic and international flights, ships, taxis, trains, and so on.

Because denying access to a person with a guide dog is considered a serious offence under NZ law, it is incorrect to tell our potential visitors that they should check if accommodations welcome guide dogs.   NZ has already had stories that have gone viral about visitors forced out by accommodation providers because they had guide dogs.  Hopefully, no further such stories will arise from similar experiences by our visitors.  It would be well if NZTG changed this statement to better reflect the legal obligations of accommodation providers.

Guest article by Veroniek Maat, Intern, NZ Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, and Masters Student, Leisure, Tourism, and Environment, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

The New Zealand Tourism Guide (NZTG) is “one of the top commercial tourism directory websites in New Zealand” providing comprehensive information for tour operators and tourists. This week, an updated NZTG was launched in anticipation of Rugby World Cup , a major event occurring in NZ in 2011.  A paragraph about accessible accommodation for People with Disabilities (PwDs)  – slightly altered from previous versions – can be found after extensive key word search.

The NZTG makes a distinction between ‘accessible’ accommodations and ‘disabled’ accommodations, although it is not clear why this is done.   Visitors to the site are told that they can expect some, if not all, of a list of accessible facilities at accommodations, but “before booking your accommodation, you should always confirm with your hosts that adequate provision is available”.   This is unfortunate because research done into access for PwDs at accommodations in NZ shows that many operators think their premises are accessible when they are not.   Therefore, potential guests willing to reserve at accommodations which claim they are accessible cannot assume accessible facilities are present just because they are claimed to be.  

A link to “View all listings for accessible accommodations” leads potential guests to a list which is organized in alphabetic order and contains around two hundred accommodations. Unfortunately, none of the accommodations emphasize accessibility, and an in-depth search of the websites of the first ten “accessible” accommodations listed shows that they have little or absolutely no information about access for PwDs.  Regrettably, it is can be concluded that the list of “accessible” accommodations given on the NZTG website could be misleading to potential visitors with disabilities.  By providing such information, NZTG made a step in the right direction, but it needs to examine content and not rely just on operator self-assessment of access.  After all, by listing such providers (who may or may not be accessible to PwDs), NZTG seems to be endorsing that such accommodations are in fact accessible.

Guest Post:  Continuing on from April 16 and 26………….

 Still on the research trail – still trying to understand the relationships between bits of information that we can find which might help us understand the way the disability sector and the tourism sector overlap in NZ.  I should point out the obvious and that is that neither the tourism sector nor the accessibility sector is familiar to Kirk or me. We currently operate a small business but in a completely different sector. So at this stage we are accumulating a lot of information on things like disability friendly accommodation, transport options or focused tours offered but it’s quite fragmented. When we do  find it, the websites are either very sparse, as old as the hills with no current content and links that were usable, or purely focused on one geographic area of the country only.  I was quite surprised that the government sources on visitor arrivals etc were completely unable to provide any facts on the number of international tourist arriving with special needs – which is going to make it hard to do some serious planning for our proposed business – we won’t know actual numbers, where they are traveling from or why they are visiting NZ. We will have to use our imagination to find substitutes as an indicator of market size or need, instead of quantifiable facts from a reputable source. But don’t fear!! We have a cunning plan!!     Talking to people has proved a little bit more valuable at this stage – it’s been lovely how willing people are to see our project develop and all agree that there is some real gaps in the tourism market place in providing services to disabled travelers.

In 2011, New Zealand will host the Rugby World Cup (RWC2011).  In anticipation of this event, Tourism Auckland has run a series of “Visitor Ready Workshops”.  The workshops were a regional RWC2011 initiative funded by the councils of the region.  In a first for New Zealand, the sessions include one on access for people with disabilities.  Given by Auckland City Council Disability Advisor Minnie Baragwanath, the session can be viewed here on webcasts.  The workshop aimed to help Auckland tourism providers better understand the business opportunity and challenge of the often invisible disabilities market.  Minnie also manages the RWC2011 access work-stream.

The following is guest blog from Hilary Rayner, Muscular Dystrophy Association of New Zealand Inc.

There are currently no web sites or information portals that you can use in New Zealand or anywhere else in the world that will give you accurate information about accessible accommodation. Often our members are given information about hotel accommodation that is not correct. Having an accessible bathroom but three steps to access the room in the first place is no good. What we require are some basic standards that rooms are marked by, we do not expect all rooms to have hoists and beds that are a certain height from the floor. But as a basic minimum the rooms should be wheelchair accessible and all bathrooms should be accessible for wheelchair users including the showers. How difficult can it be to develop a basic standard for building / remodelling rooms.  There are now toilets that are a standard height for disabled users so why are these not being used?  Does it have anything to do with lack of knowledge or cutting corners?

In relation to airlines they should have a better way of dealing with people that use automatic wheelchairs with tilts etc. It is not acceptable that these travellers have to be removed from their adapted chairs for at least an hour before their flight and plonked into a manual chair which is uncomfortable, ill fitting and not supportive. It is humiliating when for an hour your head and body are not supported and you need to be held back into your chair by another human being! Education of these services and policies that improve travel is essential and a basic human right!

We have to do better.  We are not asking for the world just asking for the same standard as everyone else!

Guest Post:  Continuing on from April 16^th………………….

Hi there, well we have done a lot in the first couple of weeks of developing our business idea – a small tourism-based business focused on travelers with sensory or physical disabilities. Because we are thinking about this sector now we see people facing with challenges everywhere – working in town, at the supermarket, going about their lives. It’s a bit like when you buy a white car and suddenly everyone has a white car but you had never noticed.  I’m also surprised by the comments of some of the people in my immediate circle – everyone knows someone who has a physical disability.   In conversations we all talk about how hard it must be to get around or do things but its not reflected in our street design, our language, or our thinking.  Why is that?   Someone made the comment to me that it’s like a subculture living under the eye of a dominant society who can all get around easily with no limitations.

Business-wise we have hit the internet search engines and started reading what’s coming up – there is not a hell of a lot out there that is NZ specific.  My first impression is that NZ is not as advanced in this area as the rest of the world. There seem to be a couple of names only that pop up in the NZ context (Sandra Rhodda with her West Coast research is the main one).  But we have seen some very advanced websites from overseas companies and organisations.

Over the next few months, we will follow the progress of an Auckland couple who are thinking of setting up an Access Tourism business.  Gill and Kirk will tell their story, beginning today with installment 1 (Admin, ATNZ).

Well, here we go, exploring the idea of starting an Access Tourism business for people with disabilities. Firstly, let’s introduce ourselves – our names are Gill and Kirk, we’re Auckland based and we have had the bright idea of developing a small tourism based business which caters specifically for people with sensory or physical disabilities.

This is our little ‘blog within a blog’ letting you know about our progress starting our business and the challenges and opportunities we discover along the way. So far we only have a rough idea in our minds about a future business opportunity but we have enough business experience to realize that we need to approach this professionally and get all our facts together before we come to a decision point about whether our business idea is a ‘go’ or ‘no go’ – it all feels very exciting and full of promise!