All abilities trek to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko - Australia's highest peak

All abilities trek to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko - Australia's highest peak
All abilities trek to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko - Australia's highest peak - © Jennifer Johnson 2008

Friday, October 4, 2019

Cruise case settled: a win for travellers with disability

Cruise case settled: a win for travellers with disability

TRAVELLERS WITH DISABILITY

Cruise case settled: a win for travellers with disability

Media Releases PIAC

RELATED PROJECT: DISCRIMINATION, HOMEPAGE
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

It will be easier for people with disability to access and enjoy cruises following the successful settlement of a claim against Royal Caribbean by Professor Justin Yerbury.
Cruise company Royal Caribbean has committed to a range of important practical changes, to address the barriers faced by Professor Yerbury when trying to take a cruise with his family in March 2019.
PIAC represented Professor Yerbury in his case after he was denied boarding on the Explorer of the Seas because of his disability.
Justin Yerbury is a Professorial Fellow in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Wollongong. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2016.
‘I am pleased Royal Caribbean has listened to my concerns and has worked with me to make changes to ensure that other people with complex needs don’t have to experience the disappointment and hurt of being refused access to a much-anticipated family holiday because of their disability,’ said Professor Yerbury.
‘I took action against Royal Caribbean as a last resort, to ensure no-one else would have to go through the same disappointing and degrading experience as my family and I.’
‘This case was about ensuring that people with disability have access to the same transport and holiday options as everyone else whenever possible, and are treated with the same level of dignity and respect that everyone deserves,’ said Michelle Cohen from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
As a result of this action by Professor Yerbury and PIAC, Royal Caribbean will:
  • Provide a single point of contact for guests with complex needs
  • Provide more information on their website about accessibility and how to contact their access team
  • Make their medical assessment process more transparent
  • Arrange disability training for their staff
  • Provide better information about accessible transport options during shore stops
‘We hope other cruise companies will follow Royal Caribbean’s lead and improve their disability policies and procedures. People with disability must not be unreasonably excluded from the opportunity to enjoy holiday packages. Travel providers must provide clear information to the public about accessibility and ensure requests to accommodate complex needs are dealt with efficiently and lawfully,’ said Michelle Cohen.
Media contact: PIAC Media and Communications Manager, Gemma Pearce – 0478 739 280
Image: Flickr/ Kansasphoto

Monday, July 15, 2019

Adriatic to become first seaside destination in Italy to become accessible for all

Interview with the President of Bibione Live, Giuliana Basso, on accessible tourism

The idea is from the Tourist Promotion Consortium Bibione Live, the trademark is from Village for All , the aim is to make the Venetian town on the Adriatic the first Italian seaside destination all to the extent of disability. This is a work in progress project commissioned by the entrepreneurs from Bibione who have adopted the algorithm developed by Roberto Vitali, the creator of the V4A guide for accessible hospitality. It starts with a new awareness: the disabled who are tourism are tourists! It is an increasingly expanding market that today numbers 127 million people in Europe with permanent physical or mental disabilities, or subject to food intolerances, allergies, diabetes problems or dialysis. But also pregnant mothers or strollers to be managed, elderly people with walking difficulties or people who face a temporary disability due to an injury or illness. Currently the tourist market is represented by 16.7% of guests with accessibility needs (42% from over 65, 28% with motor disabilities, 26% with specific food needs). From a purely entrepreneurial point of view, 
Every year, around 6 million visitors choose Bibione which, not surprisingly, aims to become a 360-degree hospitality destination: from accommodation to transport, itineraries and training for entrepreneurs. This is a unique project in Europe because there is no other resort where all companies have chosen to be certified to participate in a social inclusion project. We interviewed the President of the Tourist Promotion Consortium Bibione Live, Giuliana Basso, who enthusiastically follows the gradual transformation of her territory to arrive at a 10% attendance increase in five years. 
- How is your plan articulated and when do you plan to go up to speed? This is a three-year project that involves several analysis steps, starting from the state of the location, in order to map the offer of services, infrastructure and recreational opportunities. All this accompanied by an important training project that sees the involvement of all the players involved, from the hotel sector to the non-hotel sector and open-air holidays. Last year, in view of the 2018 season, a sort of photograph was taken of what Bibione presented, with its strengths and weaknesses, registering a good overall level of reception. This year, however, the training of the operators started, including the employees of our communication agency. Let us not forget that we must know how to speak adequately and consciously to meet the needs of a clientele that is undoubtedly more delicate than the traditional one, conveying our added value compared to that of other tourist locations. With the launch of the 2020 season, next year we should be up to speed with the entire project.
- Can you tell us about the strengths that will make Bibione accessible to everyone? We are talking about a beach of 9 kilometers, very wide and already largely prepared. Bibione has a long walk on the dune to the sea, which can also be traveled by bicycle and wheelchair. There are also inclusive play areas, where children can play together and with equal opportunities. And then we have special equipment for bathing in water for people with disabilities and job chairs from the sea. There is already a comprehensive check-up of cycle paths and walking routes, as well as analysis of accessible routes to get to the resort by public transport, starting from the airports and stations. 
- What kind of relationship exists with Village for All? Village for All accompanies us on this journey with its brand, which passes through the visits to the individual structures and the indications of what must be corrected. There is an accessibility score from 1 to 5 for six categories of needs towards which indicators have been developed: feeding, use of the manual or electric wheelchair, needs of families with children up to 3 years, over 65, problems related to disabilities of hearing and sight. Then there are other indicators such as the AIC brand (Associazione Italiana Celiachia) or the Your Disability Manager service , promoted together with Bed and Care, which allows you to rent aids for your holiday, from the wheelchair to other aids or to find a caregiver. Among other services, Special Dogs must be added for those who own animals and want to take them with them. In fact, from next year Bibione will already be able to use the Village for All brand in all media, starting with online ones. 
- What does Bibione offer that other tourist realities do not have? It offers maximum usability on the whole territory and not only in this or that structure. I can say that a global process is in place for the acquisition of a new sensibility. From here we start, even if the training we are doing is a starting point and not a point of arrival. The road map, designed by Village for All, starts from a total mapping of the tourist system of the seaside resort, not only therefore of accommodation facilities, but also of restaurants, tourist itineraries (cycle, pedestrian, food and wine, boat trips), sports facilities, local resources (museums, casoni, theme parks, playgrounds) and of course the transport system.
- Who decided that the Bibione tourist proposal had to go in the direction of accessibility for everyone? Ours is a very special case. It was not a decision of the Municipality, it did not rain down from above, but it was a private choice. All the entrepreneurs have in fact met in the Tourism Promotion Consortium, which I chair. The singularity consists in the fact that the idea of ​​taking a three-year course, to reach the maximum degree of accessibility, concerns the whole town. For this reason, those sitting at the Consortium table represent Bibione in its entirety. And it is a great fortune because this way you can proceed with choices with cohesion and speed. We also have a good relationship with the municipal administration that follows us in our projects, allowing us all to move in the same direction.  
- How is the reality of Bibione articulated on an entrepreneurial level?   Our company consists of around forty rental agencies, 95 hotels and numerous businesses. The latter are also part of the Tourist Promotion Consortium and have already committed themselves to making their spaces accessible to wheelchairs for disabled people. The hotel structures that have joined the project are already around thirty. Now the adjustment work has stopped for obvious reasons of seasonality, but there is extreme compactness in wanting to perform all the necessary interventions to be able to boast of the brand of Village for All.  
- In perspective, the make up of the coast what do you expect?  Certainly there are some small structural interventions, which in part will be carried out by the Municipality and partly by the two companies that deal with the 9 kilometers of the beach. In Bibione there are no small bathrooms like in Rimini and Riccione, where there is a different owner for each stretch of beach. Here the planning has a twenty-year character. And then there are the interventions that refer to the entrepreneurs of the single receptive structures, starting from the accessibility for the wheelchairs to get to the adaptation of the kitchen for those who have food difficulties. All aspects that refer to the inclusion of a problematic subject together with their family and friends because a disabled person is almost always part of a group of vacationers, consisting of two to four people,
- Why should a person with physical disability, and not only, choose Bibione? Because it will be able to face the holiday in a more serene way than elsewhere, thanks to an adequate response to its requests and able to guarantee a quality of stay not inferior to that of people without disabilities. Bibione is one of the most popular Italian seaside resorts. Over time it has earned the record of competitive international destination, welcoming the traditional segments ranging from families with children to seniors over 65. Now Bibione wants to go further to build a single product, capable of collecting and relating all the elements of the Offer of the Bibione Accessible Hospitality Destination.
- What are your references for those who would like to contact you? Bibione.com is our official website, a showcase on which you can directly book because it contains all the information not only on our initiatives, but also on the events promoted during the summer season. A structure that I have not mentioned, but very important in the light of the speech we are making, is that of the seafront thermal baths, which are our pride and offer not only care, but also wellness holidays. We have a Spa, numerous swimming pools and an important physiotherapy department. Bibione also has a first-level first-aid center, also equipped with a dialysis service. The municipal administration is also supporting us in the pioneering project "Bibione without smoke". 
- Do you believe that the market for disabled people is an important reservoir for the economy of your territory?Surely there is a potential clientele to which we have never been communicated the values ​​of hospitality. These are visitors almost always neglected by the tourist system. And yet, due to their characteristics, they are in many ways ideal tourists: they struggle to find a destination that meets their needs, they prefer low season periods and long holidays, they have a medium-high spending capacity. For this reason, accessible welcome manuals, specific packages and dedicated communication tools will be prepared, including tactile maps on the beach and along the promenade. Therefore, Bibione is focusing on a segment in strong growth, moving from the fact that it already boasts a receptive capacity of this clientele superior to the Italian average and can count on a number of rooms more than double accessible compared to the other seaside resorts of the Country. From here we aim towards new goals. 

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Marketing-Based Research Which Examines the Co-creation Experiences of Customers with Disability with the Hotel Industry

Co-creation of customer experiences has become a major area of research within market. The hotel industry is based on hotel managers fostering hospitality experiences that customers want. This research suggests that hotel managers orient their focus more toward the general market than the PwD segment. With this apparent omission of the group, a proactive engagement by people with disability and disability advocacy groups in fostering authentic understandings between hotel managers and customers with disabilities. Yet the research shows that customers with disability are not fully aware of the important role they can play in value co-creation of hotel products and experiences.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.



Value co-creation among hotels and disabled customers: An exploratory study

Susana Navarro
Luisa Andreu
Amparo Cervera


Abstract
This study examines how service supplier and buyer value co-creation influences buyers' attitudes toward service providers. Service-dominant logic is a prevalent concept in the services industry, providing an important marketing theory in which intangible resources, co-creation of value, and relationships are the keys to determining marketing exchanges. This research describes a model for analyzing value co-creation management in the hotel industry, focusing on the specific market segment of disabled customers. This framework helps foster value co-creation to increase the benefits for participants during each stage of their relationship. The paper also presents the managerial implications of the research findings.

Keywords: Value co-creation; Service-dominant logic; Disabled customers; Hospitality industry

Photo 1:  Heidi Haydon and Simon Darcy (left) explaining inclusive hotel room features to a familiarisation group at Sargood on Collaroy (photo provided by Sargood on Collaroy 2019 https://sargoodoncollaroy.com/ )



Full reference:

Navarro, S., Andreu, L., & Cervera, A. (2014). Value co-creation among hotels and disabled customers: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), 813-818.



For further information on the paper please contact:
Susana Navarro
Universidad Europea de Valencia
General Elio, 46010
Valencia, Spain
susana.navarro@uem.es



Saturday, May 4, 2019

An important area for the future of accessible tourism research: Why Social Sustainability is a Foreign Concept in Relation to Disability?

This article is a theoretically driven piece which tracks the development of social sustainability. The focus is on where people with disability fit in the discussion of social sustainability. A conversation like this is very important for accessible tourism because too often our access to all areas of social participation is restricted for no other reason but being overlooked, omitted or 'othered' due to poor planning, a lack of consideration or deliberate exclusion that constitutes both indirect and direct discrimination by those charged with all levels of decision-making.
                                                                                     
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.


Social Sustainability and Its Indicators through a Disability Studies and an Ability Studies Lens

Gregor Wolbring
Theresa Rybchinski


Abstract
The present journal recently stated in the call for a special issue on social sustainability, “[t]hough sustainable development is said to rest on ‘three pillars’, one of these—social sustainability—has received significantly less attention than its bio-physical environmental and economic counterparts”. The current issue promises to engage the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” and the tensions between these different aspects of social sustainability. The aim of the present study is to identify the visibility of disabled people in the academic social sustainability literature, to ascertain the impact and promises of social sustainability indicators put forward in the same literature and to engage especially with the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” through disability studies and ability studies lenses. We report that disabled people are barely covered in the academic social sustainability literature; of the 5165 academic articles investigated only 26 had content related to disabled people and social sustainability. We also conclude that social sustainability indicators evident in the 1909 academic articles with the phrase “social sustainability” in the abstract mostly focused on products and did not reflect yet the goals outlined in the “development sustainability” aspect of social sustainability proposed by Vallance such as basic needs, building social capital, justice and so on. We posit that if the focus within the social sustainability discourse shifts more toward the social that an active presence of disabled people in this discourse is essential to disabled people. We showcase the utility of an ability studies lens to further the development and application of the “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability”concepts. We outline how different ability expectations intrinsic to certain schools of thought of how to deal with human-nature relationships (for example anthropocentric versus bio/ecocentric) impact this relationship and “bridge sustainability”. As to “maintenance development”, we posit that no engagement has happened yet with the ability expectation conflicts between able-bodied and disabled people, or for that matter with the ability expectation differences between different able-bodied groups within social sustainability discourses; an analysis essential for the maintenance of development. In general, we argue that there is a need to generate ability expectation conflict maps and ability expectations conflict resolution mechanisms for all sustainable development discourses individually and for ability conflicts between sustainable development discourses.

Keywords: social sustainability; disabled people; people with disabilities; disability studies; indicators; social determinants of health; ability studies

Full reference:
Wolbring, G., &; Rybchinski, T. (2013). Social Sustainability and Its Indicators through a Disability Studies and an Ability Studies Lens. Sustainability, 5(11), 4889-4907.

For further information on the paper please contact:
Gregor Wolbring
University of Calgary
3330 Hospital Drive
NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N4N1, Canada
gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca

Photo 1: Social sustainability for some groups of people with mobility disability is as simple as a continuous pathway of access to reach points of visual interest or cultural heritage © Bruce Cameron, Simon Darcy and Easy Access Australia

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Economic Estimates of Accessible and Inclusive travel markets: Australia, United Kingdom, European Union & United States of America

Following on from the previous blog post Australian Accessible Tourism Data module, what are the key learnings on the accessible and inclusive tourism market coming out of the Tourism Research Australia's 2017 Q1 National Visitor Survey? There are two key documents that use similar but slightly different methodologies that summarises the economic impact and basic tourism behaviour information. They are:
The following Infographic from UTS IPPG & UTS Business School summarises some key components of the Tourism Research Australia's 2017 Q1 data together with the economic impact figures of major overseas studies in the UK, EU and the USA.


Infographic: Australian, United Kingdom, European Union & United States of America economic estimates of accessible and inclusive travel markets






Monday, April 22, 2019

Australian Accessible Tourism Data Module

In 2016 an opportunity arose for Prof Simon Darcy to work with Tourism Research Australia on developing a disability module for inclusion in the 2017 National Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia, 2017). This was the first time that such data was collected in Australia since 2010. After a number of months working with TRA we had agreement on a disability module shown in Figure 1 that included:
  • a screening question;
  • a dichotomous question asking whether the respondent identified as having a disability or long term health condition lasting longer than six months;
  • the disability type; and 
  • levels of support needs
The module was included in the 2017 first quarter data collection but unfortunately not to the other three quarters of data as had been the case in 1998, 2003, 2009, and 2010 when the modules had been previously included. However, even with this limitation the data has been well used in producing a number of government and industry based outcomes that will be documented over the coming months on this blog (Darcy & Hergesell, 2018; Michopoulou, Darcy, Ambrose, & Buhalis, 2019; My Travel Research & Childs, 2017; Pavkovic, Darcy, & Ryan, 2017; Pavkovic, Lawrie, Farrell, Huuskes, & Ryan, 2017). Providing any sort of evidence base for business or government relies on appropriate research being collected on a regular (preferably annual) basis. If this is not done all we have is a series of data snapshots rather than a continuous understanding being built of the phenomenon or having data on which a business case can be presented. 

Figure 1: The disability module included in Tourism Research Australia's 2017 National Visitor Survey first-quarter data
Photo 2 shows an example of such a social enterprise that would benefit from regular data collection with the author at Sargood on Collaroy, which is a relatively new boutique wellness resort targeting people with spinal cord injury. Sargood on Collaroy sets itself apart by not just providing accommodation but a series of accessible destination experiences from a specialist gym, yoga, fishing, tennis, darts, swimming in an ocean pool, inclusive surfing and scuba diving. The enterprise has a person centred approach where the individual with a disability and their family or friends are able to holiday knowing that they have access to the best available expertise, equipment and community connections.
Photo 2: Simon and Fiona Darcy enjoying Sargood on Collaroy - a boutique spinal cord injury accessible accommodation and wellness resort (source: Sargood on Collaroy with permission)


References
Darcy, S., & Hergesell, A. (2018). Supplementing the NVS 2017 Q1 with Additional Insights on People with Disabilities. Retrieved from Sydney:
Michopoulou, E., Darcy, S., Ambrose, I., & Buhalis, D. (2019). Accessible hospitality and tourism: opportunities and challenges. Paper presented at the 27th Council  for       Hospitality       Management    Education            (CHME)  - Innovation  in         Hospitality:      connecting       all        stakeholders     to            deliver memorable       experiences
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/council-for-hospitality-management-education-2018-tickets-37838282321?_eboga=1715778101.1516471310#tick, 22-25   May     2018    Bournemouth   University,       UK                                           www.bournemouth.ac.uk/CHM.
My Travel Research, c., & Childs, C. (2017). Understanding the Opportunity for Australia in Accessible Tourism, final report. Retrieved from Canberra:
Pavkovic, I., Darcy, S., & Ryan, R. (2017). Infographic of Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Economic Data. Retrieved from University of Technology Sydney
Pavkovic, I., Lawrie, A., Farrell, G., Huuskes, L., & Ryan, R. (2017). Inclusive  Tourism: Economic Opportunities. Retrieved from University of Technology Sydney
Tourism Research Australia. (2017). National Visitor Survey Questionnaire Final with Disability Module.   Retrieved from https://www.tra.gov.au/research/International-Markets.html

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