Australia - New South Wales Ministerial Forum On Accessible Tourism Strategy Development

On Wednesday 11 May 2016 a New South Wales Ministerial Forum on Accessible Tourism was held at NSW Parliament House in the Strangers Room. Building upon the work by NSW Family and Community Services (FACS) on inclusive communities over the last two years, the Ministerial Forum was held to reflect on past approaches and future opportunities with the impending NDIS for accessible tourism in NSW. Organised by NSW FACS and facilitated by the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Public Policy and Governance, the forum was opened by the Minister for Disability Services and Multiculturalism the Honourable John Ajacka. The format for the day included two forums. The first forum was chaired by Donna Rygate the CEO of Local Government NSW with the purpose of reflecting on past initiatives that had worked well. With the background of the NSW Disability Inclusion Act 2014, Donna outlined the opportunities and potential for developing inclusive communities and accessible tourism at the local government level. She stressed the importance that an inclusive community is also a great community to visit as a tourist. The panel consisted of Martin Heng, the accessible travel manager and editorial advisor for Lonely Planet, Dr Helen Margarita Smith - the bush walking program office of the National Parks Association of NSW, and Sean Willenberg – Disability Inclusion Officer, NSW Business Chamber. The overriding outcome of the first forum was the importance of information provision and information systems so that consumers can make an informed choice about tourism product offerings. This was also supported through the discussion with the audience that people with disabilities and others with access needs want great accessible destination experiences and don't travel hundreds or thousands of miles to stay in hotels/other forms of accommodation. The second panel was chaired by Prof Simon Darcy, UTS Business School who presented recent European research undertaken by the EU and the UN World Tourism Organisation. This research work reinforced a great deal of similar findings from the US, the UK and Australasia (see references), with Prof Darcy concluding that the time for research was over and a knowledge base existed for industry action to improve the tourism citizenship of people living in NSW or visiting it from other states or overseas. The other members on the panel were Geoff Buckley - ex-head of Tourism Australia and Managing Director of New Earth Tourism, Andrew Bowring -Business Head of Zomato, and Jenny Spinak, Access Manager of the Sydney Opera House. Discussions on this panel examined the opportunities for engaging an industry led supply side digital platforms across travel information, accommodation, attractions, restaurants/bars and the share economy. Jenny Spinak also shared experiences of the importance of driving cultural change with internal and external stakeholders of organisations and provided examples of the successful transition of the Sydney Opera House to an organisation embracing inclusion and receiving a multitude of benefits including increased patronage, corporate social responsibility outcomes and opportunities for sponsorship. After each session lively discussions were held with the approximately 50 people in attendance from the tourism industry, disability advocacy and government sectors. The outcome of the forum is to produce an action plan for NSW to facilitate accessible tourism opportunities across the state including rural and remote areas. The Institute for Public Policy and Governance provided background papers and will be working on an action plan agenda arising from the meeting. For further information please contact Ivan Pavkovic Ivan.Pavkovic@uts.edu.au

Photo 1. Bill Forrester of Travability posing a question for Donna Rygate of the NSW Local Government and Shires Association

References

Buhalis, D., & Darcy, S. (Eds.). (2011). Accessible Tourism: Concepts and Issues. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

Buhalis, D., Darcy, S., & Ambrose, I. (Eds.). (2012). Best Practice in Accessible Tourism: Inclusion, Disability, Ageing Population and Tourism. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

Dwyer, L., & Darcy, S. (2011). Chapter 14 - Economic Contribution of Tourists with Disabilities: An Australian Approach and Methodology. In D. Buhalis & S. Darcy (Eds.), Accessible Tourism: Concepts and Issues (pp. 213-239). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

GFK, University of Surrey, Neumann Consult, & Pro A Solutions. (2015). Economic Impact and Travel Patterns of Accessible Tourism: European Commission in conjunction with GFK - University of Surrey - Neumann Consulting - Pro A Solutions.

Michopoulou, E., Darcy, S., Ambrose, I., & Buhalis, D. (2015). Accessible tourism futures: the world we dream to live in and the opportunities we hope to have. Journal of Tourism Futures, 1(3), 179-188.

Open Doors Organization. (2015). Research among Adults with Disabilities: Travel and Hospitality (USA). Chicago: Open Doors Organization.

UNWTO. (2015a). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices - Module 1   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416486

UNWTO. (2015b). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices - Module 2   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/abs/10.18111/9789284416509

UNWTO. (2015c). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices - Module 3   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416523

UNWTO. (2015d). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices - Module 4   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/abs/10.18111/9789284416547

UNWTO. (2015e). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices - Module 5   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284416585

UNWTO. (2015f). Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Public-private Partnerships and Good Practices   Retrieved from http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284416585

New Publication: Martin Heng' 2016 Lonely Planet's Accessible Travel Online Resources

For all those wanting to start the travel planning process or learn about accessible tourism destinations and experiences from around the world Lonely Planet's Martin Heng has published the Accessible Travel Online Resources guide. Martin brings a unique blend of being a person with a disability, a staff member at Lonely Planet and a person undertaking postgraduate study. Martin began the process of compiling the online resources while working on his Masters Degree at RMIT Melbourne, Australia. The press release is provided below

PRESS RELEASE

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Lonely Planet’s Accessible Travel Online Resources

Photo 1: Resources Title Page

1st edition – Jan 2016

ISBN 978 1 76034 444 3

Author: Martin Heng

98 pages

Available free from: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/world/accessible-travel-online-resources-2016

Hard of hearing or vision-impaired? A wheelchair user or slow walker? Fibromyalgia, MS or spinal-cord injury? None of these should stop you from experiencing the joy and benefits of travel. We at Lonely Planet believe that travel is for all, no matter what their abilities or limitations. We also know that the first barrier to travel for many people who have access issues or a disability is a lack of information, combined with a fear of the unknown. We hope that this collection of online resources will go some way towards filling the information gap and alleviating unfounded fears, either by providing information directly or by introducing you to a host of people who haven’t let their disability get in the way of their love of travel.

·         The world’s largest list of online resources for accessible travel

·         Country-by-country resources from national and local government and tourism bodies, as well as disabled people’s organisations

·         A wealth of experience of travelling with a disability from almost 50 personal travel blogs

·         Dozens of specialised accessible travel agents and tour operators from 40 countries around the world

·         Top travel tips for travelling with access issues

·         Advice from experienced travellers with a disability

·         Leads and links to disability-specific advice and support

·         Websites dedicated to the theory and promotion of accessible travel

·         Updated biannually

·         Easy-to-read text

Additional copy

We all do it: come across a website, think “Oh, that’s interesting!” and bookmark it for future reference. But when surfing the web, subscribing to relevant online magazines and networking via social media and LinkedIn come to form a core part of your job – as they have for me since I became Lonely Planet’s Accessible Travel Manager – things can quickly get out of hand! And so about six months ago, I decided to go through my long list of accessible-travel-related bookmarks to assess and categorise them. I then went through my LinkedIn and Twitter connections, tracking down useful websites for travelling with access issues. I also did some research and came up with heaps more useful websites.

The result is almost certainly the largest list of online resources for accessible travel that exists. It’s still by no means exhaustive. I’m sure there will be some people who will wonder at glaring omissions, and others who will be upset that their website or business has not been included. I call on all these people to contact me at travelforall@lonelyplanet.com.au with details of websites that can be included in subsequent editions. Knowing how quickly lists such as this become out of date, with websites appearing and disappearing all the time, I’m planning to update this resource every six months. My goal is for this to become an ever-growing and ever-more-useful resource for travellers who have access issues, whether through congenital disability, injury or age.

In closing, I’d like to thank Ivor Ambrose of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), with whom we signed a memorandum of understanding last year to pursue joint projects. This is the first! Ivor provided valuable feedback and also made sure that there are fewer glaring omissions than there would have been without his knowledgeable input.

The Reflexive Traveller - Italy, accessibility and other observations

Some readers of the blog may have noticed that there have not been entries for a few months. This was the product of a hectic work schedule and an upcoming trip to Europe.  The opportunity arose as part of my University of Technology Sydney work and collaborative relationships with the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT). The trip included forging relationships with the Italian Institute of Architects, the Foundation of the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute, Expo 2015, the Facoltà di Sociologia - Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. and Italian accessible tourism businesses like Villages for All. Of course, I took the opportunity to examine a range of accessible experiences including transport, attractions, hotels and customer service. As photo one shows, one such experience was testing new access equipment to experience the archaeological digs of ancient Rome.

Photo 1:  Simon Darcy, Rome and Italy Tours' specialist ArcheoTrekAble equipment and people power provided an up close look at Ancient Rome's archaeological digs that would not be possible in a standard wheelchair (© Fiona Darcy 2012)

Thanks to Ivor Ambrose's networking efforts with the ENAT, I received a range of publicity opportunities including those with mainstream media and disability specific media. Barbara Pianca of the Superando organisation interviewed me in the lead up to the trip and carried a story on the organisation's website. The interview focused on travel planning and accessibility for tourism. This theme was further developed by the Foundation of the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute who provided an opportunity for me to discuss the importance of tourism within the rehabilitation process for people who acquire disabilities. The Foundation does some excellent work and has always incorporated arts and sport within the rehabilitation process and it is now hoping to incorporate opportunities for people to travel while still in rehabilitation. The Foundation's Secretary Professor Ferdinando Cornelio hosted a media and business event where I was interviewed by mainstream print and television media on a range of matters including rehabilitation, Expo 2015 to be held in Milan and accessible tourism knowledge management processes that could be put in place to improve the tourism opportunities for people with disability. A video of the interviews by the journalists from the Corriere.TV can be found at the following site Video Salute - Corriere TV

As with all areas of disability, accessible tourism required the collaboration of a range of stakeholders from the private sector, government and the not-for-profit. An important player in the university sector where the education of future generations of architects, planners, business people and government officials requires an understanding of access and disability within the curriculum. Accessible tourism considerations are relatively new within higher education curriculum around the world. Italy is no exception but there is a growing network of academics starting to develop curriculum and research around accessible tourism in Italian universities. One such faculty and University is the Facoltà di Sociologia - Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, where Prof Ezio Marra is fostering accessible tourism opportunities at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The seminar on accessible tourism was held in partnership with the Italian Institute of Architects, whose member Isabella Steffan, Arch- Eur/Erg, presented an introduction to the seminar and placed it in context to tourism developments in architecture and the built environment in Italy. The seminar was attended by 25 students and faculty and generated a great deal of interesting discussion about tourism information systems, the accessibility of the Italian built environment and transport systems, cross-cultural differences in disability and access, and the opportunities provided by Expo 2015 for access, disability and accessible tourism.

The other stakeholders that are critical to developing robust accessible tourism experiences are an active in disability advocacy and government equity framework. To that end, I had meetings with Aldo Maria Arrigoni, Director Diversity, Ministry of Labour and a person involved with the Fondazione Notari (http://www.fondazionenotari.com/) that seeks to provide training courses around disability and access to Italian business. We spoke of of a series of issues around urban accessibility, business attitude towards disability, accessible tourism and his involvement in assisting organisers of Expo 2015 (http://en.expo2015.org/). Aldo recognises the opportunity that the Expo may provide to improve accessibility for residents and visitors to Milan. However, he also recognises that it is already 2012 and if they hope to have a more developed access culture for the Expo organisation and systems in place for improving accessible tourism experiences for visitors to Milan then time is running short.

One of the great things about travelling is finding the unexpected. One such pleasure was in coming across Roberto Vitali from Village for All or V4A as it is branded and shown in Figure 1 (www.v4a.it). Roberto who has a history as a Paralympian, for the last 20 years has dedicated his life, work and passion towards establishing Village for All and the 35 accommodations that it currently has in Italy, Croatia, USA and Brazil. Roberto has established an information system for his accommodation offerings. As important as a good-quality information system to allow tourists with disabilities to make informed decisions about whether access at a property is appropriate for their needs, V4A is all about the experiences that you want when staying at one of their accommodations or resorts. Their properties offer a series of experiences from the passive to the active, from the solitary to the family or from a sporting to a cultural experience.

Figure 1: Village for All logo

As Figure 2 demonstrates, the accommodation information system is detailed and provides critical measurements. This system very much operationalises research discussed in other blog entries on accessible accommodation based on research in Europe and Australia (Darcy & Cameron, 2008; Darcy, 2010; Europe for All. 2007a, 2007b) It is also very similar to a recent exploratory project carried out for the City of Sydney and presented on Easy Access Australia's website (http://www.easyaccessaustralia.com.au/sydney/).  

Figure 2: Room floor plans for V4A properties

Lastly, research has shown that people with disability do not trust mainstream travel agents and tourism operators as mainstream providers do not understand the requirements of people with disability (e.g. McKercher, Packer & Yau, 2003). Subsequently people with disability have organised and managed their own travel plans and itineraries to a much higher degree than people without disability. However, those who to manage their own travel planning miss out on many of the discounts and insider advantages of using industry providers. Language provided a barrier which was restricting my own travel planning for this trip. After some searching, I settled on Rome and Italy Tourist Services to assist with land transport connections and specialist accessible tour provision (http://www.romeanditaly.com/tourselected.php?id=10). As shown in Photo 1, Stefano Sghinolfi CEO and Owner of Rome and Italy Tourist Services is trialling equipment to provide a more up close and personal experience of Rome's ancient historical sites. It is this type of innovation that I was drawn to and can attest was only part of the excellent service provision of the company^.


Over the coming weeks I will be reflecting upon other aspects of the trip including accessible tourism knowledge management systems, air travel, accommodation choice, attractions, transport, customer service attitudes and accessible destination experiences.


^ please note all services were purchased at standard market rates and the tour operators did not know that I would be reviewing product and service offerings.


References

Darcy, S., & Cameron, B. (2008). Accessible Accommodation Assessment Template [Software template]. Sydney: © University of Technology, Sydney and Easy Access Australia.


Darcy, S. (2010). Inherent complexity: Disability, accessible tourism and accommodation information preferences. Tourism Management, 31(6), 816-826.


Europe for All. (2007a). The Europe for all Photo and Measurement Guide Vol. 2008. (pp. Website).  Retrieved from http://www.europeforall.com/tourismProviders.seam?conversationPropagation=end&conversationId=162076 


Europe for All. (2007b). The Europe for all Self-Assessment Questionnaire Vol. 2008. (pp. Website).  Retrieved from http://www.europeforall.com/tourismProviders.seam?conversationPropagation=end&conversationId=162076 


European Network for Accessible Tourism. (2012). Accessibility and tourism seminar at the  Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca 9 July 2012  Retrieved 28 July, 2012, from http://www.accessibletourism.org/?i=enat.en.events.1338



McKercher, B., Packer, T., Yau, M. K., & Lam, P. (2003). Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: perceptions of people with disabilities. Tourism Management, 24(4), 465-474. 

Pianca, B. (2012, 4 July). Voglio sentirmi il benvenuto in ogni città del mondo, Superando.it. Retrieved from http://www.superando.it/2012/07/04/voglio-sentirmi-il-benvenuto-in-ogni-citta-del-mondo/

Parrot, M., & Passerini, G. (2012, 25 July). Disabili e turismo - Girare il mondo è la prima forma di riabilitazione Corriere Della Serra - Corriere TV. Retrieved from http://video.corriere.it/se-turismo-aiuta-disabili-uscire-ghetto/131d40b0-d675-11e1-bdd2-f78a37bd7a67