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

Tourism South East (TSE) in the UK – which covers eight counties – has over 2000 industry and 70 local authority members.  Tourism in the region is worth in excess of £13 billion and supports over 300,000 jobs.   TSE estimates that the disabled market is worth £40 billion per annum, and that over 2.5 million disabled people travel regularly.  As they often travel with families and carers the number of access tourists increases dramatically.   TSE has funding to deliver a series of subsidised Destination Access Audits, mini audits, bespoke access workshops, and Welcome All courses across the South East over the next four years.  It also used funding from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to undertake some  Accessibility Case Studies to understand how businesses have benefited from making their properties more accessible in the run up to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London.   These include:

• Heath Farm, Lewes.  A four star self- catering property that has achieved the National Accessible Scheme Mobility Grade 2 award, is a TSE member and whose owners have benefited from Welcome All training. 
• The Roald Dahl Museum, Buckinghamshire.  Won the Enjoy England Award for Small Visitor Attraction Of The Year 2008, is a TSE member, has taken significant steps towards welcoming all customers and has benefited from signing up to Hosting The World.
• Holiday Inn, Windsor/Maidenhead. The Holiday Inn Windsor/Maidenhead has achieved the National Accessible Scheme Mobility and Hearing Grade 1. The Holiday Inn Accessibility Manager recently presented at a Tourism South East and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead accessibility seminar at Legoland.
• Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire. Winchester Cathedral is Winchester’s principal tourist attraction and has dominated the city for nearly a thousand years.  Visitors to the city are largely drawn by its well-preserved historical centre and making its key attractions accessible to everyone is important for the city’s ambition to be a world-class visitor destination. Winchester Cathedral is a Tourism South East member and staff have benefited from Tourism South East’s Welcome to Excellence and e-animation training courses.

Videos of some of these case studies can be found here.

TSE also conducted text case studies to provide an insight into the benefits of businesses becoming more accessible in the run up to 2012.  Continue reading:

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

Tourism South East (England) has commissioned a series of case studies to understand how businesses have benefited from making their properties more accessible in the run up to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games being held in 2012.  The case studies include video and text case studies.  To find out more, continue reading……

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Translink, the main provider of public transport in Northern Ireland, have produced a free online access guide to transport in the country and also with regards to travelling into Ireland. The guide gives great information about the different type of public information available including the Metro, Ulsterbus, Goldline and NIRailways.  It contains information and advice on how to use services, and contact details to help plan a journey. The guide has been produced in partnership with the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC), and identifies the degree of accessibility at rail and bus stations throughout the country, following major and ongoing investment in improving the facilities.
You can download a PDF version of the guide from Translink’s website and it is also available from rail and bus stations in Northern Ireland. Large print, Braille and audio tape versions can also be provided on request by Translink by contacting them on: 028 9066 6630 (or Typetalk 18001 028 9066 6630).  For other information about things to see and do in Northern Ireland, visit the OpenBritain Directory.

Reprinted with permission from Craig Grimes, Open Britain and Tourism for All

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

Recently, Tour Watch was under threat of closure for financial reasons.  But Tour Watch Founder Scott Rains (who also founded the Rolling Rains Report) put out the word and members have fronted up with enough cash to keep the site going for another year.  Tour Watch presents best practices and opportunities for improved service in the tour operator and leisure education industry from the perspective of slow walkers and those with disabilities.  With over 650 members, Tour Watch presents a forum to post articles, links, photos – in fact, to generally come together to share information about Access Tourism (= Inclusive Tourism)  With 34 groups there is ample opportunity to focus in on whatever is of most interest, be it Rio2016 Olympics and Paralympics, Inclusive Travel in Australia and New Zealand, or Accessible Travel in Malaysia.

Recently, Visitor Information Centres in Renfrew County undertook a three day familiarization tour of tourism businesses in the Ottawa Valley prior to the opening of 10 such centres.  In preparation, staff undertook training that included an introduced to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA 2005) and the accompanying Customer Service Standards.  The Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) points out that about 1.85 million people in Ontario have a disability (that’s one in seven people).  Over the next 20 years as people grow older, the number will rise to one in five Ontarians.  The MCSS estimates that compliance with AODA standards could generate an additional increase in total retail sales of between $3.8 and $9.6 billion.  AccessON on the MCSS website gives information to businesses on understanding disabilities, recognizing and preventing barriers to accessibility, welcoming people with disabilities, and understanding laws on accessibility.

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

Simon Kane writes in The Independent that the most forward-thinking of the UK’s tourism businesses are wising up to the fact that attending to accessibility has benefits for both the visitor and the proprietor. One couple starting an accommodation business ensured that the whole of their establishment (The Hytte)  – including the gardens and hot tub – could be enjoyed by all.  The business even has a sensory garden, with scented and tactile plants to appeal to the vision impaired.  Owner Sonja Gregory says the business saw benefits to doing this.   Usually self-catering occupancy runs around 55% – The Hytte achieved 87% in the first year and 97% in the second, a success Gregory puts down to positive word of mouth.  The Hytte has received regional and national awards in recognition of their commitment to access for all, including a gold Enjoy England Award in 2009.  This award goes to tourist attractions and accommodation that go the extra mile to ensure their facilities are accessible to all.  This year (2010), the gold went to imago at Burleigh Court, which offers three meeting venues and fully integrated quality training, accommodation, and extensive sport and leisure facilities.

Passengers will enjoy easier access to information about their rights when travelling by rail or air thanks to a Europe-wide publicity campaign in 23 languages launched by the European Commission this month. Although the Commission has in recent years introduced legislation to ensure air and rail passengers benefit from the same standards of treatment throughout the European Union, not all passengers are yet aware of what they are entitled to. To remedy this, posters reminding people of their rights will be displayed in airports and train stations in all Member States and travellers will also be able to consult free leaflets and a specially designed website in all of the European Union’s official languages.  Passenger rights include a guarantee of equal treatment for people with a disability or reduced mobility.  In Europe, more than one in five people find travelling difficult due to old age, disability or other mobility issues, and the information includes information about the right of train transport for passengers with reduced mobility, information on accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility, assistance for persons with reduced mobility, and air travel for the disabled.

Walks with Wheelchairs UK provides free information on over 500 routes and walks that are suitable for wheelchair users throughout the UK.  The walks on the website have been tried and tested by wheelies or those knowledgeable about routes in the great outdoors.  Website users are able to recommend walks they think suitable, read reviews of walk routes, download walk directions free of charge, and add comments on walks listed.  The website uses gradient and terrain criteria in their walk descriptions, and also provide free ordinance survey maps of walks.  A sister site about walks and routes for parents with buggies or young children follows a similar format.

From Open Britain.

In an interview with the London Evening Standard recently Tanni Grey-Thompson, the UK’s most famous Paralympian, gave OpenLondon the thumbs up. She said “The guide includes advice on travelling around London’s public transport network, where to eat and sleep and accessible tourist attractions. The British Museum, National Galleries, Madame Tussaud’s, Houses of Parliament, Shakespeare’s Globe and Tower of London are all highly rated.”  Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson showed her support for OpenBritain 2010 during its launch at the National Theatre on the South Bank in London in July 2009 and it’s great that we have her continued support for our new OpenLondon Guide.  Welcoming the OpenLondon guide, she said: “It’s nice to know that if you’re going to trek half-way across the city it’s going to be okay, and if not, at least you know what you’re letting yourself in for.”  During the Evening Standard interview Tanni was also voicing her concerns about access for disabled people in the West End of London, more specifically Covent Garden, as it’s “particularly difficult to get around, with lots of small shops and cobbled streets. She suggested that while major chains like Marks & Spencer and John Lewis were well equipped, some retailers had the wrong attitude to change.” 

The OpenLondon 2010 Guide which can be ordered through OpenBritain.net.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis of Bournemouth University and President of the International Federation of Information Technology for Travel & Tourism (IFITT) said during an interview in China during the  World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Travel and Tourism Summit, that a lot of organisations will use technology to demonstrate what kind of experiences they can deliver, including Access Tourism experiences.  Buhalis told Travel Daily News that core products and core services can be easily demonstrated using technology, “particularly for specific markets such as accessible tourism, as especially for people with disabilities or the elderly population there is a need to know exactly what kind of experiences they can have in a particular place and also what are the barriers that they may face in having these experiences.”  He pointed out that in Access Tourism, technology is absolutely critical in showing consumers how they can engage with the product and what the promised experience is.

 Disabled people across Scotland will be popping into their local for a celebratory tipple following the passing of a new law which promotes better access to pubs and clubs. The Barred! amendment, passed by the Scottish Parliament as part of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act,  requires landlords to show how their premises can be accessed by disabled customers, when they apply for a license. The amendment is an important milestone in Capability Scotland’s Barred! campaign which aims to promote better access to pubs and clubs for disabled people.  Capability Scotland works with disabled people of all ages and their families and carers throughout Scotland.   The campaign was originally started by disability activist, Mark Cooper, after he was forced to leave an Edinburgh pub mid drink because there was no accessible toilet.  He launched the Barred! facebook site which attracted support from disabled people across the country who had encountered similar experiences.  Read on………

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This year’s OpenBritain Award for Accessibility has been presented to Thistle Hotels UK. The award is presented in association with Tourism For All in recognition of outstanding achievements in improving accessibility.  The award was presented to Heiko Figge, the Managing Director of Thistle Hotels, by Sir William Lawrence, the chairman of Tourism for All UK, at the prestigious British Hospitality Association’s (BHA) annual lunch at London’s Grosvenor House.  Thistle Hotels collected the honour for its ongoing and proactive programme of improving accessibility in all their hotels and their commitment to ensuring all staff take part in Access for All training programmes.  The BHA is the national trade association for hotels, restaurants and caterers and their annual lunch is attended by nearly 900 members.

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

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

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.

This month, Visit England -  the official tourism board for England – released figures that show in 2009, people with a health condition or a disability:

• Took 11 million overnight domestic trips (11% of all such total domestic trips);
• Contributed almost £2bn to the English domestic visitor economy;
• Took longer trips and spent more than the average non-disabled domestic tripper.

This group comprises over 25% of Britons, is high on the Visit England agenda, and is an important part of the new England: A Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010-2020.    While the strategy recognizes that much has been achieved in England in recent years to coordinate better information about visitor accessibility, it also recognizes that there is a long way to go in developing accessible visitor and transport infrastructure.  It recommends prioritising this work for 2012 and beyond. People with accessibility needs represent a growth sector of the market and England intends to take the opportunity to lead in this field.  Its Strategic Action Plan outlines how this can be achieved.  The Enjoy England website has a video that covers some aspects of Profiting Through Accessible Tourism.

Are you a person with a disability?  Have you had dealings with JetStar airlines in the last twelve months?  Sheila King is asking people to contact her if they feel they have been discriminated against by JetStar.  Sheila is making a claim against JetStar after she was refused access on a flight because the flight already had two passengers who required wheelchair assistance.  Sheila’s email is sheilaking@bigpond.com

David Layton, a member of the young disabled campaigners group Trailblazers, has been shortlisted for the Uk’s prestigious “The Charity Awards 2010”.  The Greater Yarmouth Mercury reports that, amongst other things, the group has investigated accessibility on public transport and at leisure venues, and has campaigned to make changes in these areas for disabled people. Their transport campaign has even led to the Department of Transport launching a consultation to fine transport providers if disabled users can’t access the disabled spaces.  The Trailblazers Group has lobbied Parliament, met government ministers and handed in a petition at 10 Downing Street. They are currently investigating equality in employment and will be looking into Access Tourism later in 2010. For a news item on critiquing London’s bars, restaurants, theatres, and galleries, see the video clip “Trailblazers hit the Headlines”.