First of its kind public accessible buses now link Banff and Lake Louise
Banff and Lake Louise have long been great accessible destinations with many inclusive experiences such as the Sulphur Mountain Gondola, cruising Lake Minnewanka, rafting on the Bow River and exploring the shoreline of the majestic Lake Louise. Using Banff as a holiday base has just become easier.
Roam Public Transit has introduced four new innovative, accessible commuter coaches for travel between Lake Louise and Banff. The new buses will be used on the Lake Louise Express route (Route 8X) starting on May 17, 2019.
“The Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission (BVRTSC) is proud to introduce our most accessible buses yet. The new MCI Commuter Coaches will change what it means for residents and visitors to travel by transit between Lake Louise and Banff, especially for our passengers using a range of mobility devices,” says chair of the BVRTSC Davina Bernard.
“As a Commission, we strive to provide accessible transit because we believe everyone should have the opportunity to use Roam. And as such, we are confident these new buses will make a positive impact on all of our users.”
The new Motor Coach Industries D45 CRT LE Commuter Coach model features an ergonomically designed spiral entryway, curb-level ramp, and second door that opens into a first-of-its-kind, low-entry vestibule offering comfort and access for all passengers. These state of the art vehicles offer a quality of service worthy of the National Parks experience.
“In the design phase of the D45 CRT LE, MCI engaged several volunteers from people with disabilities advocacy groups. They overwhelmingly endorsed the low entry vestibule concept, citing the increased freedom, boarding ease and the stress-free riding environment,” says VP of Sales for Canada West Region Chad Sadowy. “It’s the kind of praise you like to hear when designing a next-generation coach and we anticipate the same kind of approval from passengers riding with Roam.”
The new buses continue to help with BVRTSC’s mission of moving people throughout the Bow Valley and Banff National Park too, which has continued support from the Commission’s municipal partners such as Town of Banff, Town of Canmore, and Improvement District 9 as well as Parks Canada and other organizations such as Banff & Lake Louise Tourism.
“Parks Canada is proud of its collaborative partnerships with the BVRTSC, the Town of Banff, and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism. Together, we are providing long-term, sustainable solutions for travel and transit in Banff National Park and supporting improved access to exceptional experiences for visitors,” says acting field unit superintendent of Banff National Park Greg Danchuk.
“We are thrilled there will be even easier access to transit for visitors and residents across Banff and Lake Louise. It’s a great way we can enjoy the national park while ensuring we’re helping to preserve it as we contribute to reduced single vehicles on the roadways,” says President & CEO, Banff & Lake Louise Tourism Leslie Bruce.
Howmans Gap Ymca Alpine Centre Falls Creek
The first of its kind above the snowline in Australia, the Howmans Gap Alpine Centre YMCA is a universal-design, accessible accommodation facility that enables access to the snow and our alpine region for all alpine enthusiasts.
Howmans Gap Alpine Centre YMCA is situated on the Bogong High Plains, about four kilometres below Falls Creek resort, surrounded by tall ash bushland.
Howmans Gap offers a diverse range of accessible accommodation including self contained cottages and bunk style rooms. Bunk room accommodation prices include full catering with their in house chef.
Howmans Gap offers a wide range of facilities and activities including cycle knowledgeable staff, bike storage, bike tools, pumps and workshop. They offer the opportunity for walking, wildflowers, mountain biking, camping, high ropes, archery, and much more to help you explore Australia’s Alpine National Park in summer and is a great place for schools and groups to discover the Alpine region in any season.
In Winter, Howmans Gap Alpine Centre is the only YMCA Camp to offer snow and ski programs. Falls Creek operates Falls Creek Cross Country for all of your Cross Country, Skating, Classic, Telemark, Snow shoeing, or tobogganing needs.
Sydney Airport first Australian airport to offer navigation service for visually impaired travellers
- Sydney Airport launches service to empower blind and low vision travellers to confidently navigate the airport
- Aira is a free service for passengers departing or arriving at Sydney’s airport, available via smartphone app
In an Australian airport first, Sydney Airport today launched a partnership with Aira, a service that enables blind and low vision travellers to confidently navigate the airport through a smartphone connection.
The service will provide visually impaired visitors and passengers with instant access to the information they need to explore Sydney Airport’s terminals.
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said that the launch is part of a broader commitment to continue to improve accessibility at the airport.
“We welcome 44.4 million passengers a year through the airport and we’re continually looking for innovative ways to make the journey better,” he said.
“This new service will significantly improve the airport experience for the visually impaired community. The trial we recently completed at T2 Domestic was a game changer for the participant and that’s something we’re really excited about.”
Vision Australia CEO Ron Hooton said that the technology makes the world instantly more accessible for the more than 380,000 people in Australia who are blind or have low vision.
“It’s always pleasing when organisations take steps to improve accessibility and Sydney Airport becoming an Aira Access location is great news,” Mr Hooton said.
“Airports can be difficult environments to navigate for people who are blind or have low vision. Becoming an Aira Access location means the community can visit Sydney Airport without worrying if there will be somebody there to help them make their way to check in, find their gate or access any other of the airport’s facilities.”
Jack Tyrrell, a regular Sydney-based traveller, used Aira for the first time recently while departing Sydney Airport.
“When I need to go to the airport, I normally just go straight from the train station to my boarding gate, as I’m not able to distinguish what’s around. Using Aira for the first time, I was able to learn where things were and realised the full offering of the airport,” said Mr Tyrrell.
The free service to passengers departing or arriving in Sydney, works via a smartphone app on any iOS or Android device, connecting the traveller to an Aira agent. The Aira trained professional provides on-demand, personalised access to visual information to enhance the everyday experience of the user.
“Participants normally sign up to a plan and pay for the service by the minute, but when they use the service at Sydney Airport, we’re happy to cover the cost to support the visually impaired community,” Mr Culbert said.
Suman Kanuganti Founder and CEO of Aira said the company is excited to welcome Sydney Airport as an Aira Access partner.
“Providing free access to Aira at Australia’s busiest airport enhances the independent travelling experience for those who are blind or have low vision,” said Mr Kanuganti.
Sydney Airport recently opened a Changing-Places accredited bathroom at T1 International Arrivals. The bathroom set includes full-sized changing tables and hoists to assist people with profound disabilities and an assistance animal toilet for companion pets. The facility is wheelchair accessible and contains an artificial turf area, a disposable bin and water bowl for companion animals.
The bathroom also incorporates a Parent Room that has achieved an Australian Breastfeeding Association five-star rating.
To find out more about Sydney Airport’s accessibility options and to download a Journey Planner for helpful tips and contact information for your next airport visit, go to https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/assistance
Scandic Hotels introduces standard for allergy-friendly rooms
Scandic is the world’s first hotel to introduce a standard for allergy-friendly rooms. This means that guests booking allergy-friendly rooms can expect considerations including wooden floors and fragrance-free, hypoallergenic toiletries approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association. The rooms are also prepared according to strict cleaning procedures and are not located on floors where pets can stay.
More than 150 million people in Europe* have some type of allergy. Most of them probably do not need specific allergy-friendly hotel rooms. But the fact is that more people are asking for more allergy-friendly options at hotels.
Scandic launched its accessibility standard in 2005. Since then, the standard have attracted attention and been used the world over. The standard has now been broadened from 135 to 159 points to include a new category with strict guidelines to meet the needs of travelers with allergies.
There’s a clear demand for the accessibility solutions we offer and we get many requests to make guests’ stays more allergy-friendly. We’ve also already seen how successful our allergy-friendly “breakfast for all” has been. Our goal now is for all Scandic hotels to offer at least two allergy-friendly rooms within a year, says Magnus Berglund, Director of Accessibility at Scandic.
During the spring, Scandic will also release an updated version of its award-winning online accessibility course. The online accessibility course was originally developed for Scandic’s 18,000 team members as an integral part of Scandic’s accessibility initiatives, since interacting with and serving guests is the most important consideration, regardless of their needs. The course is available on Scandic’s website so everyone can learn more about how to provide high-quality service to people with accessibility needs.
We’re always working to find solutions to make our hotels more accessible. While we’ve offered allergy-friendly rooms at Scandic for some time, we’re particularly proud that they’re now part of our accessibility standard. And the fact that our online course is widely used by others in the hospitality industry to improve service also gives us high marks.
Accessibility at Scandic
Since 2003, Scandic has been focusing on making its hotels accessible so they can welcome all guests regardless of their needs. Today, Scandic is the only hotel company in the world that provides information on how accessible each hotel is on their particular hotel sites at scandichotels.com. Scandic is also the only hotel company to have formulated an accessibility standard that currently covers 159 points, 105 of which are mandatory at all hotels. At newly built Scandic hotels, all 159 points apply.
Scandic also applies a “design for all” concept. Design for all means that an accessible room should be designed just as well as any other room, with smart solutions that are barely noticeable except to the people who need them.
About Scandic
Scandic is the largest hotel company in the Nordic countries with more than 280 hotels, in operation and under development, in more than 130 destinations. The company is the leader when it comes to integrating sustainability in all operations and its award-winning Design for All concept ensures that Scandic hotels are accessible to everyone. Well loved by guests and employees, the Scandic Friends loyalty program is the largest in the Nordic hotel industry and the company is one of the most attractive employers in the region. Scandic Hotels is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
Art Gallery of Ballarat
The gallery is located on Lydiard St. Entry is Level via self-opening doors. The entry from the street is level.
The reception counter is to the left. An accessible toilet is located on the ground floor.
A small elevator services the two levels. Large power wheelchairs and mobility scooters may require the service elevator to gain access to the second level.
All spaces are large and easy to navigate.
A Blueprint for the Development of a Successful Accessible Tourism Strategy
Executive Summary
The tourism industry is facing a rapidly changing environment. The population is ageing and living longer. The retiring Baby Boomer generation will control over 50% of the total tourism spend and will be demanding experiences that differ from those generations that have preceded them.
This active generation, who will be carrying with them age related disabilities, will expect a new level of accommodation from the tourism industry. They will not identify with the traditional disability sector, but will instead expect accessible tourism services to be provided by the mainstream industry. This generation is tech savvy and online and will expect accessibility information to be provided in the same place as all other tourism information, whether that is accommodation, attraction specific or destination wide.
Government policy encouraging diversity of employment will also greatly affect the MICE market. Conference organisors and venue operators will have to accept that almost all future conferences will have to cater for people with a disability at all levels of client companies.
The tourism industry has to make a quantum shift in the way it views people with a disability and has to learn how to provide fulfilling experiences as it does with any other sector.
The economics driving accessible tourism are enormous with the contribution predicted to be 25% of the total tourism market by 2020.
It is imperative that the changing demographic is taken into account and that future Tourism Strategies around the world incorporate an active role in encouraging the industry to adopt Accessible Tourism product. Further, tourism advertising should incorporate Accessible Tourism to attract the market. Major events should all cater for people of all abilities as part of the normal operation.
Key Recommendations:
- Accessible Tourism is added to all Tourism Strategies as a key pillar
- Ensure all public infrastructure and transport systems are accessible and have accessibility information available
- Education and resources developed for tourism businesses to aid in the development of Accessible Tourism products and services
- Product development
- Infrastructure requirements
- Information needs and presentation styles
- Staff training guides
- Marketing
- Effective use of imagery
- Include Accessible Tourism on the agenda for tourism conferences and industry briefings
- Mainstream accessibility information into Tourism Authority destination websites at Federal, State/Provincial, Regional and local levels including accessible travel planning guides
- Include imagery of people with a disability in tourism advertisements and promotions in all national. state/provincial and regional campaigns
- Develop a campaign to raise the awareness of the public and industry on Accessible Tourism showcasing accessible destinations and encouraging visitation
- Develop and implement an event management guide to ensure all major events are suitable for people of all abilities
- Include a rewards and recognition program into all Tourism Awards
- Seek champions from within the industry to promote the value of developing Accessible Tourism product and services
Introduction
Access in tourism has long been regarded as a social issue. It has been driven by the Social Model of Disability and backed up by regulation in the form of the Disability Discrimination Acts in various forms around the world. From a tourism point of view that has translated through building codes and other standards.
The result of a compliance first approach is that travellers with a disability have been regarded as a risk management issue and the accessible facilities that have been created regarded as a cost impost and not a valuable commercial asset. It has been argued that those assets are excessive as they have below industry average utilisation.
The incorporation of Accessible Tourism into a Tourism Strategy creates the opportunity to review Accessible Tourism as a viable tourism market and not just a social responsibility, and in so doing, it affords the opportunity to create a competitive advantage in the Tourism Market.
Exploring Accessible Tourism from a Customer Product Development Perspective
Travability’s planary presentation to the Destinations for All World Summit – Brussels 2018.
What is Accessible Tourism
All sorts of terms have been used to describe this growing market from Barrier Free Tourism in the United Kingdom, Accessible Tourism in Australia, Access Tourism in New Zealand. All of those terms have their foundations based on the physical term of “access” More often than not those expressions also have a narrow interpretation as people think of them applying only to travelers with a mobility related disability.
More correctly what we are describing in talking about basic cultural change within the Tourism industry is an “Inclusive” environment where people of all abilities are felt welcome and wanted as customers and guests.
Accessible Tourism has to be about understanding a new market and developing products and services to match those customer expectations in a programmatic not risk management approach.
The growth of the market is being driven by the following key factors:
- The ageing population
- The retiring and cash up Baby Boomer Generation
- A changing perception of the soft adventure market
- New technologies opening up greater opportunities for people with a disability
The Economics of Accessible Tourism
In recent years the economics of the Accessible Tourism and Leisure sectors have started to come to the fore. The ground breaking research of Dr. Simon Darcy in 2008, as part of the CRC on Sustainable Tourism, put a value on the market of $8bn per year or 11% of overall tourism expenditure.
His findings were:
- Some 88% of people with disability take a holiday each year that accounted for some 8.2 million overnight trips.
- The average travel group size for people with a disability is 2.8 people for a domestic overnight trip and 3.4 for a day trip.
- There is a myth that the accessible tourism market does not spend because of economic circumstance and are a significant proportion of each travel market segment.
- They travel on a level comparable with the general population for domestic overnight and day trips.
US research by McKinsey & Company predicted that by 2015, the baby boomer generation will command:
- 60 percent of net U.S. wealth and
- 40 percent of spending.
- In many categories, like travel, boomers will represent over 50 percent of consumption.
The impact on the Inclusive Travel sector is significant as over 40% of them will be retiring with some form of disability, raising the total value of the Inclusive Tourism sector to over 25% of the market by 2020.
2014 research from VisitEngland confirms the Darcy research and the McKinsey predictions.
Key Points:
- 20% of day trip market and 14% of the overnight market
- Growth in value 3 times tourism in total, 33% for Accessible Tourism 11% Total Tourism
- Length of stay and average spend both higher
- Over 65 more people with a disability than able bodied
- High percentage of the total market at a young age
In 2015 the Open Doors Organisation conducted further research on the US Economy:
- Disability travel generates $17.3 Billion in annual spending up from $13.6 billion in 2002
- People with a disability travel with one of more adult friends or family putting the total impact at $34.6 billion
- In the past 2 years
- 26 million adults with a disability traveled
- They took 73 million trips
The full report is available from Open Doors
2017/18 Australian Research
In the first piece of new research into the Australian domestic Accessible Tourism market in nearly 10 years, MyTravelResearch were commissioned to do both a qualitative and qualitative study with the aim of determining the current value of the market, the latent demand and the key barriers preventing travel for people with a disability.
The research has placed a total value of the domestic market at $8 billion.
The research looking at Australian domestic tourism only. Early work by Simon Darcy looked at both domestic and inbound and if the same parameters are applied to current NVS data the current estimate for inbound accessible tourism is $2.8 billion.
If domestic and inbound are added together the total accessible tourism market for Australia is 10.8 billion, which is larger than the Chinese inbound market for the same period ($10.4 billion)
The Impact of the Baby Boomers on the Market is Significant.
From the 2015 Intergenerational Report – Australia in 2055
The number of Australians aged 65 and over is projected to more than double by 2054-55, with 1 in 1,000 people projected to be aged over 100. In 1975, this was 1 in 10,000.
The number of people aged 15 to 64 for every person aged 65 and over has fallen from 7.3 people in 1975 to an estimated 4.5 people today. By 2054-55, this is projected to nearly halve again to 2.7 people.
Baby Boomer Attitudes will change the required product mix
It is clear from the demographic data that the Baby Boomer generation will have a significant impact on the tourism market. The Baby Boomers will be unlike any other generation of retirees that have come before it. It is an adventurous and consumer driven generation. Further, unlike previous generations, it will spend its accumulated wealth rather than build a nest egg to pass on to future generations. It will dominate the tourism market for the next 20 years.
The Baby Boomer spending power is significant.
(US Statistics from 2009)
- 70% will inherit $300K average
- Top 8 million $1.5M average
- Total inheritance $8.4 Trillion
- In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older … had 47 times as much net wealth as the typical household headed by someone under 35 years of age.
The Elephant in the Tourism Room
The Tourism Industry sees itself as a “sexy” industry dominated by glamour, youth and activity.
Both the older generation and people with a disability have an image problem and are seen as passive non-involved people. As a consequence they are ignored in the product offering.
“Older people have an image problem. As a culture, we’re conditioned toward youth. .… When we think of youth, we think ‘energetic and colorful;’ when we think of middle age or ‘mature’, we think ‘tired and washed out.’ and when we think of ‘old’ or ‘senior,’ we think either ‘exhausted and gray’ or, more likely, we just don’t think.
The financial numbers are absolutely inarguable — the Market has the money. Yet advertisers
remain astonishingly indifferent to them.”Marti Barletta, PrimeTime Women
“We are the Aussies. Kiwis, Americans and Canadians. We are the Western Europeans and Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental and exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult and demanding, the most service and experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous), the most health conscious, the most female,the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the world … and we will be the Center of your universe our for the next twent twenty-five years ears. We have arrived!”
Tom Peters
A Program/Customer approach is required in the development of Travel Services to People with a Disability.
Travel, recreation and leisure are all about the “experience” which ideally should be seamless from planning, to arrival back home. Enjoyment comes from those experiences and the way they are shared with others. The experience lingers in the memories of those who participated. A truly remarkable travel experience leaves the visitor changed in some way.
The reason it is so difficult for people with a disability to participate freely is that industry as a whole has not yet recognized that fundamentally a person with a disability is no different from any other person in their aspirations for a remarkable experience.
Industry and organisations still think about access and not the experience. There is a fundamental difference and it stems from a misunderstanding that Universal Design means design for the disabled and not human centered design.
Universal Design is NOT Design for the Disabled
While the business case is strong, it is not tangible to individual business owners and operators or small not for profit service providers. Too often presentations concentrate on big numbers, percentages and 20 page checklists and access statements. What a business owner needs to know is what to do about it, not how big the market is. The size of the market arguments need to be directed at the strategic influencers who’s job it is to translate those trends into tangible action plans based on customer needs.
What is Needed is A Systems Approach
“The essential difference between the frog and the bicycle, viewed as systems, lies in the relationship of the parts to the whole. You can take a bicycle completely to pieces on your garage floor, clean and oil every single part, and reassemble the lot, confident the the whole thing will work perfectly, as a bike, as before. The frog is different. Once you remove a single part, the entire system is affected instantaneously and unpredictably for the worse. What’s more, if you go on removing bits the frog will make a series of subtle, but still unpredictable, adjustments in order to survive. This sort of system, at the level beneath consciousness, wants to survive and will continue for an astonishing length of time to achieve a rough equilibrium as bits are excised – until it can do so no longer. At that point, again quite unpredictably, the whole system will tip over into collapse. The frog is dead and it won’t help to sew the parts back on.”
Intelligent Leadership – Alistair Mant – Allen & Unwin, 1999
Conversely, when there is a well established and sophisticated system, simply bolting on new pieces doesn’t change the fundamentals. Those additional pieces are never nourished and never form part of the overall system. They simply exist on the edge until, through lack of maintenance, they fade away into oblivion.
Tourism and Leisure are examples of well established and very intricate systems aimed at delivering a multitude of different experiences to the customer. The complexity exists both within the destination management structure and within the industry that brings together an array of components to deliver its overall service. A successful tourism/leisure product incorporates, transport, accommodation, attractions, booking systems, information systems and customer service. Those products are bundled and further require the integration of service providers, consolidators, tour operators and an extensive retail network whether online or offline.
Over time the system evolves as products change and the tastes of the market changes. New products and experiences become available and get incorporated into the overall offering.
Bicycle thinking, where a new product is bolted onto the system invariable fails if it doesn’t fit into the overall management plan or isn’t powerful enough to change the plan.
The approach to accessible tourism and leisure, has to date, largely been Bicycle thinking. Adding accessibility requirements doesn’t fundamentally change a product offering or affect cultural change. The concept of systems thinking in relation to the tourism industry was explored in our paper Accessible Tourism is the Tourism Industry’s Bicycle.
Defining the Customer with a Disability.
An arbitrary line drawn to differentiate a segment of the population whose ability
the majority don’t understand.
While that definition may be tongue in cheek, it goes a long to explain why Accessible Tourism/Leisure has not become mainstream product. Tourism/Leisure is all about creating an experience and a memory. It is about engaging people and taking them into a new realm. The ability to transport someone to a new sensory level requires an understanding of the person for whom that experience is designed and a knowledge of their capabilities to enjoy and appreciate what is going on around them.
People with a disability are present in all sectors in roughly the same proportion as the general population. They are not like the backpackers, adventure tourists, or luxury travelers that can be conveniently put into unique product boxes with targeted marketing campaigns. The common misconception is that the needs of all people with a disability are the same. In one sense that misconception has been reinforced by the social model of disability which, in defining the social barriers, has concentrated on a narrow sub set of physical access requirements largely limited to car parks, toilets, building access and hotel rooms. By concentrating on the narrow access requirements the industry has effectively created an artificial sector of people with a disability that ignored their actual aspirations.
A disability, in reality is just a different level of ability. Physical ability is just one element in the total capability set of the human being.
Disability is the only minority group anyone can join in an instant
Disability is often regarded as a homogeneous concept. The opposite is true. As with the general population ability is on a continuum.
The arbitrary line defining disability is exactly that, an arbitrary line. The advent of modern alloys and design has opened up a vast range of activities including some at the extreme adventure end of the spectrum. People with a disability can be found across the full range of sporting and leisure activities. Their tastes and budgets, likewise, spread from economy to five star and include the conference and meetings market. The key to developing tourism/leisure product is to look at the aspirations of potential customers, the opportunities that exist within a destination and the technology available to allow participation by people of all abilities. Customer expectations should drive the product development.
In reality the arbitrary line is more like the image above. New equipment, better information and changing perceptions are allowing many people with a disability to engage in active activities that many able bodied people wouldn’t dream of engaging in.
Universal Design has to Underpin Program Development not just Physical Infrastructure.
What if the first question we asked was, “What is so unique about this situation that it justifies exclusion?” instead of, “How much does it cost to make it accessible?”
Dr. Scott Rains
Universal Design is at the very core of an inclusive society. In the context of tourism UD must be able to produce an experience that meets and exceeds the expectations of all people. Further, as we have said, tourism experiences are SHARED experiences hence the design of tourism products is about bringing together people of all abilities, not designing specific activities for people with a disability.
The key element in developing tourism/leisure product is the incorporation of Universal Design from the first inception of the product concept.
Knowing what the customer, not only wants, but is capable of doing is the foundation for the capacity review. The capacity review must look at all of the existing infrastructure and what needs to be altered to accommodate the proposed new product. Too often the path of travel is ignored or the simple and inexpensive alterations overlooked because a helicopter view is not taken out the outset.
Product design must be all-encompassing and actively seek out new product innovations. Today venues have a great range of new equipment at their disposal from the freewheel wheelchair extension, off road handcycles, road handcycles, all abilities sailboats, adaptive fishing equipment, paddle boards designed for wheelchairs, adaptive canoes and canoe launchers, in addition to the tradition hearing loops, tactile markers etc.
In creating built infrastructure it is important to look to the future and the impact the aging population will have on anything built today. The Baby Boomer generation will dominate the travel market over the next 20 years. That is a big enough tome horizon to justify any capital expenditure. The vision and application should be broad. Why fit a toilet seat with a 30% luminosity contrast to just the accessible toilet. The contrast is needed by anyone with low vision whether or not they have any mobility issues requiring and accessible toilet. The small things like maximizing the accessible paths of travel through garden and bar areas should be part of any infrastructure upgrade.
In creating a tourism/leisure offering the Soft Infrastructure is just as important as the built environment. Accessibility information should be plentiful, easily found within the main context of the attraction/venue/activity/destination description and written in the same style as any other information. Booking systems should reflect the experience a visitor wants or expects to have. If there is space for only one companion, then the booking information and system needs to talk about where the rest of the party is located, or better still reserve the row in front of the accessible seating to accommodate family and friends. Create interactive maps and signage to allow easy wayfinding through a venue without the need to search for a step route. Create large print registration forms or mobile apps to simplify the process for people of all abilities. In other words every action should be enhancing the customer experience and it should blend in with existing forms and presentations and systems. Customers want an inviting experience, not one that makes them feel different or puts under pressure.
Finally there is the marketing. Imagery plays a critical role in saying to a customer from the outset that we want your business. It is about positioning potential clients as valued and welcome guests and nothing says that more strongly than people with a disability enjoying a venue or activity on offer. That imagery should not just encompass the particular product but more generally reflect the destination as whole.
Universal design is not design for the disabled. It is an all encompassing philosophy to create a culture of inclusion. Get the vision right and all else follows with creative and innovative solutions that will attract one of the fastest growing markets of any industry.
Everyone Belongs Outside – Vision Statement of Parks Alberta
If a Traveller with a Disability is a Customer, then Marketing and Imagery must reflect their Importance to the Industry
“Customers who have specific access needs are part of every tourism ‘segment’. Their interests are as wide as any other group of people. They may be looking for mountain adventures, concert performances or a honeymoon hotel. In business terms, they are simply ‘customers’ but they need good access – otherwise, they will choose to go elsewhere. They also travel with family and friends so you could not just be losing one customer but potentially many more. It is about gaining market share.”
Bill Forrester, Co-Founder, PhotoAbility.
“Inclusive tourism should be treated the same as any other destination marketing. Accessible facilities are one thing, but the right imagery sends a powerful message that ‘we want your business’.”
Deborah Davis, Co-Founder, PhotoAbility.
Travelers with disabilities and their families represent a strong and growing market that can be captured by travel properties, destination marketers, wholesalers, tour operators and the retail tourism sector.
Customers who have specific access needs are part of every tourism ‘segment’. Their interests are as wide as any other group of people. They may be looking for mountain adventures, concert performances or a honeymoon hotel. In business terms, they are simply ‘customers’ but they need good access – otherwise, they will choose to go elsewhere. They also travel with family and friends. Through not marketing to travellers with a disability, tourism organisations risk not one customer but potentially many more whether it be family groups, groups of friends, wedding functions or corporate conferences. It is about recognising people with a disability as an inclusive part of the traveling society.
Incorporating imagery featuring people with disabilities enjoying travel all around the world with their families and friends will give those potential customers with disabilities the inspiration and confidence that they too can enjoy the opportunity to experience new destinations that can accommodate their accessibility needs
Inclusive tourism should be treated the same as any other destination marketing. Accessible facilities are one thing, but the right imagery sends a powerful message that ‘we want your business’.
Money spent in structural modification of a property, but not followed up with Inclusive imagery that demonstrates this accessibility, is a missed opportunity. It is also a relatively economical way of increasing market share.
When potential customers with a disability log onto a page for a resort, or see an advertisement in a magazine or brochure, and see an image that represents them, they will more than likely want to patronize that provider, and if the experience is positive, return again. Loyalty is an important aspect of this market as well, as a good experience and will be shared among various disability oriented social networks.
Magnus Berlund – Scandic Hotels One day I am a client the next I am disabled!
When we talk about mainstreaming Accessible Tourism, it is important that advertising and marketing reflect just that. Accessible Tourism is not a separate market segment but crosses all existing tourism markets. It is important to reflect people with a disability as just part of the scene of any destination or product marketing campaign.
However when framing advertisments it is important to remember that people with disabilities are a discerning loyal market who want to feel that they belong and are valued as customers or clients. When an able-bodied model is put into a wheelchair that is obviously not their own and the image is then used in a website, publication, or advertisement, it is seen as fake and disingenuous and gives a poor impression to the audience. Using models with an actual disability conveys a clear message about genuine representation and creates real employment opportunities for people with a disability.
South African Tourism is currently running a campaign that sends an extremely powerful message of inclusion.
Accessible Tourism Product needs to be Mainstreamed
The following diagram illustrates the contrast between Accessible Tourism product and mainstream offerings.
An Industry Level Structured Approach is required that concentrates on Education not just Regulation
Private sector industry players do not act alone, but are part of a greater destination management plan that stems from a national brand value proposition. The brand proposition and national branding is a strategic decision that comes from a National Tourism Authority. It is filtered down to State/Provincial Authorities. Underlaying those bodies there is normally a layer of Regional and then Local Tourism Authorities that develop their own identities, branding and destination management plans. The nexus with the national branding is broken at this point unless the particular region is a national icon and part of the international marketing plan, e.g. America’s Grand Canyon or Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. At a regional and local level the emphasis is on developing the key attributes of the destination for a more local market. The influence of the National and State Tourism Authorities becomes more advisory and a source of information on global tourism trends.
The various elements of the Universe can be depicted in the following diagram.
The Parable of Imo
“Imo the monkey has become famous over the years, originally as a result of Robert Ardrey’s wonderful work of science popularisation, The Social Contract, first published in 1970. Ardrey had learned of the trail-blazing work of Japanese scientists in studying the behaviour in the wild of large, self-contained and highly structured monkey
societies. The scientists had established the practice of ‘provisioning’- providing some of the monkey population’s food needs but without distorting the natural pattern of foraging in their island habitat. This allowed the observers to study at first hand, and continuously, the patterns of social interaction amongst the monkeys and, above all, their learning-the way that intelligence diffused in the social systems. Imo excited their attention from the start. When sweet potatoes,which monkeys love, were placed on the beach of the tiny islet of Koshima, all the monkeys laboriously picked the grains of sand from the food in order to eat it. It was Imo, just 18 months old, who made the mental connection with the little stream that crossed the beach not far way. Imo carried the sweet potatoes to the stream and allowed its fresh waters quickly to wash away the sand. After a while another youngster copied this method of food preparation and then, after a further period, Imo’s mother did so. Very slowly the innovation diffused amongst the band, mainly amongst the young, and within families. The normal pattern was for the young to make the breakthrough, followed by their mothers, and then for new infants to copy their own mothers.The point of the story, for observers of human behaviour in organisations, is that the clever new ideas never penetrated to the powerful males at the top of the social hierarchy. They never came into contact with the young. When caramels were introduced to another band, the pattern was repeated-it took a year and a half for the innovation to spread from the juniors to half the entire troop. But, in a parallel experiment, the ‘alpha’ (boss) monkey was induced to try another new and delicious food-wheat. The alpha female promptly copied him and the entire band of 700 monkeys took to the new food in just four hours. Why? Because everybody watches the leader. Nobody much attends to an Imo. By now a mature four-year old, Imo devised a method for ‘placer-mining’ the wheat too. Interestingly, the youngest monkeys had figured out that it made sense to get downstream of Imo, so as to catch any floating grains that escaped the panning process. Something similar occurs near the smartest operators in big corporations.”
Intelligent Leadership – Alistair Mant – Allen & Unwin, 1999
The story of Imo is used a lot in corporate management and leadership training to keep organizations continually fresh and new by encouraging a “think tank” process to capture the new and innovative ideas coming out of the youngest minds. The best organizations do that successfully and keep innovating and changing. The key to that change is to recognize, however, that to get organization wide adoption rapidly to take advantage of the associated competitive advantage, the idea has to be owned from the top down. Without that ownership most ideas will be slow to evolve or die all together.
Without the national structure embracing Accessible Tourism the emerging trends and business case is never translated into regional, local and individual plans that can be effectively implemented. It becomes a Black Hole with some isolated and disconnected bright stars. Like Imo, they will each be getting their own satisfaction both financially and socially, but the impact on the overall destination will be small and slow.
nternational Best Practice
VisitEngland
VisitEngland, as England’s National Tourism Authority, has identified Accessible Tourism as a key strategy for maintaining its competitive advantage in the European tourism market.
It has adopted a mainstream approach in line with its strategies for other tourism products.
Vision
To harness the growing, high value accessible tourism market to become internationally recognised as a leading destination for people with access needs. This will contribute to 5% growth, year on year, in the England tourism market by 2020.
Objectives
1. To motivate tourism businesses across all sectors to improve accessibility.
2. To improve and develop tourism products across all sectors to meet the requirements of people with access needs by:
a. Ensuring staff are access aware and have the key skills and knowledge to meet the requirements of people with access needs.
b. Providing information on the accessibility of facilities and services that is detailed, accurate and readily available to enable people with access needs to make an informed choice.
c. Improving facilities and making reasonable adjustments as per the Equality Act 2010 for people with access needs.
3. To increase consumer awareness of accessibility initiatives and the accessibility of tourism products.
To achieve those goals it recently ran a mainstream advertising campaign with 3 objectives:
A framework for destinations to engage businesses in accessible tourism
A means for destinations to target the accessible tourism market
Campaign to act as an incentive for businesses to improve product
The marketing was unique and different.
The campaign changed perceptions of both the travelling public and the tourism industry to wards Accessible Tourism as a mainstream market.
The campaign has been backed up with a Tourism Awards system that rewards excellence in Accessible Tourism.
The awards are now in their third year and reward accommodation, attractions and destinations on excellence in creating a visitor experience.
Destination Germany
Destination Germany has also seen the strategic need to invest in Barrier Free Tourism with an ageing demographic.
It has invested heavily in developing a nation wide system of certification that concentrates on both the individual operators and and destination as a whole.
Destination information is available in all Tourist Information Offices and supported by well trained staff.
The Destination Germany web site features Barrier Free tourism on its homepage as one of its core product offerings. It is interesting that it chose to launch its Barrier Free web site in the Tower of London, a clear indication that it sees Barrier Free Tourism as key attractor.
Destination Germany’s homepage:
The Barrier Free page is integrated into the mainstream site and provides detailed tourist information on destinations, attractions and accommodation.
It is rich in inclusive imagery.
Visit Flanders – Heading for an accessible destination
In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), implementation of the tourist accessibility policy is in the hands of Visit Flanders. Visit Flanders is a government institution, whose key task is to promote and market Flanders as a tourist destination at home and abroad. Another important task is to develop tourism products
in Flanders. Quality control, product innovation by means of direct investment, co-funding and grants are important instruments.
One of the four overall objectives of Visit Flanders1 is to enable every Flemish citizen to participate in tourism. In this context, ‘Tourism for All’ is now the ambitious goal of the organisation. The tourist attractions of Flanders will be emphatically aimed at everyone – including young people, low income families, young families with children, older people, disabled people – in short, anyone who presently finds it difficult to experience a carefree holiday.
Accessible Catalonia
Last year the Catalonia region of Spain was recognised at London’s World Travel Market for its work advocating accessible tourism and has garnered First Prize in Europe’s CHARTS awards for its work fostering cultural and sustainable tourism. “The Way of Saint James for All” initiative was chosen from amongst 27 candidates from all over Europe as a benchmark of excellence and good practices in the field of cultural and sustainable tourism.
