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

Airlines on opposite sides of the globe are coming under fire again for their handling of people with disabilities. For starters, Jetstar’s refusal in April to carry wheelchair-using journalists between Auckland and  Wellington has made it into the Innes Worst of the Year Awards list. The list is created by Graeme Innes, Australia’s Disability Discrimination Commissioner . Innes hands out brickbats and bouquets once a year to those who do great work (or otherwise) for, by, and on behalf of the disability sector in that country. Innes calls the refusal of Jetstar – and also Virgin and Tiger airlines – to carry more than two people using wheelchairs on each aircraft “airline apartheid”.  Meanwhile,  Australian Sheila King has taken action against Jetstar in the federal Court over its “two-wheelchair-only” policy.

In the northern hemisphere, Easyjet unleashed a Twitter storm of indignation when it refused to board a woman with her service dog.  Joanna Jones was trying to board a flight at Gatwick for Belfast and had her dog Orla with her.  She had a week before had no issues with boarding with Orla for the flight from Belfast to Gatwick.  Staff at Easyjet admitted that they could see Orla was a guide dog, but said that Jones needed to provide the paperwork to “make her flight more  ‘comfortable’”.  Easyjet booked Jones on another flight after she received paperwork. Easyjet has been criticised in the past for its policies concerning customers with disabilities.

Scandic – which has 160 hotels in the Nordic region and Northern Europe - is intensifying its successful focus on improved accessibility for visitors with disabilities and others who want improved access. This year, over 100 new accessible rooms will be added to the portfolio and 2012 there will be even more to meet the large and growing demand. Scandic says that more and more companies and organisations seek rooms and conference facilities that are accessible to all.  At the same time the numbers of older, active private travellers who are  attracted by improved accessibility are increasing. Improving accessibility has proven to be a commercial success for Scandic.

Design for All is a key concept in Scandic’s accessibility work. The aim is for the accessible rooms to  be just as well designed as any other room, with practical solutions that go  almost unnoticed, except by those who really need them. Hooks, mirrors and keyholes at two heights are appreciated by children, short adults and those who use a wheelchair. Height-adjustable beds and extra spacious bathrooms are  popular with all guests. Scandic’s comprehensive 110-point accessibility  programme covers everything from team member training to adapted rooms and extensive, detailed accessibility information on every hotel’s website.

“When we take over a hotel, we implement our accessibility programme within three months and, after just one year, we tend to notice more bookings from private guests and from companies and organisations, thanks to our accessibility work. This gives us a clear competitive advantage and, as well as showing our commitment to social responsibility, we see major commercial benefits in being accessible to all,” says  Magnus Berglund, Disability Ambassador at Scandic.

New hotels require smart new solutions

A lowered reception desk for wheelchair users, a guest computer in the lobby at a comfortable height for a wheelchair and an ordinary chair, a hearing loop in conference facilities and reception, and vibrating alarm clocks that also hear the fire alarms are just some examples of smart solutions that ensure a high level of accessibility.   Scandic’s accessibility work remains a core focus in  its new and refurbished hotels, with numerous examples of best practice. To read about these, continue here:

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A New Zealand tourism trade publication is looking for feedback on the recently revamped Tourism New Zealand website.  Specifically, they are asking:

Is the site effective and why?
Does it work for your company?
Does it achieve what it has been set out to do?
Is the main page too large?
How easy is it to navigate?
Is the home page confusing?
Does it work on smartphones etc?
Any further comments?

The website: http://www.newzealand.com/

Please send your response to “editor(at)insidetourism.com” and tell them if you are a potential visitor in or to New Zealand, or are you in the NZ or international tourism industry?  Please advise if your comments are ON or OFF the record.

THE EDGE in Auckland New Zealand is now offering a new initiative called SIGNAL. This programme offers Sign Language Interpreted performances for the deaf or hearing impaired and Audio Described performances for blind or vision impaired patrons. The Edge run the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall, The Civic and Aotea Square. During shows for the visually impaired, a sign language interpreter stands at the side of the stage so people can watch the performance and the signing at the same time. Audio described performances involves people wearing headsets – similar to those used in conferences for translation – and a trained audio describer sits at the back of the theatre describing the non-verbal aspects of the performance, including introductory notes before the performance describing the set, costumes and characters.  Patrons can find out about upcoming sign language and interpreted performances on the SIGNAL website. Read more here.

Auckland Transport is introducing a number of initiatives to help make public transport more accessible to a wider range of people. The initiatives are part of a long-term focus on improving accessibility to transport for people who currently find it difficult to access public transport for a range of reasons, for example limited mobility, various and different impacted abilities due to age, vision impairment.  The aim is to provide safe, accessible transport services for as much of the Auckland population as possible. It includes the whole travel experience from when someone seeks to access information about their travel options until they arrive at their destination. The first improvements are focused on better customer information on public transport services and facilities. Some are already available and others will be progressively introduced over the next months.

For more information about the improvements, continue reading……….

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Medical tourism is expected to explode as Baby Boomers around the world retire and travel to different countries to receive treatment (AARP).  In the US$2.5 Trillion tourism industry, some US$ 106-billion is considered “Wellness Tourism” and US$ 50-billion as “Medical Tourism”.   According to a recent ABC news release, an estimated 550,000 Americans travelled abroad last year (2010) to take care of their medical needs (Travel Industry Today). That number is projected to grow rapidly in the coming years.  Countries other than New Zealand are gearing up for this growth.  The German National Tourist Board has recently published three brochures featuring details about wellness holidays that tout the quality of healthcare in Germany, as well as the luxurious accommodations that foreign patients can expect (Treatment Abroad).  Mindful that in 2006 alone, some US$350M has been spent on medical and wellness tourism by over 250,000 nonresident patients in the Philippines (Manila Bulletin), the government there is preparing to introduce a new visa, which will allow foreign nationals to stay in the country for up to six months while receiving medical treatment (International Insurance News).   India, Thailand and Singapore are currently the major players in the medical tourism industry and have been building their medical tourism industries over a number of years, developing a reputation for quality and affordable private healthcare.  Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia have been stepping up efforts to appeal to more medical tourists.  Taiwan has been heavily marketing its tourism industry, particularly to the Chinese, seeking to capitalize on its high standard of private healthcare and closeness to the growing affluent population on the mainland. South Korea is aiming its medical tourism sector towards Japanese patients seeking better value medical and surgical treatments. Malaysia is promoting its private medical sector, emphasizing the country’s Islamic roots to target clients of Middle Eastern origin.  In turn, Dubai has constructed the Dubai Healthcare City in order to accommodate the rising demand for state-of-the-art healthcare facilities by baby boomers and seniors.

In a bid to promote New Zealand as a medical destination, a NZ company is offering Americans healthcare options that are a third of what they pay in the US.  Medtral set up in California and has commenced promoting cheap elective surgery through the Ascot Hospital in Auckland (eTravelBlackboard).   However, the New Zealand government has not shown any resolve to develop this market.  In fact, the most recent Ministry of Tourism figures for medical visits to NZ show that such visits have remained at around 0.01% of our total visitor count for the last seven years, and medical tourism “has not been something that has been considered’, according to Associate Minister of Tourism Jonathan Coleman (Inside Tourism 742, June 19, 2009).  New Zealand needs to seriously consider developing this sector, along with Access Tourism, if it not to miss out on a lucrative market.

The People’s Action Group on Inclusion and Rights (PAGIR) is a rights movement working to create a society that is inclusive and sees economic contribution as the first step to social inclusion. Towards this end, PAGIR recently set up Himalaya on Wheels (HoW!), an enterprise to promote tourism for all.  PAGIR has partnered with Travel Another India (TAI) to set up this enterprise and develop tour packages in Ladakh for guests who use wheel chairs.

The people who are driving this initiative are:

Gouthami, Shivani, and Vidhya – they form the core group of JwB. 

Gouthami is the CEO of TAI and has the experience of promoting Responsible Tourism Ventures in India (gou@travelanotherindia.com)

Shivani from AccessAbility is an expert in access audits and has the  experience of working on access policies in the tourism industry. (shivani@accessability.co.in).  

Vidhya, a professional in the disability sector, has worked with disability groups and local governments on inclusion and advocacy issues. (hi.vids@gmail.com)

The Auckland Disabilities Providers Network (ADPN) is looking for suggestions about how Auckland Council can engage strategically with the disability community.  Members of the ADPN executive will be attending an Auckland Council meeting tonight (Tuesday evening), representing their member organisations. The Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, has stated that one of his goals is that Auckland should become “the most liveable city in the world” and be “inclusive” and “fair.” Disabled people are recognised as part of Auckland’s d! iverse population, with a valuable contribution to make, but facing significant barriers to their equal participation in the economic, civic and cultural life of the city.  The Mayor has asked Council officers to develop a proposal for the most effective model for the Auckland Council to engage strategically with the disability community to achieve better outcomes for disabled Aucklanders.  ADPN wants to know if you have any ideas about what sort of entity should be set up, what would be its role and purpose, what will be the skills and experiences required, and about the selection process for members.  Email any suggestions to the ADPN.

In a recent study on world disability (The Global Economics of Disability), IPS Insights points out the following important facts:

• There are 1.1 billion people with disabilities (PwDs) worldwide -  a market the same size as China
• As Baby Boomers physical abilities change with ageing, the needs of this – the  wealthiest generation in human history – will dovetail with the demands of Pwds;  those aged 65 or older have a disability prevalence of 51.8%
• There is very little research in the marketplace on how disabled consumers react relative to their disability
• Worldwide, PwDs control about US$750B/annum in disposable income (in the USA, $220B, in Canada $30B, in Europe $500B)
• Stakeholder (family, friends of PwDs) number 2B and control US$8.1T
• Business has yet to discover disability as an emerging market

We all like things that make travel easier.  After all, the word “travel” comes from the word “travail” or difficulty (OED).  So anything to ease the journey is welcomed by those who are not disabled, and by the disabled, for whom all travel is adventure travel (Scott Rains).  A case in point is wheeled luggage.  It’s 40 years since the first wheeled luggage hit the market.  According to Travel Mole, Briggs & Riley Travelware “deserve the honour of easing the pain of bad backs, helping marital relationships and allowing people to travel more smoothly, making many of us question, ‘What did we do before the creation of wheeled luggage?’”.   The first wheeled bag was the brainchild of Briggs & Riley’s parent company U.S. Luggage and then-president Bernard Sadow. When returning from Aruba with his wife and their two heavy suitcases, he noticed a skid nearby, and made an inspired connection, turning to his wife and saying, “That’s what luggage needs: wheels.”  The prototype that rolled out of the Massachusetts luggage factory in October 1970 had four wheels and a rope tow to pull it along.  Now wheeled luggage is standard and is a perfect example of how a simple change in usability is good for everyone, abled and disabled.

The Honourable Tariana Turia, Minister for Disabilities Issues and co-leader of the Maori Party opened the inaugural Access Tourism New Zealand Conference at AUT University Auckland on Monday (October 4th, 2010).  The conference was organized by the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute.  The audience of 100+ heard the Minister describe what Access Tourism is, and how this was the fastest growing sector overseas.  She pointed out that this is an economically important market that is  neglected in NZ.  She pledged her personal support for improving the performance of government agencies in removing participation and access barriers experienced by disabled people, and said she would do her best to take every recommendation about the practical measures that will lead to an accessible tourist experience that come out of the conference to the appropriate Minister for their action.  

To read the Ministers Speech:

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The European Travel Commission (ETC) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have published a Report on Demographic Change and Tourism.  The objective of the report is to provide a comprehensive analysis and reference work on demographic trends that will impact travel demands and tourism in the next few decades in order that destinations and tourism businesses can benefit from and adapt to these trends.  The report specifically looks at population growth and ageing, household composition and travel parties, and migration.  The competitiveness of destinations and businesses will depend on their ability to develop and market tourism products to ageing, multi-ethnic visitors who will travel in multi-generational families.  The report was officially presented by UNWTO and ETC at the recent Seminar on Demographic Change and Tourism (September 17,  Vienna, Austria). The content of the study was used as a basis for the seminar, which sought to achieve a better understanding of current and future demographic changes and debate how to maximize potential opportunities for the tourism sector.  Two of the presentations at the seminar are available here (Demographic Change and Tourism), and here (Global Demographic Change: Future Challenges).

For links to more presentations, continue reading………………………………………………….

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Winter Games NZ chairman, Sir Eion Edgar, has announced 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games is confirmed for 13-28 August, 2011.  Expanding on the successful inaugural event in 2009, the Games will feature 16 days of snow and ice sports and is expected to attract over 1,000 elite athletes from around the world.  In 2009, the Winter Games made global snow sports history by producing the first winter sports event of its kind outside of the Winter Olympics and by combining adaptive and able-bodied athletes in an elite event. Its importance on the elite snow sports calendar was confirmed, not only by the significant field it attracted, but by the number of competitors who went on to win medals at the Winter Olympics (10) and Paralympics (7) in Vancouver.  Building on that success, the 2011 provisional programme has expanded with the inclusion of two new sports and a new location outside of the Otago region. Mt Hutt will now host the Super G and Adaptive Super G alpine skiing events. Another new addition is Winter Triathlon at Snow Farm, near Wanaka which was a demonstration event at the 2009 Winter Games. Snow Farm will also host the adaptive and able-bodied cross-country.

Guest article by Mike Prescott, former manager of  2010 Legacies Now in British Columbia, Canada, and Principal, everyoneincluded

Social media is all the rage in 2010. Almost everyone in the tourism industry is aware of this phenomenon. Unlike many “tech fads”, however, social media is not going away. In fact, social media has always existed, it ‘s just that current technologies (known collectively as Web 2.0) exist to make it easy to reach far and wide almost instantaneously. I get excited about the possibilities this has for access tourism. I’m not just talking about work like I did at 2010 Legacies Now to promote accessible tourism in BC prior to the Winter Games. It takes information collecting and awareness building projects like this and many others and breathes life into them. Conversely, there may be no better vessel than access tourism for the promise of social media to make a substantive impact.

Many businesses have jumped into the fray head first. Who doesn’t have a blog, Twitter feed or facebook group? This is just the first step. Mobile applications for the iPhone and Android that can tap into geo-location features are already flourishing (not for accessibility and inclusion purposes, however). Having a good website, well managed social network site and constantly updating your microblog is nice but can I take it with me when I leave the house? Can it guide me to my next stop? Oh, and if your head isn’t spinning enough, consider how you are going to leverage games-based models to compete.

At the heart of this are dynamic human networks – not the technologies we’re more aware of. In access tourism, these networks become even more important. I think the recent literature on social networks and social capital provides us with the language of discourse.

The close bonds of community influence many of our local decisions. Bridges to weak ties alert us to novel opportunities and provide us access to global resources. It is the flexible bands of tribes that offer the greatest return on investment for access tourism. These tribes are roaming the earth, looking for that special destination that exceeds their expectations to tell others in their tribe and community about. These tribes aren’t just people with disabilities or seniors but heterogeneous packs that defy demographic labels. What it is they’re looking for and how to meet that demand will differentiate winners from losers.  The answers to these questions lie in engaging the tribe in authentic discussion. Great companies will know how to leverage social media as part their emerging strategies.

Guest Post by Ivor Ambrose, ENAT

Happily, more and more tourism professionals are “discovering” accessible tourism and why it is important to so many people. One of the most Frequently Asked Questions posed by business owners and tourist agencies is: “How many disabled tourists are there”?   And then there is the more probing question: “So, if it is not just about disabled people, how many people actually need better access, and what kind of things do they need?”.  Answering these questions accurately requires all sorts of qualifications. (I am tempted to say it is like asking: How long is a piece of string….?). We have websites such as the ENAT website, the Quality Accessible Tourism website, and this website (ATNZ) just to illuminate these issues! 
Happily there ARE a few people who have done the necessary research and have some answers about the numbers of people requiring accessible tourism. One of these is Dr. Simon Darcy, Associate Professor at the University of Technology, School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, Sydney, Australia (and QAT). He himself is disabled and has worked with the tourism industry, NGOs and government agencies for many years. He recently opened a blog called Accessible Tourism Research.   Visit his blog and read his article on accessible tourism statistics. I think you will find out why the answers to the above questions are not so simple (!) but also you’ll get some evidence about how the market is adapting in some parts of the world in order to deliver better access for all tourists.

With updates and  with permission from Competitiveness for European Tourism for All (CETA).

Registration is now open 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.   More information about the conference programme will be posted as it becomes available.

The conference will be held in WA Building, Ground Floor conferene venue, AUT downtown.  For a map, click here.

Adventure South director Geoff Gabites emphasized at the recent Holiday Accommodation Parks NZ (HAPNZ) conference that the ageing market is important.  Speaking about cycle trails, Gabites said that, as an operator, he would like to see cycle trails developed that are flat and easy so he can attract more business.  “Many clients are aged 50 to the high 70s. That is fantastic. We are seeing that age is not the determinant any longer. You can’t segment the market by age any longer because we are staying younger and fitter and healthier for longer.  Some people, who have already done the trip three times, anticipate that when they are around their mid-70s they will continue with that same amount of activity from then onwards until they die. They feel fitter and healthier than they were a decade ago. Their friends are similar.”  Gabites went on to imply that the upper age groups are also bigger spenders than younger ones. “….once (cycle) trails start moving up into grade two and three it becomes the domain of mountain bikes. The age drops and clients get stingier. They put money into their bikes, which they love dearly, but don’t spend money on the likes of our product.” (Inside Tourism 794, July 15, 2010).

The European Commission has announced a new, annual European Award for Accessible Cities.  The award aims to promote accessibility for people with disabilities in four areas: the built environment and public spaces, transport and related infrastructures, information and communication, and public facilities and services. The four finalists of the European competition will be invited to attend the award ceremony that will take place in Brussels on 2 and 3 December 2010 at the European Day of People with Disabilities conference. The winner of the European competition will receive the ‘European Award for Accessible Cities 2011′ and will feature prominently in activities to promote accessibility at European level during 2011.   In addition, a special ‘European Champion for Accessible Cities’ award will be made to recognise the work of a network of cities or initiatives.

Commenting on the awards, Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director of the European Network for Accessible Tourism, the industry watchdog and advisory group said, ”From the perspective of the tourism industry, the European Awards for Accessible Cities are a welcome initiative. We hope these awards will give recognition to cities that have been directing investment towards accessible tourism facilities and services. It should also stimulate cities across Europe to put even more effort into ‘Tourism for All’ – catering to all visitors who need good access”.  He continued, ”Disabled visitors, older travellers and families with small children can all benefit from better access in accommodation, attractions and public transport. Many barriers must still be removed and well-designed services are also very much needed. Cities can profit enormously if they gain a reputation for being accessible and welcoming, not only for holiday tourists but also for the business and conference sector”.

Recent statistics from VisitEngland show that guests with disabilities and long-term health problems, with their accompanying travellers, made up 11% of the visitor overnight stays in 2009, with a value of 2 billion pounds. Trips by this group tend to be longer than average and as a result their spend per trip is higher.

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!

Guest Post:  Continuing on from April 16, 26, May 13 and 23………….

Well we are certainly learning about this whole new world of accessible tourism and the dynamics of developing a business. Just to recap we have been exploring the idea of setting up an accessible tourism business but have been challenged by the how little information there is about the international visitor market travelling to NZ with accessibility issues.  We decided to solve our lack of information by just asking people for information!!  We currently have a survey (isn’t SurveyMonkey a great website!!!) out in the stratosphere. Interestingly, we obviously have much to learn about using social networking sites to distribute our survey as the response from them has been next to useless. Our best response has been via friends who understand what we are trying to do and who have networks with organisations that support those with disabilities. 

BUT MORE RESPONSES ARE NEEDED!! Can we be ever so bolshie and ask you to take 2 minutes now to fill in our survey – go on!!  The survey is open until mid June and already we are getting eye opening information. The feedback is telling us that there some major themes of what people with disabilities need tourism operators to consider. Overwhelmingly it seems they are not considering these factors to our NZ’s reputation detriment.

(Note: Access Tourism NZ is not involved in any way with this survey – Admin)