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

Hotel News UK reports that hoteliers throughout the United Kingdom have made strides to boost the number of accessible rooms in recent months as London gears up for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  In doing so, they hope to capitalize on the more than £2-billion (US$3.2-billion) tourist segment for disabled people.  There are more than 1,540 hotels and bed and breakfasts listed on the Government-backed Inclusive London website, which was launched in March 2011 to promote accessible rooms to all tourists visiting the city. There are a further 122 accessible hostels.

A lot of work has gone into improving accommodation access, says Ufi Ibrahim, CE of the British Hospitality Association.  “We’ve been working with tourism organization Tourism for All to raise awareness.  Many hoteliers in London have been doing sort of small quick fixes in order to enable some rooms to be usable for people who have accessibility problems—ramps, for example.”

Other changes are more long-term.   InterContinental Hotels Group, which has 294 accessible rooms in London, invested more than £12 million (US$19.3 million) seven years ago into its portfolio to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. The resulting efforts saw the inclusion of tactile signage and ceiling track hoists in select locations. IHG also requires all employees to undergo training programs on how to accommodate guests with disabilities, both during orientation and then once every six months for review.

By summer 2012, there will be 2,667 accessible rooms in London, 1,392 of which will be wheelchair friendly.  But with a potential market of 78 million American and 75 million European disabled visitors, friends and families according to VisitEngland, it is uncertain whether supply will meet demand, Ibrahim said. Hoteliers are ramping up development efforts in an attempt to do just that. Premier Inn plans to open four additional properties before the Games. The group also recently opened the London Stratford Premier Inn, the first among the company portfolio to offer fixed tracker hoisting mechanisms. Hilton Worldwide encourages development of accessible rooms through a flexible room layout, said Alex Humphrey, senior manager of safety and security for the U.K. and Western Europe. “Each hotel has the ability to customize rooms with accessibility equipment to increase the number of accessible rooms, in addition to providing dedicated equipment for those guests with hearing impairments,” he said.

Disabled World reports that the Special Needs Group (SNG) is launching a powerful, unprecedented online Accessible Travel Advocate course for all travel professionals. The SNG is the leading global provider of special needs equipment for the travel industry.  The one-hour, three-module program objectives focus on understanding accessible travel, building expertise in accessible travel and demonstrating accessible travel advocacy skills and runs November 14.    The accessible travel market is the  fastest-growing segment of the travel market, and this is the first time travel professionals can become conversant with it through online study and testing, available here.

Special Needs Group has also formed a new advisory board, the SNG Inner Circle, consisting of key players in the travel industry such as cruise line CEOs, etc. The board will convene several times per year to discuss key travel accessibility issues and how to improve travel experiences for individuals with special needs.

All businesses with at least one employee will have to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Customer Service Standard taking effect Jan. 1, 2012.  These standards include that businesses are required to develop customer service policies and procedures for serving people with disabilities, to train staff, volunteers and contractors to serve customers with disabilities, to let customers with disabilities provide feedback on how their needs have been met, to establish a process to respond and take action on any complaints, and to have a policy on allowing people to use their own assistive devices (e.g. screen reader, cane, wheelchair, oxygen tank) to access a business’s goods and services.  This includes accessing menus.  Currently, some Ontarian restaurants offer large print or braille menus, but these can not be read by all guests. Others put their menus on their website as a PDF, which is not accessible to some.  Still others put menus on Facebook – which is notoriously inaccessible.

Now Ontarian restaurateurs have a solution in aMENU  -  a website developed by Geoff Collis – where  participating restaurants can place their menus so that they can be accessed not only with assistive devices but portable devices such as mobile phones.   Menus can be read before a patron even gets to an establishment.   The first restaurant leading the way by participating is Macy’s Diner & Delicatessen in Mississauga.  Owner Hans Sturzenbecher has clearly understood the need for accessibility in all aspects of his establishment and is the first restaurateur to have his Accessible Menu coded for accessibility on the site so that Ontarians, visitors, or tourists with disabilities and mobile phone users can access it with their assistive devices either at home, en route or in the restaurant itself. Restaurant owners wishing to know more about this initiative can access a presentation, contact aMenu, or visit their website.

The World Travel Market is a major international travel industry event held over 4
days.  Last year, nearly 50,000 industry participants, and over 5000 exhibiting companies took part in the market.  This year, the market is being held on 7-10 November in London, and will have two seminars and an Advice Clinic on accessible tourism.  One seminar will cover the business case for developing Access tourism and will be chaired by John de Vial of the British Travel Association (ABTA).  The second seminar will be presented by members of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) and will highlight market data and research findings.  The session will be introduced by Veroniek Maat, a one-time intern at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute of Auckland University of Technology (NZTRI) and a contributor to Access Tourism New Zealand.  The advice clinic will be run by Brian Seaman of Tourism for All UK, and 15 minute one-on-one sessions are available by registering and selecting someone to speak to from a list of fourteen industry experts.

AccessibilityOnline represents a collaborative training program between the ADA National Network and the US Access Board. The program includes a series of free webinars and audio conferences on different topics of accessibility. Sessions are held on a monthly basis and cover a variety of topics concerning accessibility to the built environment, information and communication technologies, and transportation. The training is being coordinated and hosted by the Great Lakes ADA Center to provide accurate and quality training on the Architectural Barriers Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA/ABA) Accessibility Guidelines and on electronic and information technology accessibility standards (Section 508).  The next section is on accessible marinas and boating facilities and is being held on November 3rd.  You can submit questions for the webinar here.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the ONCE Foundation for Cooperation
and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) have signed a Cooperation Agreement aimed at developing ever more accessible tourism for persons with disabilities (Madrid, Spain, 16 September).

“The facilitation of tourist travel for persons with disabilities is a central part of responsible and sustainable tourism,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. The Executive Vice President of the ONCE Foundation, Alberto Duran López, stressed the importance of counting on the support of UNWTO. “We are happy to work with UNWTO and ENAT and trust this partnership will significantly advance equal opportunities and rights for persons with disabilities,” he said.

The President of ENAT, Lilian Müller, expressed the hope to “bring a greater awareness of ‘Accessible Tourism for All’ among UNWTO members and to provide  them with new tools and resources so that they can make effective progress in  this growing field of tourism”.

Aimed at enabling universal access to tourism facilities and services, the Agreement entails a series of initiatives, including awareness-raising, technical support, indicators and training in the field of accessibility to national tourism administrations and tourism enterprises. The trilateral accord also involves the promotion of traineeships for young persons with disabilities, with a view towards their integration in the labour market. It further encompasses the funding of pilot projects in destinations, involving the application of new technologies, to facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities in tourism and leisure-related activities.

The Cooperation Agreement builds on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (30 March 2007), and the UNWTO Resolution on Accessible Tourism for All, adopted by the UNWTO General Assembly in 2005 and prepared in collaboration with the ONCE Foundation.

The Rolling Rains Report writes that the first international certification programme for accessible tourism destinations has been developed and carried out in Lousã, Portugal by the Belgian Accessibility Office, Toegangelijkheidsbureau (TGB).

The Accessible Tourism Destination Certification Programme or ATDCP is based on an extensive audit of the Destination Management Organisation’s accessible  tourism policies, infrastructure, transport, services and visitor information, and includes accessibility assessments of the outdoor environment, overnight accommodation, attractions, and activities and offers for visitors including persons with disabilities, older persons and families with small children.

Designed and developed by accessibility and tourism experts, TGB Belgium, the ATDCP is a completely new destination management tool which provides an accurate measure of the excellence of an accessible tourism destination, based on strictly defined criteria.

The Accessible Destination Certification Programme involves assessment meetings with destination managers coupled with on-site audits and document analysis, thus building a picture of the capacity and level of achievement of the accessible destination.  Each element of the assessment is scored against a set of indicators, thus enabling managers to track the destination’s performance over time and allowing for benchmarking across any number of destinations.

The Programme also provides a tailor-made Action Plan for destination managers, with priorities for improvements to be made in the different facets of the accessible destination.  The Action Plan aims to ensure that the destination will continue to develop and improve its offers to all visitors, giving them fulfilling, accessible experiences, whatever their interests and regardless of their age or abilities.  The TGB Accessible Tourism Destination Certificate is valid for two years, after which time it must be renewed through a re-assessment process.

For background on this advance, see the European Network for Accessible Tourism website.

Brian M Seamans

Kate Simons writes in The Independent that one of the first organisations to lobby for better access to travel and leisure was the charity Tourism for All UK, founded 30 years ago.  Brian Seaman, Tourism for All’s head of consultancy, is upbeat about the changes he’s seen in recent years. “I have been measuring toilets for 16 years [since joining Tourism for All]. It’s not something I’d like as an epitaph, but I now have very few complaints compared with when I started,” he says. “Things have improved, not to say that it’s perfect….the mainstream has opened up and large travel companies have taken an interest and noted the fact that they need to gear themselves up for this [section of the market].”  Mr Seaman believes that there is also a greater understanding in the industry about providing a good standard of service to people with disabilities. For example, Intercontinental Hotels – which includes Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza – has a big training programme for staff, so that they are more comfortable in helping disabled people.

Philip Scott, managing director of Can Be Done, which specialises in providing bespoke holidays around the world for people with disabilities, is also positive about the changing experience of travelling abroad. “Spain is exceptionally good for the disabled traveller, and North America, too. There’s probably the greatest range of facilities for travellers with disabilities in the Canary Islands,” he says. But he acknowledges that some destinations still have a way to go and that progressive legislation isn’t always interpreted properly on the ground. In Europe, Spain is probably best, while France is probably the worst, with Italy a close second.  They have no real infrastructure for disabled travellers.

Visit Scotland – the national tourism organisation – says that that the accessible tourism market is already hugely important and is growing.  Between January – June 2009, 12% of all domestic trips to Scotland were made by visitors with access needs, or those accompanying someone who has access needs. This amounts to:

• 659 thousand trips, contributing almost £121 million to the Scottish economy in just six months, and rose to £325 million pounds for the 11 month period 2009/10.
• Senior tourists, over 55’s hold 80% of the nation’s wealth, and the 11 million disabled people in the UK have a potential spending power (disposable income) of £80b per year.

This is significantly higher than some more established targeted markets.

VisitScotland is leading an Accessible Tourism Steering Group (ATSG) with representatives from Capability Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Tourism Forum, the Scottish Government and other leading individuals from the accessible tourism industry. ATSG have planned a series of activities looking to engage and help tourism businesses to grasp emerging opportunities in accessible tourism market. The key objective of this programme is to raise awareness, alter perceptions and enable the Scottish tourism industry to better plan for accessible tourism product development.

VisitScotland has commissioned Capability Scotland to set up and run six events from August – October 2011 to engage with disabled people and find out what needs to be enhanced or changed to make Scottish tourism more accessible.   Disabled people with a range of impairments and conditions will meet with representatives from Capability and VisitScotland to talk about their experiences as a tourist in Scotland and the barriers that they face.  Recommendations will then be made to VisitScotland and the Scottish tourism industry.

Engaging the tourism industry

• Business Workshops – ATSG will attend about  12 Industry events in autumn at which they will present the findings, the statistics around the economic value of accessible tourism and run question and answer sessions.
• VisitScotland is making a film in three parts, based on the findings from the project, with interviews. This will be used to promote Accessible Tourism throughout 2011/12, with a showing of the finished film at the 2012 conference.
• Industry conference – October 2012: workshops and presentations; opportunity for businesses to ask questions in an open and helpful environment.

The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) will give a presentation at the 2011 World Travel Market Conference in London 7-10 November.  The presentation will include a round-up of the key issues in making tourism offers accessible and  inclusive for all visitors. Highlighting will be the latest market data and research findings which show how businesses and destinations are winning market share by offering accessible infrastructure and services.  Also discussed will be how England is making ready for all visitors to enjoy the London Olympic and paralympic Games 2012.  Tourist Boards, DMOs, attractions, hotels, airlines and booking agents can all play a part in catering for the growing market of seniors, families with young children and people with disabilities, and information will be provided on how it’s done and where to begin.   ENAT is a non-profit association of organisations and individuals from the private, public and NGO sectors. Their mission is to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all visitors and to help promote Accessible Tourism around the world.

Manchester Airport has launched a pioneering new access guide designed to provide disabled customers with all the information required to plan their journey through one of the UK’s busiest airports with confidence.  The guide has been developed in partnership with respected disability organisation DisabledGo.  The airport points out that this is the first time an airport has been given its own guide. The new guide talks visitors to the airport through their journey; from the car park to their departure lounge if they are flying from Manchester, or alternatively from arrivals through to the car park if Manchester is their final destination. Every piece of information on the airport guide has been collected in person by a trained DisabledGo access surveyor. The information includes everything from details of the fixtures and fittings in accessible toilets, to hearing assistance systems, lighting levels and the dimensions of parking bays.

Speaking about the development of the guide Dr Gregory Burke, Chief Executive of DisabledGo said: “We are delighted to have worked in partnership on this pioneering project. It has been clear throughout the whole process that Manchester Airport is committed to providing the best possible service to disabled travellers and recognises that disabled people are a much ignored market. As a wheelchair user and a frequent flyer I know how incredibly stressful air travel can often be. This guide will be a step-change in making every journey better for disabled people and anyone else. All credit to Manchester Airport.”

Andrew Harrison, Manchester Airport’s Managing Director, said: “I am delighted that we are the first airport to have helped create a DisabledGo guide. We want to make every customer’s journey stress free so this World-first guide is just another way of us helping take away the worry for passengers with reduced mobility. By launching this guide in the Summer season, I am confident that passengers will find it useful in navigating their way around the airport.”  The information is easily searchable by using a range of icons and is complemented by interactive 3D maps of the Airport site. In addition to the guide DisabledGo will supply Manchester Airport staff with disability equality training and advice on how access can be improved in the future.

Knoxville, Tennessee is looking to improve information about access to restaurants in the area.  The Access Knoxville Project is a partnership between the University of Tennessee and the disAbility Resource Center, and trained volunteers to survey local restaurants using a survey form as a guide.  They looked to see how “friendly” restaurants are  to people with all types of disabilities, said Nathan Hulling, a disability advocate for DRC. The Access Knoxville survey has a standard rating system of Limited, Good, and Wow access, and so far, results are in for thirteen restaurants.   Restaurants get a letter from Hulling explaining their rating and sometimes uggesting changes.  Those with a Wow access rating receive an Accessibility Certificate, which they can display.

The Knoxville project is modelled after a similar program in Nashville, whose key  partners included Tennessee Disability Pathfinder, a project of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities which donated staff
time and office supplies. The Nashville Conventions and Visitors Bureau agreed
to post restaurant accessibility ratings on their website – so far there are 24 such
ratings. Since 2010, the project has xpanded its website to include accessibility-friendly information about hotels, transportation services, and entertainment attractions, in addition to restaurants.

The Taranaki Daily News reports that New Plymouth art gallery The Govett-Brewster received the Arts Access Aotearoa Big ‘A’ Creative New Zealand Arts For All Award in recognition of its continuing work with disabled people to better understand their needs in relation to art appreciation. The gallery provides:

• audio and touch tours
• large-print exhibition guides for the blind and partially-sighted
• sound enhancer to make audio clearer for the hearing impaired
• sign-language tours with an interpreter for the deaf
• easy access for those who are physically disabled
• disabled-friendly website
• Staff trained in disability awareness
• discussion forums with the disabled community

Gallery Director Rhana Devenport was thrilled with the award but said it was only the beginning.  ”It’s good that they recognise we’re making a sincere and genuine effort, but we know we’ve got a long journey ahead and lots of learning to do, it’s a continuing conversation with the disabled community,” she said.

In awarding the Govett-Brewster, the judges said: ” The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery’s commitment to accessibility is underpinned by the New Plymouth District Council’s Disability Strategy – an example of best practice that gave the Govett-Brewster the edge. This nomination was a fine example of an arts organisation developing its audience by increasing access, and we look forward to seeing the next steps on its journey to accessibility.”  Presenting the award at a ceremony in Parliament, Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright said, “engaging New Zealanders in the arts and ensuring they have access to great art experiences is a priority for us. This award sits at the heart of what Creative New Zealand wants to achieve”.  Creative New Zealand id the national arts development agency.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has a free Accessible Travel Made Easy online training course aimed at travel agents, tour operators and other front-line travel industry staff. The course is run in conjunction with the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).  This interactive course provides an overview
of the importance of accessible travel and why it makes good business sense
to meet the diverse needs of customers. The first module was launched at ABTA’s first Travel Matters conference, attended by high level stakeholders from Government, media and the travel industry.

The second advanced module ‘Inclusive travel – making business sense’
was launched recently, and aims to help those working in the travel industry to understand good business practice in relation to accessibility. It shows them how to:

• communicate this effectively with colleagues and customers
• understand customers’ expectations and needs
• tackle barriers that restrict choice and autonomy for disabled people and for those whose mobility is temporarily impaired
• improve and change business practice as appropriate, so that the best service is offered to all.

This project links in with the Commission’s work on Air Travel Accessibility. Under European law (EC1107), disabled passengers and those with limited mobility, have a right to assistance when they fly to, from and within Europe.

Tourism for All UK will run in the northern autumn  a conference for Senior Marketing, Sales and Business Development & Owner Managers in the UK Hospitality and Tourism Industry about marketing to and service for People with Disabilities (PwDs).  Recent research by VisitEngland (England’s national tourism board) revealed that the demand for travel and leisure products from disabled people is growing rapidly, and worth £2 billion a year in domestic travel alone. Yet many businesses are missing out on a share of this market.  VisitEngland recently released a booklet which was created through a joint partnership with the Government’s Accessible Tourism Stakeholder Forum with the aim of inspiring tourism businesses to improve accessibility for customers in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games & Paralympic Games.  The booklet – “At Your Service” – describes how to capture this £2 billion market.   Around 11 million people in England have an impairment of some kind whether they are wheel chair users, have poor vision, hearing loss or learning difficulties.   Overseas, there are potentially 78 million American and 75 million European disabled visitors, friends and family.

The Tourism for All conference will look at how a focus on exceptional customer service, accurate information and clear leadership can open up a whole new market for tourism businesses, how the long term loyalty of this market can be achieved at relatively low cost, and how to maximise the opportunities offered by the huge interest in the Olympic and Paralympic Games

The conference plans to includes a great lineup of speakers.  To see these, continue reading…………………

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An event held during New Zealand Sign Language Week (May 2-8) has highlighted the fact that more deaf people would more often attend sign language interpretation of art in galleries if it was on offer. So says NZ Sign Language interpreter Brydee Jenkins Strang.  The Dunedin Public Art Gallery (DPAG) held a tour of the Beloved collection last Sunday, with Strang translating guide Eryn van Dijk’s discussion. This tour was the only interpreted gallery tour in New Zealand for Sign Language (NZSL) Week, and was the second time it was run. The Beloved collection shows popular works in the DPAG collection such as pieces by New Zealanders  Colin McCahon and Reuben Paterson, and by Claude Monet.  Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ) community relations officer Jenna Holland attended the tour, and said deaf attendees enjoyed the event and would like more translated events. “Deaf community members like visualising and describing things,” said Holland.  She would like to see an exhibition of work by deaf artists with a related workshop to introduce people to sign language and the deaf arts community.  DANZ focuses on promoting awareness of, access to, and advancement of NZSL and provides information and resources on D/deaf New Zealanders, and D/deaf culture.  DANZ held a workshop on sign language for
gallery staff during Sign Language Week. NZSL is NZ’a third official language –
the other two are English and Maori.

DPAG visitor host Rosemary Jackson-Hunter said the gallery would like to hold more events like the interpreted tour. “We are considering doing something for people with impaired sight,” said Jackson-Hunter .

A search of the DPAG website reveals that there is no information about access to the gallery for people with any type of disability, and no way to search for such information on the website.  While a few other galleries (and museums) in New Zealand do have such information, an extensive search for disabled access at other galleries and museums throughout New Zealand shows that their websites lack access information about their premises.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United ‎Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism.   Its membership includes 154 countries, 7 territories and over 400 Affiliate ‎Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations ‎and local tourism authorities.‎  It ‎includes tourism and travel by people with disabilities as a vital element of any responsible and sustainable tourism development policy.  In 2005, the Organization’s General Assembly adopted “Accessible Tourism for All”, which features a series of recommendations to the sector, highlights the need to provide clear information on the accessibility of tourism facilities, the availability of support services in destinations for persons with disabilities, and the training of employees on the needs of people with disabilities.  The document was prepared with the help of experts from the ONCE Foundation (a Spanish disabilities organization).    In October 2009, UNWTO again underscored the importance of accessibility with the “Declaration on the Facilitation of Tourist Travel”, approved by its General Assembly.  The declaration calls upon states to ensure the accessibility of tourism establishments and endorses the general principles enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  In 2011, UNWTO plans to work with ONCE and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) to develop guidelines, indicators, benchmarking and training in Accessible Tourism.  It will also work on policy-making, awareness-raising, and capacity building projects, especially via the UNWTO Themis Foundation, which is responsible for implementing the UNWTO work programme on education and training.

The John F. Kennedy for the Performing Arts and partners are holding a conference on Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) in August.  LEAD has been engaging cultural administrators from around the world in a conversation on accessibility, disability and inclusion for more than 10 years. Two days of conference are preceded by three days of relevant pre-conference workshops. The conference is aimed at cultural organizations such as museums, galleries, and theatres, and at state and local governments, universities and colleges and anyone involved in the arts with an interest in access for people with disabilities. It will consider a broad range of access topics, such as web accessibility, social media, captioning in theatres, the Americans with Disabilities Act, access evaluations, staff and volunteer training, effective access planning, effective communication for people who are blind/low vision, and/or deaf/hard of hearing, audio description, funding, grants, and much more.  LEAD is a professional network focused on expanding the breadth and scope of accessibility services and programming across the USA and around the world. The network:

• explores practical methods for implementing accessibility in cultural environments;
• communicates information about arts and accessibility, and;
• shares resources and knowledge among professionals in the field of accessibility.

 A variety of helpful tip sheets can be found here.

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.

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.