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

A just-released report commissioned by the UK Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, and the Office for Disability Issues presents arguments for why business should improve access for people with disabilities.   The “2012 Legacy for Disable People: Inclusive and Accessible Business” is the result of work by Atkins Management Consultants who reviewed existing messages and communications to SMEs about people with disabilities, developed more compelling messages, and looked at the case for focusing on the disabled as customers.  In summary, the report found that:

• Disabled consumers in the UK are a significant (10.6 billion people) but poorly addressed market worth £80 billion p.a.
• 83% of disabled people have to take business to more accessible providers
• Disabled customers may account for up to 20% of the customer base at an average business
• The risk of losing business to a more accessible competitor is high as consumer experiences of disabled people affect the choices of family and friends
• Business benefits associated with better accessibility include a rapidly expanding customer base, increases in revenues and profits, loyal customers, improved reputation, and a distinct competitive advantage

 The report notes the strong link between age and the prevalence of disability and that, as the population ages, there will be more disability in future.The main barriers to SMEs improving access include low levels of awareness about the business opportunities of improving access, misconceptions around the cost of improving access and what access means, misconceptions and discomfort about disability and awareness, fear of getting it wrong, dominance of legal compliance issue.

 UK Ministers have urged business to see improving access as a way of becoming more profitable in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2010. One million disabled visitors are expected in London for the games bringing with them millions of pounds in business.

2010 Legacies Now Measuring Up

The Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games held earlier this year have left lasting legacies for the disabled. Will New Zealand take the same opportunities presented by holding Rugby World Cup in 2011?  It is probable that we have left things a little late to make any large differences, although some progress is being made.  Access Tourism NZ has already described how planning to improve access around the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 began in 2004 and is ongoing.  In the case of British Columbia, the organizing committee for the Vancouver Games  (VANOC) knew from the beginning that its responsibility was not only to organize and stage successful Games that upheld the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movements, but also to improve the communities in which those Games would take place.  VANOC’s sustainability targets also included social sustainability.  In 2000, the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation partnered with the Province of British Columbia to establish the 2010 Legacies Now program. Since that time, 2010 Legacies Now has worked with more than 4,000 organizations province-wide, investing in programs that will be self-sustaining legacies in the areas of sport, healthy living, literacy, arts, volunteerism and accessibility.

 The planned legacies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are numerous and multi-faceted. Of interest to Access Tourism are the following:

• precedent-setting planning and accountability through ongoing stakeholder engagement with consortiums representing persons with a disability
• enhanced accessibility in Whistler and Vancouver for people with disabilities; Whistler is now one of the most accessible resort communities in the world
• barrier-free guidelines for accessible events and accommodation
• A program called Accessible Tourism, a collaboration between 2010 Legacies Now, the Province, Tourism BC and other partners to help 3,600 tourism businesses and 27 recreations measure their accessibility and learn how to improve it so they can draw and serve people with disabilities, young and old (Scrapbook, p.15)
• The Measuring Up program, supported by 2010 Legacies Now along with the Province of BC, which helped more than 100 communities assess and improve accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities, including the elderly. Examples of the types of projects supported through Measuring Up include enhanced sidewalks and more accessible parks and transit options.
• Built environment:
  •  Richmond’s Speed Skating  Oval designed to meet and exceed national accessibility standards
  • Whistler Olympic plaza was slated to continue to serve as an outdoor gathering place for residents and visitors, equipped with an open grass lawn, amphitheatre seating, a 13,000 sq ft playground that is accessible to people with and without disabilities, outdoor performance spaces and public art commemorating the Games
  • The Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler, located a short ride away from venues for Olympic and Paralympic athletes and officials, has a blend of accessible apartments, townhomes and hostel accommodation alongside a High Performance Centre
  • The new Vancouver Olympic Centre, which includes swimming pool change rooms  equipped with movable screen walls so all users, including those in wheelchairs, can use them more easily
  • City of Vancouver project “City Hall Community Garden”, with 40 new plots, eight of them accessible to seniors and people with disabilities
  • Three state-of-the-art playgrounds in Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond, which enable all children, able and disabled, to play together

Beach wheelchairs for the disabled are becoming more common.  To give just two examples from opposite sides of the world, the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Municipality (Israel)  just purchased six of the chairs for four of its beaches.  The chairs are designed to enable people with mobility disability to move around on beach sand and enter the water.  There are plans to increase the number of such chairs available.  In  Brunswick Heads (Queensland, Australia), the Disabled Surfers Association with assistance from The Northern Rivers Community Foundation and Byron Shire Council have purchased four “four-wheel-drive” beach wheelchair.  Owen Danvers, who gave one of the chairs a test run at Torakina Beach, said it was a huge bonus for Brunswick Heads’ disabled residents and visitors.  “For a lot of people, just to be able to get their feet wet is an experience, especially for those who’ve never been on the beach before.”   Ted Kabbout, of the Disabled Surfers Association, said the chairs could also be used by the elderly.  “With the ageing population, there are a lot of people who haven’t been down to the beach for a long time who can now think about getting there again.”  Mr Kabbout said the purchase of the chair was the first step in a push to make Brunswick Heads beaches more accessible. In the long term, he would like to see accessibility ramps built at various locations on the river and beaches.  “Brunswick Heads is such a good location for these things to be in place. It’s the perfect fit. It doesn’t cost a huge amount, we just need the will,” Mr Kabbout said.

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.

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.

Burnet Thorne Cultural Group, a tourism planning and development company in Ontario Canada, has been advising Canadian regions such as Whistler about the development of cultural tourism.  Cultural tourism is “tourism that is motivated by an interest in other peoples, other places, other cultures and in Canada, the total domestic spending by Canadian cultural tourists now exceeds Can$3 billion p.a.  What is driving the market demand for cultural tourism experiences? According to Steven Thorne, the aging Baby Boomers top the list.  Although cultural tourists are distributed across all age and income cohorts, well-heeled Boomers drive the cultural tourism market. Culture-consuming Boomers earn more, spend more, travel more frequently, and stay longer than other tourists in the destinations they visit. They are the tourism industry’s best friends.   The  best salaried and educated generation in North American history, they ”seek learning and enrichment when they travel – the precise travel rewards that cultural tourism provides”.  This is a growing demographic. By the year 2020, the combined Canadian/U.S. population between the ages of 55 and 74 will swell to 83.5 million – a 39 percent increase from 2008.  Women are another factor in the growing popularity of cultural tourism. Key players in travel decision making, women typically have a greater interest in arts and culture than do men.

The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) is a city-wide celebration of architecture in the capital. As London gears up for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games the festival looks at ways that planners, architects and local communities play their part in the development of “The Welcoming City” and access for people with disabilities.  For example, as part of the festival, LFA commissioned a water and solar powered wheelchair lift to address the challenges of equal access to historic sites.  The lift is designed by Matthew Lloyd Architects working with Architecture Inside Out and Price and Myers with the support of the Royal Engineers and the Royal Parks and can be seen at the Duke of York Steps, St James’.  The lift is an experimental project designed and created to raise public awareness about access, sustainability, and architecture in the public realm.

Video reports from all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ will be broadcast in International Sign on FIFA.com.  For the first time, the Official Website of FIFA and the FIFA World Cup is enabling deaf and people with hearing impairments across the globe to follow all 64 matches of world football’s showpiece event even more comprehensively. International Sign, also known as IS, is an international auxiliary language used at international meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Congress and events such as the Deaflympics. The WFD represents approximately 70 million deaf people worldwide, and assists in making sign language available to deaf people, especially regarding matters of education and information. “Football is a universal sport and it must be accessible to everyone. We are therefore delighted to be offering this service for people with hearing impairments and the deaf,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. All International Sign match report videos will be available at FIFA’s official website, FIFA.com soon after each game.

Vancouver Island’s Campbell River and District Fish and Wildlife Association, Marine Harvest, Ministry of Tourism Culture and the Arts, and the Island Coastal Economic Trust will spend Can$100,000 to develop an accessible outdoor wilderness recreation destination featuring trails, a dock for freshwater lake fishing, and wilderness viewing at Roberts Lake. The initiative is designed to provide an intermediate access site which meets the needs of people with mobility, hearing and visual impairments in addition to seniors and families with strollers and young children and enables them to access and enjoy the wilderness. Shane Renouf, President of the District Fish and Wildlife Association said that the project coincides with British Columbia’s Universal Trails strategy and the Vancouver Island Tourism Plan. “Consequently, we are not only creating valuable local economic benefits but are also part of the bigger tourism infrastructure development strategy for the Island and BC”, said Renouf.

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.

Baby Boomers flush with cash and a persistent wanderlust are flocking to recreational vehicle parks in record numbers.  That’s according to Mark Kros of News Press.  “For a crippled economy, the revival of the RV industry with the hundreds of millions of dollars it brings to Southwest Florida comes at a good time.”  In fact, RV/campground users in just Lee County increased 35% between 2008 and 2009 – pumping US$228 into the local economy.  The days of “trailer trash” are over, according to the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds.  “That’s old, historic thinking. Today’s parks are upscale and filled with people who have been successful in life” said president and CEO, Linda Profaizer.  In fact, the industry now caters to an entirely new breed comprising high-end buyers, and the majority of motor homes now dominating parks fetch $500,000 and up.  Parks are now catering to wealthy Baby Boomers who no longer want to be tied to one vacation home.

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.

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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Pacman jsut had its thirtieth anniversary.  According to a just-released report, the USA gaming industry is set to lose $3 billion in potential revenue along with more than 30 million customers as Americans who play video games continue to age and become disabled.  The report, “Gaming on a Collision Course: Averting significant revenue loss by making games accessible to older Americans,” points out that about 25% of the nation’s gamers are 50 and older, and gamers are getting older each year. Consequently, the authors (Stephanie Walker  of The AbleGamers Foundation and Eleanor Robinson of  7-128 Software) say the topic of accessibility will gain importance.  The report, with a forward by “the father of video games”, Ralph Baer, includes data on gaming and accessibility from Deloitte Internet Research, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and the U.S. Census Bureau.  ”Many gamers started playing Atari in the ‘70s and ‘80s and are now 50 years and older. They may still want to be gamers, but, as they age, they may not be able to because of disability or health conditions. They’re essentially being shut out,” says Stephanie Walker.  “The time for making games accessible is now,” she says.  The same rationale could be applied to the tourism industry.

South African Disability Alliance (SADA) members burnt tyres at the South African Football Association House earleir in the year to protest lack of accessibility to 2010 World Cup stadia by people with disabilities.  The Nigerian Voice reports that they also demonstrated outside the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg to protest lack of amenities provided for them at host city stadia during the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in June. About 100 members of SADA also handed over a  memorandum of demands to FIFA local organising committee (LOC) CEO Danny Jordaan.  The Mail and Guardian reports that Jordaan, on accepting the memorandum, said only three stadia were not accessible to the disabled, and that while people in wheelchairs had to buy tickets, the people pushing the wheelchairs did not.  ”We care about you,” said Jordaan, explaining that there was a memorandum of understanding signed between SADA and the LOC. SADA has demanded that the LOC ensure a safe and equitable environment for all spectators with disabilities, including at fan park facilities.  It also wanted to see an accessible transport plan approved and implemented by all host cities.  The protests where held in March.  Since then, efforts to improve access have become news (see 3 May 2010)

Contributed by Veroniek Maat, Intern, NZ Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, and Masters Student, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

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 USA National Centre on Accessibility, based at Indiana State University, promotes access and inclusion for people with disabilities in parks, recreation, and tourism.  The Centre was established in 1992 through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service (with some functions similar to NZ’s Department of Conservation).   The Centre carries out research, training, technical assistance, and consultation.  The Centre focuses on universal design and practical accessibility solutions creating inclusive recreation opportunities for people of all abilities. Accessibility guidelines for outdoor developed areas managed by federal agencies are one step closer to becoming standards in the U.S.  Recently, a Draft Final Accessibility Guidelines for Federal Outdoor Areas was released by the U.S. Access Board, bringing the adoption of accessibility guidelines for outdoor areas closer to finalization and implementation under the Architectural Barriers Act.  This Act requires access to facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with Federal funds. Passed by Congress in 1968, it marks one of the first efforts to ensure access to the built environment. The Access Board develops and maintains accessibility guidelines under this law. The guidelines will apply to sites developed or altered by Federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Army Corps of Engineers.  The Board intends to develop similar guidelines for outdoor developed areas controlled by non-Federal entities at a future date.

The Canadian Tourism Commission has been promoting Access Cruises in Canada for Paralympic Athletes.  The Commission’s website has a list of cruises on small and big boats suitable for people with disabilities (PwDs), including on the Radiance of the Seas which is high on the list of accessible cruise ships according to the Cruise Critic website.  Cruise Critic also gives a list of helpful hints for PwDs planning a cruise.  The list of Canadian trips includes accessible ferries and self-propelled trips (kayaking, for example) as well as regular cruise vessels.

The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport UK today published the first ever Olympic and Paralympic legacy plan to bring about lasting changes to the life experiences of disabled people.        

Endorsed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), London 2012: A Legacy for Disabled People, aims to improve the lives of 10 million disabled people in the UK by increasing participation in sport and physical activity; improving business, transport and employment opportunities; and changing attitudes and perceptions of disabled people in society.

Initiatives in the plan include:

• the development of a National Equality Framework so that businesses can assess their equality performance and improve their working conditions for disabled employees;
• specialist events targeted at diverse businesses, including those owned by disabled people, encouraging them to register on ‘CompeteFor’ so that they can apply for contracts opportunities from the Games. So far 1,327 businesses owned by disabled people have registered on CompeteFor;
• a government campaign to encourage businesses to improve accessibility for disabled customers;
• work with the Accessible Tourism Stakeholder Forum to improve access to tourism services and provide businesses with training to help improve facilities, accessibility and information for disabled people;
• better access and information across the London transport system to enable disabled people to travel confidently and independently and further the development of London 2012’s  transport legacy; and
• work with Channel 4, the official London 2012 Paralympic Games broadcaster, to ensure coverage is appropriate, accessible and extends beyond Games time. Over 150 hours of coverage will be delivered including documentaries following athletes and their journey to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Subtitling and audio description will form part of the programming to ensure the widest possible audience can enjoy the Games.

People in Scotland who have disabilities or serious health issues can now participate in free golf training.  Funded by the Voluntary Action Fund, the Scottish Disability Golf Partnership (SDGA) will, for example, arranged tuition by PGA professionals at a Golf Open Day at Mearns Castle Golf Club in Glasgow in April.  The SDGA also runs Championships for golfers with disabilities.  For established players with disabilities, some golf is available at a heavily subsidised price.
Steve Bramwell of the SDGA said that having a disability should not be a barrier to continuing to play golf or to take up the sport.  The partnership caters for people with ambulatory, sight and hearing impairment, and people with learning difficulties.  The partnership is governed and operated by people with disabilities and provides training and competition for hundreds of PwDs, including children.