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

At a time when New Zealand is focused on recreating the built environment of ita second-largest city (Christchurch), a new enterprise has launched with two significant and potentially contributory new initiatives: New Zealand’s first nationwide accessibility programme, Be. Accessible, and the first nationwide disability leadership programme of its kind, Be. Leadership.

At its launch event at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Be. Institute formally presented the two programmes and outlined the vision for what the institute, through its initiatives and partnerships, can do to foster accessibility and enable a 100% accessible society for all New Zealanders.

The mission is social change: to improve the accessibility of the physical environment, enable better access to information, promote the inclusion and leadership of disabled people in employment and the community, and change social attitudes and behaviours.

In many respects, the timing of the launch is optimal. One Be. Institute project, the Be. Test Match, will be rolled out through the Be. Accreditation programme (part of Be. Accessible) to the 12 New Zealand cities hosting Rugby World Cup 2011.

In the first phase, the Be. Assessors will visit key locations in each of the 12 cities and assess stadia, fan zones, i-SITES and other relevant locations such as hotels.

However, the organization’s aims for its programmes reach beyond this sporting event. By the end of May 2011, Be. Accessible will have trained 40 Be. Assessors, who will be equipped with the tools and know-how to perform holistic assessments of the aforementioned sites, and thousands of others over time.

They will be able to cover the whole accessibility journey, asking questions like: how accessible is the organisation’s website,  what is the level of customer service, how accessible is the building entrance, interior and products, and are the business / organisation’s marketing materials accessible to all people?  Any business can book an accessibility assessment from a Be. Assessor and learn how they can change their practices or structure to make their organization more accessible.

The Be. Institute was founded through a partnership between the Auckland Council, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Auckland District Health Board.  Be. Institute is led by chief executive Minnie Baragwanath, who before founding Be. Institute worked for 10 years in the disability sector, advising to the former Auckland City Council.

 Members of the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), including Governments of countries in the Pacific region, as well as development organizations, non-governmental and civil society organizations and human rights institutions in the region attended the Second Pacific Regional Conference on Disability. The Conference was held from 4 to 7 April in Auckland, New Zealand, under the theme “Promoting Actions on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the Pacific Region”. The outcome document included a list of recommendations to all stakeholders to take significant and tangible steps to further implement the Convention and empower persons with disabilities and their organizations. Members of the Pacific Disability Forum called on all Pacific island Governments and development partners to recognize (amongst other things)  the rights of persons with disabilities in recreational, leisure and sporting activities as mandated in Article 30.5 of the CRPD.

Recently, PLATMA (Affiliate Members of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation) met with and interviewed Ivor Ambrose of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).  Ambrose outlined to PLATMA the growing importance of accessible tourism for people with disabilities.  This is a constantly growing market, estimated to represent around 130 million people in Europe alone with annual potential spending of around 68 billion Euros. These figures cannot be ignored by the tourism industry, since the lack of adequate facilities for disabled travellers means that many people cannot travel and this can have a huge negative impact on businesses and communities.  Ambrose discussed how to meet the needs of the access market:

• Information for customers, (on-line, printed and at the venue) should be accessible, e.g. Web sites conforming to Accessibility Guidelines by W3C-WAI.
• Transport and transfers must be accessible for all travellers throughout the journey; this should include the provision of wheelchair accessible transport.
• Infrastructure – all buildings and outdoor environments should be designed and maintained in a way that makes them accessible and usable by all visitors.
• Services – including activities and excursions offered at destinations and venues, should be accessible; e.g. tourist guides, waiter service, cultural tours, festivals and events, also very important -emergency evacuation procedures.

Ambrose further pointed out that the ageing population demographic in developed economies has drawn attention to the growing market of older tourists. This market segment typically spends more than average and also includes a higher number of persons with impairments or health conditions, which need to be considered by tourism providers.   Major sporting events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games have obliged host countries to improve accessibility for tourists. Social Tourism has also played a role in widening the availability of tourism to marginalized groups, and includes holidays for disabled people.

As well as that Accessible Tourism is a right under Article 30 of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention was signed by 140 countries (including New Zealand), but there is still a considerable gap between access needs and the solutions offered by destinations.

Guest blog by Jim Llewellyn. In February, Ann and Jim Llewellyn of Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia toured the south island of New Zealand for two weeks. Jim is a right-leg amputee and – depending on circumstances – alternates between a wheelchair, crutches, or a prosthesis to get around.  When booking accommodation for their trip, all providers were notified of Jims need for lodgings accessible to a wheelchair user, and all booked the couple into what they (the providers) considered wheelchair accessible rooms. On their return home, Jim sent Access Tourism New Zealand the following report on their accommodation experiences.

Ann and Jim Llewellyn

In summary, Jim found:

 • Although all 10 operators claimed their accommodation was accessible, none of the ten we stayed at were fully accessible, and accessibility ranged from non-existent to poor for most, to excellent for one (Amber Court Motor Lodge, Nelson).

• There seems to be no standard requirements

• In most hotels/motels disability features are at the whim of the installer as to location and design

• So-called accessible rooms for people with disabilities are often located well away from entrances to buildings, and I got the feeling that in some places it was “out of sight, out of mind”.

• Design features are such that microwaves, power outlets and switches are not suitably placed.

• Showers have no curtains so that the whole floor gets wet. To get from the shower I would have to place my crutches in the wet and walk in the wet. No squeegees were supplied.

• Taps generally are of the knob-type not the extended-arm type (i.e., easy to use by people with physical disabilities).

• Many consider only wheelchairs, not other disabilities. • There were no visual or vibratory emergency alarms for the hearing impaired.

 In addition, Jim reports that where wheelchair- accessible public toilets were used en route (when available) they were in general use, and were dirty, with very wet floors. Therefore, if a person had to remove a prosthesis, their clothes would get soiled.

Jim also writes that, in looking on the internet for accommodation for a return trip planned later this year to the north island of New Zealand, he has found discrimination in many instances where a disabled person is charged considerably more for accommodation.

You can read Jim’s assessment of the ten accommodations here:

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Taupō District Council has released a new brochure designed to make it easier for people who have a mobility issue to get around and enjoy what the district has to offer.   The Taupō District Access Brochure is a joint venture between Taupō District Council and the Taupō Mobility Access Reference Group (TMARG). TMARG is a community group who meet regularly to look at access issues in our community on behalf of people with a range of restricted mobility, sight and hearing impairments.  

The brochure will inform community members and visitors to the district of accessible facilities, such as banks, ATMs, accommodation, dining, parking, public toilets, respite care and medical facilities.  The brochure will be available from Taupō district i-Site’s and respite/retirements homes, and will also be on the Taupō District Council website. 

The six month project involved auditing every public facility in the CBD of Taupō, Turangi and Mangakino, and giving a rating of poor, moderate or good. Accessible Taupo Project worker Lucinda Stone, together with TMARG member Chance Anderson – who has skills gained from his Barrier Free Audit training – took on the task of checking and rating the facilities.  Access Tourism NZ applauds the fact that assessments of facilities have been done independently.  “Too often in Access brochures, opertors such as accommodation owners rate their own facilities as accessible, when quit frankly, they have no idea of what true access is” said Sandra Rhodda of ATNZ.    ”Kudos to this council for going the extra mile and doing the job properly”.

Production of Taupō District Access Brochure is kindly supported by Lakeland Disability Support Trust.

In a positive step forward, the New Zealand Government has recognized the skills, knowledge and economic power of older people and how these will benefit New Zealand’s economic competitiveness in the next 40 years.  Minister for Senior Citizens John Carter – in releasing a report called The Business of Ageing, Realising the economic potential of older people in New Zealand: 2011-2051   – said that in less than 20 years, one million people in New Zealand will be over the age of 65, compared to about 560,000 today. And in 40 years, one in four people will be aged over 65, compared to one in eight today.  “People over 65 are predicted to be our only growth market in terms of demography. They will become one of the most significant consumer markets in New Zealand. They will have their own needs and preferences that are quite different from earlier generations of older people, and also quite different from younger people.  Baby boomers will be healthier, better educated and have more spending power than any other generation reaching 65 in New Zealand’s history.  They want to stay active and keep working. Flexible work options could drive job growth and help us respond to projected skill and labour shortages.  Government cannot work in isolation to develop priorities for older people, so buy-in from the business sector, employers and people of all ages is essential to capture the possibilities this report outlines” said Carter.

That the mature market is hailed as a good example of an opportunity for New Zealand, both domestically and internationally is a major step forward.   The report mentions tourism amongst other things.  Certainly, in tourism, there has been little recognition of the growing importance of this market.  The first mention of the fact that “travellers in the older age groups will become even more significant in the future” occurred in the Ministry of Tourism’(now part of the Ministry of Econmic Development) report, Interenational Visitors Tourism Sector Profile, in June 2009.  Then last year (2010), Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John 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.” said Key.    Also in 2010, the government released a report which recognized the importance of the older market.  The report – Domestic Tourism Market Segmentation - went on to state that major barriers to this group travelling are “health and disability (their own or that of a travelling companion) as well as lack of travelling companions”.    

This latest report states that ”A tourism industry that responds to the changing demands of baby boomers over 65 could have spin-off effects for other industries and stimulate regional economic growth”. As Access Toursm New Zealand has pointed out on numerous occassions, if New Zealand is to seriously market to and cater for older travellers (or indeed, older markets in general), it has to take into consideration that disability increases with age, and must improve its access tourism offer.  Instead of seeing a person’s disability as a barrier (as the Segmentation Report does), it must look at  environment factors such as inaccessible tourism websites, transport, accommodation and other innaccessible products as disabling.

In a press release, the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) have called for the government to come up with innovative ways to help people with hearing disabilities afford alarm systems that would alert them when they’re activated.  Louse Carroll, NFD Chief Executive stated that people who are deaf cannot hear audio alarms, and nor can many hearing impaired people who take their hearing aids out when they go to bed.  “And that includes people staying in hotels and motels, as well as people in their own homes. Getting an alarm that links with the lights or to a vibrating pad that goes under a pillow is expensive, and we need to look at how we can make these more affordable.”  Mrs Carroll said governments overseas were moving to deal with the issue, and it was time for the New Zealand government to do the same.  A 2003 study of small accommodation businesses in four areas in New Zealand showed that there are a number of factors that impact on the small business owner’s compliance with fire safety regulations.  These include access to resources

The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology is currently conducting a survey of people who have slight to total hearing loss to find out what their tourism, travel, hospitality, and leisure experiences and needs are.  Included in the survey is a question about visual and vibrating fire alarms.  Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export earner, and we can expect that more and more of our guests – both national and international – will have hearing impairments due to the ageing of the world population.  There have been numerous examples of fatal fires in travel accommodation worldwide, so there is no reason to believe it could not happen in New Zealand.  For example, in 2007-2008, the New Zealand Fire Service reported 139 fires in hotels, motels, and lodges, 1, 147 calls to places of public recreation, and 1, 238 calls to commercial premises such as food and beverage outlets.

The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at the Auckland University of Technology is conducting research for the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf about the tourism, travel, and hospitality experiences and needs of people with hearing impairments. There are two surveys in this research, one for residents of New Zealand and one for residents of countries other than New Zealand who are deaf or have hearing loss and who are 20 years old or older.   The aim of the research is to find out what it is like to travel with hearing loss, and how the travel experiences of hearing impaired people can be improved.   There are a number of questions where participants can simply click on an answer from a range of options given. Other questions ask participants to type comments in their own words into a box provided.  The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, and all answers are confidential and can in no way be linked to any person.  

To take the survey, go here:  http://www.tourismandhearingsurvey.co.nz/

Bill Forrester, of Travability Australia, who gave a presentation at the first New Zealand conference on Access Tourism (AT) in October 2010 about how tourism businesses may comply with access legalities, but not promote this fact, also spoke recently on this topic at the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH) conference in Florida.  Forrester thinks that we are at a critical turning point in the future of AT.  Over the past 20 years the advocacy concentration has been on breaking down the physical barriers that prevented People with Disabilities (PwDs) from accessing holiday destinations.  Now the problem lies in the fact that the travel industry has failed to move beyond a compliance model.  Facilities are built but are poorly understood if they are understood at all, and even where facilities are excellent the accessible tourism sector is not regarded as a valuable market segment, or not understood as a market segment at all. “The result is that those facilities are never disclosed, never advertised and never published in a way that the travellers who need those facilities ever get a chance to know where they are.”  Now, it is recognized that progress will result if the mainstream industry understands the economic benefit AT can bring the tourism sector.  Forrester cites The Shotover Jet in Queenstown New Zealand as an example of a business that accommodates PwDs by offering accessible services but which does not publish this fact.   “….they are providing a service because they believe “it is the right thing to do” not because they see a valuable market. It is accommodation of a traveller with a disability not true inclusion.” 

Forrester points out the current and growing economic importance of the PwD market, and the folly of continuing to treat it as disabilities rights issue.   “Too often the provision of accessible information, like the provision of the facilities themselves, are regarded as an afterthought or part of a special marketing project to provide information out of a perceived community service. The results are often “special” brochures or special web portals that are forgotten about or become out of date once the project that created them has finished. While the intention may good the results will always fail as that information is not mainstream, further unless the person for whom it is intended actually knows about it, then it can be as hard to find as the actual facilities themselves” (Travability).  He cites another New Zealand example where this type of thinking fails. “The Department of Conservation in New Zealand recently produced two guides to wheelchair accessible and easy walks, one for the North Island and one for the South Island. Both of those brochures were never properly displayed and hence most people didn’t realise they existed. The far better solution would have been to incorporate the information into the mainstream trail information in their main National Parks brochure.”  Elsewhere, Forrester sees things improving. “The tide is changing and a great example of a truly inclusive culture is Parks Alberta with their “Push to Open” initiative, but unlike a lot of other disability projects this one is embedded into the vision statement of the organisation.”

Accessible Options was set up in 1993 by Alexia Pickering to provide a range of services to commercial, government, tourism, community and private bodies. Alexia and Accessible Options provide consulting and advisory services for optimising new premises for accessibility, access audits on existing premises, and information valuable to travellers with disabilities travelling to or in New Zealand. Alexia is currently focusing on providing a mainstream solution for accommodation providers to enable them to display on their website, a standard set of information on the accessibility of their premises for guests with disabilities. The “Accommodation Accessibility Appraisal” is already in use by several accommodation providers in New Zealand, however it is a long way from being standard information provided for disabled travellers. Read more about Alexia and Accessible Options

Alexia has developed an Accessibility Questionnaire that is becoming more accepted by the accommodation industry in New Zealand. The information derived from the questionnaire provides a quick reference for visitors on the website about their specific accessibility requirements. Time spent searching and phoning the establishment to understand their facilities can be shortened by them having this information on their website. Alexia is currently campaigning to have her Accessibility Questionnaire adopted as a standard information service by the accommodation industry in New Zealand. Read more about Alexia’s Questionnaire and how to support it’s progress into the mainstream.

Scoop reports that for the first time ever, the New Zealand deaf community will be fully included in Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi.   Waitangi Day marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Maori chiefs.  This year New Zealand Sign Language Interpreters of both Maori and English will sign during formal speeches at the Treaty Grounds.   The Office for Disability Issues will provide this service as a direct result of lobbying by Whangarei-based Tiaho Trust, a Northland disability-led organisation.  The 2006 New Zealand Census showed that 24,090 people use New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL).  New Zealand Sign Language was formally recognised as the third official language of New Zealand along with English and Maori in 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act.

Tourism New Zealand, which markets NZ to the world, continues to ignore the older market.  At least, that’s what it seems like on looking at the three videos being used in their latest marketing campaign (“100% Pure You”) in Australia.  The videos feature three young women, a young couple, and a young father with his son.  Not a silver hair in sight.   This in spite of the fact that according to our own research figures, almost 50% of visitors in and to New Zealand are 45 and older.  It is also in spite of the fact that the demographic reality is that populations are ageing worldwide.  In Australia for example, our most important international market and the one this campaign is initially aimed at,  the only age group increasing is that of people 65 or older, Baby Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 200,000 a year,  and the population over 65 is predicted to double over the next 40 years .  

And it is older Australians who are predicted by social researchers to be the ones who will spend on travel.     In caravan parks around the country they are known as the SKI Club – Spending the Kids’ Inheritance – and their vans have bumper stickers saying exactly that.  In fact, in a 2009 report informing the Australian national long-term tourism strategy, it is predicted that to 2030, the only source of increased domestic tourism activity will be in the 50+ age group, and the only increase in dollar value will be in the 60+ age group.  Why is New Zealand not targeting this growing demographic by having at least some older models in the video promotions released in Australia?

Tourism New Zealand intends to broaden this campaign to other countries.  Populations are ageing in our other traditional target markets also.  In the UK for example, it is estimated that the population of those 65 or older will grow from 16% currently to 23% by 2034, while in the USA, more than 7000 will turn 65 every day for the next 20 years.  In Japan, the population over 65 is currently 22% or about 27 million, those aged 61 to 63 number 18 million (Invest Japan), and ageing in Japan is happening at a greater rate than elsewhere (Reuters).  The mean and median age in years is about 44.5 (IPSS). According to an article in the Nikkei last year, Japanese aged 60-70 are emerging as an important source of economic vitality, as they are proving to be active spenders keen on making the most of their post-retirement years (Silver Group Asia). Data clearly shows that older consumers are more eager to spend than those younger than them.

Even in markets that Tourism New Zealand has only recently begun to turn their attention to, like China and South America, populations are ageing.  When will New Zealand begin to consistently appeal to the older demographic in these markets by at least showing them in our promotions?   Surely it is an economic imperative to do so in order to maintain a sustainable tourism industry.

Haka Tours, which runs adventure tours in New Zealand thinks it is OK to illegally park their buses in car parks reserved for people with disabilities.  At least, that is what can be assumed from a tweet today, in which Ellen Pickett, marketing coordinator for that company calls a woman who protested about a Haka Tours bus in a disabled car park “crazy” (see above).  Most New Zealanders feel strongly that people should not use disabled car parks without a permit, and we can assume that Haka Tours customers would also not condone such actions.  One wonders what the people on this tour actually think of Miss Pickett calling in her tweet the woman who protested “crazy”, or did they applaud when the bus used the disabled car park?  Is Miss Pickett’s comment reflective of the morals of those who travel with Haka Tours?  If Miss Picket can not see that using a disabled car park when one is not disabled is morally reprehensible and certainly callous and unfeeling, then perhaps she would be dissuaded from condoning this act by the fact that it is illegal to do so.   For a car parked illegally in this way, the fine is $150.   Maybe Haka Tours will be chagrined if this information makes it to Caught Ya, the international “hall of shame” website which exposes people parking illegally in disability and mobility parking spaces.  Or maybe Miss Pickett’s attitude towards disabled people – as reflected in her disparaging a woman who stood up for them – is not actaully a Haka Tours philosophy, but is hers alone.  Whatever is the case, the comment in this tweet is not a good look for Haka Tours.

On the official Rugby World Cup 2011 website (RWC2011), it states on a page headed “Accessible Information” that the cup “will be an event for everyone to enjoy and as such we want to make it as easy as possible for fans to find the information they need on this website.”  However, there is no facility on the RWC2011 site to search for information about access, and there are other problems with access information on the site and with access to the games.  Now to make matters worse, taxis and private vehicles will be banned from Wellington’s Westpac Stadium during the games because they are considered a security threat. Wellington Combined Taxis GM Kevin Braid says the company is concerned for elderly and disabled people trying to get to the stadium.  New Zealand Taxi Federation secretary George Tyler has said the decision is ridiculous and bad news for the elderly.  ”On a cold and wet day when you’re 83 like me, it’s a bloody long way to walk [to the stadium].  I don’t think it is a best image for New Zealand or for Wellington.”   Information about this ban has already appeared on international websites.  Taxis and private vehicles are already also banned during some other events, such as the AC/DC Black Ice Tour later this month.  Wellington buses are not accessible for mobility scooters and not all bus stops are wheelchair accessible.  There is as yet no information on the NZ Tourism Guide website on how mobility scooter users, or wheelchair users near inaccessible bus stops are to get to the games.   In fact, the NZTG site states that “most urban transport buses are not equipped to cater for the disabled.”  Hopefully, this will change before RWC2011 so that people with disabilities can partake of the games as is guaranteed in NZ’s disability legislation and in international instruments that we have signed, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD).  CRPD specifies that States Parties shall “ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues”, amongst other things (Article 30).  Clearly, this is not happening yet.

Planning is well underway for the 18^th International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA 2011) in Christchurch, New Zealand, and registration is now open.   The conference is being held at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, July 4-8 2011. The International Symposium on Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) is held every second year to provide physical activity professionals with an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience.   Adapted physical activity (APA) is a professional branch of kinesiology / physical education / sport & human movement sciences, which is directed toward persons who require adaptation for participation in the context of physical activity.  ISAPA programmes include research presentations, building sessions for the discussion of new ideas, practical workshops for new activities and an international film contest. In addition to the ISAPA, regional conferences are held regularly by the Asian, European, and North American regional organizations.  International Symposia are held alternate years.  ISAPA adds new details regularly to their website about New Zealand, visa requirements, accommodation, and biographies and photos of keynote speakers.   

If you have any queries about ISAPA 2011 please contact them by emailing isapa2011@tcc.co.nz or visit the website at www.isapa2011.com.

The New Zealand Historic Places has just released a draft for consultation for “Providing for Accessibility in Heritage Places”.   This guide focuses on providing links to other guidance sources, updating legislative provisions and providing a guidance framework for the assessment of proposed access related work involving heritage buildings.  The guide concentrates almost solely on physical access to heritage places for those who cannot walk or who rely on walking aids and wheelchairs. It briefly mentions people with learning difficulties, and gives references to a couple of relevant publications about heritage sites and the learning disabled, mentions also that many heritage buildings were not built for diverse needs including those with vision impairment, but nowhere mentions access and the hearing impaired.   This is in spite of the fact that about 41% of disabled New Zealanders have sensory impairments.  Comments and feedback can be provided to the NZHPT until 28 February 2011 about this publication (Email: information@historic.org.nz).

Recently, Access Tourism in NZ has been mentioned several times in Parliament.   On the 8^th December, the Minister for Disabilities Issues – who  opened the first Access Tourism NZ Conference in October – launched the “Report on the Human Rights of Disabled People in Aotearoa New Zealand”.  In her introductory speech she said the following:

“The Office for Disability Issues is currently asking for feedback on what changes can be made that would enable disabled people to live independently, be able to move around their communities and be able to provide better work opportunities for disabled people.   As a very topical example, the Ministerial Committee on Disability Issues recently heard from Martin Sneddon CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011 about the dedicated booking system for disabled people and how seats for disabled people at all grounds are all priced on the lowest category seats regardless of the location of the seats. They are reviewing all grounds to check wheelchair accessible seating and services to support this seating. And they are also ensuring that shuttle buses and disabled parking will be available at all venues.

I am really passionate about Access Tourism and so I was really interested in your recommendation that an industry standard should be developed to signal a non-disabling environment and universal design features of accessible accommodation and tourism features.”

Access Tourism NZ applauds the Minister’s interest in Access Tourism.  As to the Rugby World Cup however, we hope that with less than a year to go to kickoff, the official RWC2011 website will soon have individual information about access at venues.  RWC2011 will be the largest international sporting event in the world next year and is expected to draw 85,000 extra visitors to NZ, some of whom are bound to have disabilities.  At the moment on the RWC2011 website, the same information appears on each venue page (including an icon of the wheelchair symbol with a slash through it) and is of little use to a person with a disability hoping to plan a trip to the RWC2011, especially as tickets are on sale.  The disabled always need plenty of time to plan trips, accommodation, and activities because these are always more difficult due to access issues.

On the “Accessible Information” page is the statement:    “If you are unable to complete your application online or require wheelchair accessible seating, please email specialneeds@rwc2011ticketing.com to request an application form. Alternatively, please call 0800 RUGBY11 (0800 784 2911) or +64 9 367 2011 from overseas or mobile and our Customer Service Representatives will assist you with your application.” Access Tourism NZ  hopes that the information needs of people with disabilities will be met as quickly as possible on the RWC2011 website so that the disabled do not need to fill in “special needs” forms which they must post or scan and email (unlike the non-disabled), and that they do not have to call from England or France for assistance, as this does not look good for New Zealand.   

In the “Report on the Human Rights of Disabled People in Aotearoa New Zealand” itself,  tourism is mentioned in the following context:

Conclusions and recommendations, p. 15 and p. 64: Leaving home for short or extended periods of time remains an issue for disabled people with discrimination unlikely to be reported in this area. The final recommendation is that an industry standard (similar to the tourism industry’s Qualmark) signalling a non-disabling environment and universal design features be developed.

 Subjects like travel, transport, accommodation, restaurants, clubs, bars etc are mentioned several times in the report, and “social participation” is cited as the most significant single issue for PwDs (p. 41).

Sandra Rhodda of Access Tourism New Zealand gave an invited presentation at the Third International Congress of Accessible Tourism for All in Valladolid Spain in November.  She spoke about people with disabilities, access tourism, and arts and culture in New Zealand.   The congress – held over three days – was attended by more than 300 people from Europe, the U.K., Asia, and the Americas, and comprised a number of presentations and concurrent workshops on progress and business initiatives in developing Access Tourism, professional training, employment, and research in Access Tourism, presentations on access, culture, and the environment, disabled students as access tourists, Access Tourism and technology, and Access Tourism rating, standardization, and labeling systems.  The Congress was backed by Fundacion ONCE, the largest disabilities NGO in Spain, and the European Network for Accessible Tourism.

 The main theme of the congress was cultural tourism and was therefore aimed at professionals in the cultural sector wishing to enhance their participation in the tourism sector.  It had as a main goal that of establishing Universal Accessibility and Design for All, with which to promote inclusion of people with disabilities.  One of the main goals of Fundación ONCE is to ensure the full inclusion of disabled people in all areas of society. Making access to cultural tourism easier for disabled people helps them get to know the culture of the place they are visiting. On the other hand, incorporating Design for All into the new cultural tourism offerings makes more people aware of the importance of Design for All and Universal Accessibility.

A timely presentation was that given by Juan Aljama from the Accessibility Commission of Spain, who spoke about the work of the Group of World Heritage Cities of Spain (Accessible Heritage and Tourism section).  The Group was created to preserve and promote thirteen historic cities in Spain, and the access section is involved with assessing and improving access for locals and visitors with disabilities.  One of the thirteen cities – Avila – this week won the first-ever European Commission award for improving access for the disabled (The Access City Award 2011)

In a first for New Zealand, The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology has created a Research Programme Area in Access Tourism headed by Sandra Rhodda. 

 NZTRI’s Access Tourism programme aims to research and develop Access Tourism in NZ.  Access Tourism is tourism, travel, and hospitality for people with permanent or temporary disabilities, seniors, parents with strollers, and any person with a need for improved access.  This is an interdisciplinary research area that addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by Access Tourism.

The Access Tourist already represents a sizeable proportion of our tourism markets.  Between 17 and 20% of the population in our main markets already report a disability, and this percentage is bound to grow because the large Baby Boomer cohort is ageing and disability increases with age.  Those aged 45 or older already comprise almost half of our domestic and international visitors (and over 70% of our cruise ship visitors).

Areas of interest include:

• Research and policy development
• Understanding the Access Tourism market
• Awareness promotion and education of government and industry to the potential of Access Tourism
• Access Tourism product development and marketing in NZ
• Promotion of cooperation in a developing Access Tourism sector, including in the public and private sector
• Access Tourist satisfaction and motivation
• Economic and social benefits of Access Tourism
• Access Tourism as an important factor in tourism sustainability
• Relationship of Access tourism to Health, Wellness, and Medical Tourism
• Opportunities for Access Tourism legacy development around major events such as RWC2011

Bill Forrester, of Travability, has posted a response on Tour Watch to the article yesterday on this website about Access Tourism being mentioned in the NZ House of Commons.  Here is Bill’s  post:

“Sandra Rhodda recently posted an extract from a speech in the New Zealand parliament  which acknowledged the infrastructure built in Australia for the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Unless the underlying culture of both the Tourism Industry and the Tourism authorities changes during the lead up to these events to embody an inclusive philosophy then at the end of the event we will still be left with just a collection of accessible infrastructure.  While New Zealand acknowledges that Australia has a plethora of accessible built infrastructure where we are failing is in the promotion and understanding of its use and the growing significance of the market. It is one thing to build the infrastructure for events like the Olympic Games or Rugby World Cup but a totally different thing to incorporate Access Travel into the mainstream. That is where Australia has failed and where New Zealand faces potentially the same problem. Once the Rugby World Cup is over the the focus will be lost unless the operators of the Accessible Infrastructure realise its market potential and adopt a truly inclusive attitude to all travellers regardless of their ability. Australia still relies on third party NGO’s to maintain databases for the access tourist because it hasn’t taught the industry itself how to incorporate accessible information into their mainstream advertising and information sites.  The debate has to shift away from access to true inclusion and as I keep saying Tourism Authorities need to lead that push not abrogate their responsibility to the disability sector. The Rugby World Cup affords an opportunity to start taking about inclusive experiences not about just creating an accessible environment.”

We could not agree with Bill more: there is also in NZ a lot of accessible infrastructure (see Bill talking about it here and here), but unless the industry adopts an inclusive attitude and promotes this infrastructure, it may as well not exist.  An examination of websites for access information for 42 of our most important museums and galleries, for example, shows that 69% have no access information, and most of the others have inadequate  information .  As to Rugby World Cup 2011, a number of cultural events have been planned to coincide with this sports festival.  An examination of the 45 websites for these events shows that 86% have no information about access.  Does this mean that 69% of our museums and galleries, and 86% of cultural events coinciding with RWC2011 have no access for the disabled?  Surely not!