United Nations World Tourism Organization develops policy and manuals on accessible tourism

For those who may not be aware the United Nations World Tourism Organization together with contributing organisations and individuals have developed and published a set of resources to assist destinations in developing accessible tourism information, marketing, products and services.

The resources draw on the best academic, industry and policy practice from around the world with impetus gained from the San Marino Declaration on Accessible Tourism and the subsequent UNWTO recommendations on accessible tourism.

Hopefully all manuals will eventually appear in English as well as Spanish.

The remainder of the page is reprinted from http://ethics.unwto.org/en/content/accessible-tourism 

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UNWTO Recommendations on Accessible Tourism

The UNWTO Recommendations on Accessible Tourism for All are meant to be used as a general, basic mainstreaming framework for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the physical environment, the transportation system, information and communications channels, as well as to a wide range of public facilities and services. 

The Recommendations incorporate the most relevant aspects of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities of 2006 and the principles of Universal Design.

In the context of a trilateral agreement between UNWTO, ONCE and ENAT, the recommendations were adopted by UNWTO General Assembly Resolution A/RES/637(XX) of August 2013, updating the 2005 UNWTO Recommendations. 

Read the Recommendations in English Español Français

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Manuals on Accessible Tourism for All

One of the most significant outcomes of a major collaboration framework between UNWTO and disabled people’s organizations (DPOs), particularly the Spanish ONCE Foundation for the Cooperation and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities, the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), and the Spanish ACS Foundation, are the Manuals on Accessible Tourism for All.

The manuals are meant to assist tourism stakeholders in improving the accessibility of tourism destinations, facilities and services worldwide.

Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Public-Private Partnerships and Good Practices

Full text: English  Spanish   Executive Summary: English Español Français

The first tangible outcome of a fruitful collaboration between the UNWTO and the ACS Foundation features the inclusion of both cultural and natural heritage assets into the accessible tourism value chain as well as the technical knowledge necessary for making tourism infrastructures and attractions accessible to all. The English translation of the Spanish original was published in January 2015. The Publication been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA)

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Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices 

Executive Summary (of all five Modules): English Español Français

1.Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices,  Module I

Full text: Spanish 

UNWTO's second publication on universal accessibility has been co-produced with the Spanish ONCE Foundation for social inclusion of people with disabilities and the European Network for Accessible Tourism - ENAT. Module I is currently available in Spanish only, in a digital accessible version. It has been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA). 

2.Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices,  Module II

Full text: Spanish 

Module II of the Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: principles, tools and best practices suggests specific recommendations targeting the tourism sector with the aim of creating accessible tourism destinations. The proposed actions are based on the need to respect the integrity of the entire value chain of a tourist experience when implementing universal accessibility plans, and thus cover the five main areas of the same: planning and information, transportation, accessibility of the natural and built environments, shared public spaces and specific spaces. It is essential that people with disabilities and special needs complete their travel experience without any obstacles like all the other tourists. Module II is currently available in Spanish only, in a digital accessible version. It has been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA). 

3.Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices, Module III

Full text: Spanish

Module III of the Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: principles, tools and best practices, co-produced with the ONCE Foundation and ENAT, highlights the necessary actions that need to be undertaken in order to make the universal accessibility in tourism a reality. These actions should result from an overall policy framework and specific strategies fostering Accessible Tourism which are being discussed in this module. The policy framework should provide the basis for proper planning and development of strategic areas of intervention, such as legislation, awareness-raising and training, research, as well as marketing and management of accessible tourism. Module III is currently available in Spanish only, in a digital accessible version. It has been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA). 

4.Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices, Module IV

Full text: Spanish

Module IV of the Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Best Practices, co-produced with the ONCE Foundation and ENAT, proposes a series of indicators developed for tourism destinations to assess, control, and manage their accessible tourism offer. Accompanied by a detailed methodology for their application, these indicators can serve as a practical tool not only to assess the current situation within destinations but also to consider further actions that may be required. Module IV is currently available in Spanish only, in a digital accessible version. It has been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA). 

5.Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices Module V  NEW!

Full text: Spanish

Module V of the Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: principles, tools and best practices, co-produced with the ONCE Foundation and ENAT, provides an overview of case studies and good practices which have proven a successful implementation of universal accessibility in different spheres of tourism, such as promotion, market research, travel agencies, transportation, accommodation, training & capacity building and destination management. The examples featured therein analyze a wide spectrum of conditions which were decisive in making accessible tourism a reality and are meant to inspire the key stakeholders to engage in similar initiatives in their respective areas of influence.  Module V is currently available in Spanish only, in a digital accessible version. It has been laid-out following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA). 

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San Marino Declaration on Accessible Tourism 

The Declaration which resulted from the 1st UNWTO Conference on Accessible Tourism in Europe, held on 19-20 November 2014 in the Republic of San Marino, can be downloaded here:

English
Español
Français

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Relevant UNWTO Events and Reports on Tourism and Accessibility 

FITUR 2015: "Technology at the service of Tourism for All"  

FITUR 2013: “Accessibility: A Competitive Advantage for Tourism Destinations" (Final Report - Spanish)

New article- Inclusive by Design: Transformative Services and Sport Event Accessibility

Originally published at Dickson, T. J., Darcy, S., Johns, R., & Pentifallo, C. (2016). Inclusive by Design: Transformative services and sport-event accessibility The Services Industry Journal, 36(11-12) pp532-555. Article available for no charge athttp://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/WdSae6GJGPG7rNXBV9qh/full 

FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Canada

Quote from abstract:

This paper examines the service dimensions required to be inclusive of people with access needs within a major-sport event context. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities seeks to counter disability discrimination and enable citizenship rights of people with disabilities, including access to goods and services, across all dimensions of social participation including major-sport events (e.g. Olympic and Paralympic Games, world cups in football, cricket and rugby union). Providing for people with disability and access needs is also an emerging tourism focus with initiatives addressing accessible tourism included in the World Tourism Organizations mission and recent strategic destination plans. To enhance the understanding of service delivery for an accessible tourism market in a major-sport event context, a case study of the Vancouver Fan Zone for the FIFA Womens World Cup Canada, 2015 ^TM is analyzed through the lens of transformative services. From this analysis future research directions are identified to benefit those with access needs who wish to participate in major-sport events.

Photo 1: signage and wayfinding is so important at major events particularly where temporary overlays are used -photo courtesy of Dr Tracey Dickson ©2015.

The paper uses service blueprinting and a "traffic light" approach to assessing the fan experience from a disability perspective. Table 3 from the document is provided to give an understanding of the approach. The font and colours are explained as  Normal font or green = OK; Italics =or yellow = caution; Bold or orange = problem. The colours chosen were recommended to support screen readers.

Table 3 Traffic light service blueprint: assessment of stages of Fan Zone experience

STAGES	EVIDENCE	MOBILITY	VISION	HEARING	COGNITIVE
Research and planning	Websites (FIFA; Vancouver City)	No accessibility information for Fan Zone. Links to accessible transport information	FIFA Website not fully WCAG 2.0 compliant	No accessibility information for Fan Zone	No accessibility information for Fan Zone
Travel	Websites (FIFA;  Transit), Access Audit; observation	Public transport is accessible for independent travel  HandyDART available for other support	Transit website is not fully WCAG 2.0 compliant	Buses and trains have LED signs indicating next stop	HandyDART available for other support
Arrival	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	Clear path of travel	No tactile tiles	Signage is clear	Only one entry
Activations	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	No overt mobility support or participation opportunities	No braille information; noise levels too high to hear instructions. Most activations assume vision	No written information available for instructions	Noisy, crowded
Food and Beverages	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	All vendor trucks serving areas inaccessible to wheelchair users. 3 step process to buy alcoholic drinks not helpful for those with mobility needs	No braille information, but servers can speak to customers	Signage is clear	Typical lining up process, but no guidance about where/how to line up
Toilets	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	Unisex accessible portable toilets available in unisex toilet area	No braille information. No staff nearby to give directions	Signage is clear	Standard port-a-loos, but in unisex layout
Watching matches	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	Iterations of accessible viewing not appropriate; no crowd management to support viewing	Sound system not clear. No match commentary No hearing loops	No subtitles on screen. No sign language for MC	No ticketing, reserved seats or spaces.
Leaving & emergency exits	Access Audit; Observation, photo analysis	Clear path of travel	No tactile tiles. Sound system did not cover all Fan Zone area if emergency exit info needed, but there were security staff and volunteers	Signage is clear; security staff and volunteers available	One main exit clearly marked; security staff and volunteers available

World Tourism Day - Accessible Tourism for All: what is it all about and do we really need it?

27 September 2016

Even temporary overlays can include universally design features. Photo by Tracey Dickson at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games and provided for use to UTS Business School.

It is World Tourism Day on Tuesday, September 27, and this year the focus will be Accessible Tourism for All.

The UN World Tourism Organisation has chosen this focus because people with disability are still poorly accommodated by the tourism industry globally, despite the World Health Organisation estimating that 1 billion people live with some form of disability.
“This makes accessible tourism not only an issue of equality and human rights but an economic one. People with disability and seniors with access needs are already making a significant economic contribution to tourism, but it has the potential to double through understanding how to accommodate and market to this group,” says Professor Simon Darcy of UTS Business School, an expert in tourism and a power wheelchair user himself.
A recent European Union study has shown that the market already accounts for a gross value added economic contribution of €150 billion annually.
Previous Australian government tourism figures identified approximately 10% of domestic overnight stays as having an access component worth some $4.8 billion to the economy.

"People with disability
are still poorly accommodated
by the tourism industry globally."

Recent research published by Professor Darcy and Spanish collaborators sought to identify the key components that contribute towards accessible tourism ‘destination competitiveness and sustainability’.
This research was only possible because national and regional data was available for both countries that provided an evidence base.
While global tourism data is available longitudinally, due to the 10% economic contribution of the sector, few nations have included disability and access modules within their data collection.
However, UNWTO has invested considerable resources in producing a set of best practice reports on improving accessible tourism experiences for people with mobility, vision, hearing and learning disabilities. Each of these groups has different access requirements to be inclusive of their access needs and embodiments.
By incorporating the access needs and embodied understandings within destination development and marketing, precincts, cities and nations are creating a competitive advantage in the attraction of tourists in a globally competitive industry.
For example, people with vision impairment experience tourism environments without the ‘tourist gaze’ and require product development to take into account their other senses.
Research on vision impairment and tourism has shown the importance for considering wayfinding, soundscapes, aroma and tactility to enhance this group’s experiences of destination environments.

"By incorporating access needs and embodied understandings
within destination development and marketing...
nations are creating a competitive advantage."

The ‘competitiveness’ of destinations such as Sydney, Barcelona, London, Hong Kong and Rio brands can be enhanced or tarnished by their approaches to these markets. Arguably, Spain with Barcelona as the prime example, has led the way with their commitment and product/service development of accessible destination experiences.
The UNWTO is ‘responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism’. While rarely discussed together, sustainability and universally accessible tourism are philosophically linked as part of sustainable development goals.
Universally accessible tourism is founded on the core elements of ‘universal design’ that is fundamental to developing both an equality of tourism experiences and the market potential of this group.
Universal design, also known as inclusive design, goes beyond accessibility and compliance with legislation to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to everyone. Universal design has been defined as:

‘...the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. The intent of the universal design concept is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by more people at little or no extra cost. The universal design concept targets all people of all ages, sizes and abilities’.

Applying the principles of Universal Design provides a foundation for local communities and tourism destinations to be more effective, efficient and sustainable.
In Europe it has been estimated that less than 10% of tourism suppliers offer universally designed tourism products and services.
The outcome of adopting universal design principles includes a broader market base, increased occupancy out of season, and an enhanced market brand.
In a recent keynote address to the 2nd Australian Universal Design Conference, Professor Darcy identified spaces and places including the Barangaroo redevelopment, the Goods Line adjacent to the ABC and UTS Business School, and the Sydney Olympic Park as examples that include elements of universal design.

"...universal design is fundamental
to developing an equality of tourism experiences
and the market potential of this group."

What makes implementing universal design for accessible tourism purposes that much more complex is the movement of people locally, regionally, nationally and internationally so that all elements of the ‘travel chain’ link together seamlessly.
This incorporates the elements of information provision, planning, transport, accommodation, attractions and all forms of miscellaneous service provision across accessible tourism supply chain.
The UNWTO has produced a booklet for World Tourism Day highlighting aspects of the accessible tourism supply chain.

Professor Darcy's current research includes examining the outcomes of accessibility of major events and recently looked at the Paralympics and Rio’s accessibility in these articles:
'Grotesque spectacle'? Rio has a long way to go to become more accessible
‘A brief history of the Paralympic Games: from post-WWII rehabilitation to mega sport event’

Reprinted from
http://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/management/news/world-tourism-day-accessible-tourism-all-what-it-all-about

Observations on the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Accessibility

'Grotesque spectacle'? Rio has a long way to go to become more accessible

Tracey J Dickson, University of Canberra; Jorge Knijnik, Western Sydney University, and Simon Darcy, University of Technology Sydney

It was quite a reality check. With one phrase, “Espetáculo grotesco” (“grotesque spectacle”), Portuguese journalist Joaquim Vieira created a major controversy with his denigration of the Paralympic Games.

Through his choice of words, and his throwback to disability as a “freak show”, he highlights the difficulty of moving the discourse and practice from a medical model to a social approach.

The former sees people with disabilities as abnormal, deviant or inferior, with disability a “personal tragedy”. A social approach focuses on the abilities rather than deficits, challenging the disabling environments, attitudes and behaviours of individuals, organisations and societies.

Without this transformation, the vision espoused in the IPC Accessibility Guide to improve host city accessibility and attitudes towards people with disability will remain a distant aspiration rather than a reality.

The Paralympic Games will never be a panacea for the social issues facing a host city and nation. But can they be a beginning to enabling social, cultural and environmental change?

Focus on accessibility

Rio is a city already facing accessibility challenges. This is after Rio hosted the 2007 Parapan Games and was also involved with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where accessibility was on the agenda.

The accessibility agenda seeks to be inclusive of the ten different impairment types that compete within the athlete classification system. Yet, accessibility at the Paralympics moves beyond athletes to spectators, officials, employees and volunteers who should be able to move freely, independently and with dignity around the city.

According to the Rio 2016 Accessibility Technical Guidelines, nearly 24% of Brazilians have some kind of disability. So an improvement in accessibility levels not just in Rio, but throughout Brazil, will be one of the biggest and most enduring legacies of the Olympics.

But there are challenges making large cities that have existed for centuries more accessible. Following the 2012 Games, David Bamford noted that London had made improvements to accessibility, particularly with public transport, but there was still more to be done.

For a host city to be accessible for the event and beyond requires a range of facilitating factors, including policies, codes, legislation, funding, strong disability advocacy coalitions and education.

What Rio didn’t need was a downturn in its economy that saw it descend into a recession in the lead-up to the Games, and political turmoil that resulted in the impeachment of its President between the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

           
           

              The residences for athletes have good accessibility, but what about the rest of the city?
              OIC
           

         

Rio 2016 Paralympic accessibility

Sally Swanson, an architect and registered journalist at the Games, sponsored by Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, told us via personal correspondence that accessibility was not factored into planning for the Games and was only implemented after the construction was completed. The exceptions she noted were the athlete’s village and the integration of the transportation system.

Together with others on the ground in Rio, we note a few examples that highlight the gaps in planning, design, construction, funding, operations and management of accessibility.

There have been many efforts to enhance accessibility, but existing infrastructure makes universal accessibility difficult. In the Fort Copacabana area, where the triathlon and marathon are held, there are kilometres of black and white “Portuguese pavements”.

These tell some of the history of the land, but in reality, they have not been well maintained. The surface is often undulating, tiles are missing and they are very slippery when wet or sandy.

There are also limited public toilet facilities in Fort Copacabana, none of which are accessible. However, many retail stores and cafes in the area have made an effort to have ramps available to improve access.

           
           

              Barriers were placed across access tactile tiles.
              Author provided
           
         

There is a new subway line L4 that was 30 years in the planning. It was opened in time for the Games and is for exclusive use of accredited personnel and ticket holders during the event. With 15 new trains, the poster behind the barrier (see image right) boasts “agility is first”, but agility for whom?

There is good lift access and tactile tiles, but when these became active, it is clear that the message has not been conveyed to operational managers as to what tactile tiles are for. Barriers to manage pedestrian flow were placed across the tiles.

Services were also cut back before the Paralympic Games as a cost saving measure.

In Barra Olympic Park, in front of the entry to Main Press Centre, there was a trip hazard that was unmarked. No one seemed concerned, nor was anyone doing anything about it.

As noted by Sally Swanson in personal communication, the curb cuts in the Park were also installed after construction and were not marked for vision-impaired.

At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Opening Ceremony, the final torch bearer who used a wheelchair had to push himself up a ramp that appeared to well beyond the 5-6.25% of incline as recommended Rio 2016 Accessibility Technical Guidelines. Of further concern was whether it was of a suitable surface given the heavy rain that came over the stadium as he ascended the final ramps.

Media coverage

In the week prior to the Paralympic Games, Brazilian mainstream media was mostly highlighting stories about personal triumph, of how Paralympic athletes have suffered and overcame personal barriers to be where they are.

Even with the large number of people with disability in the country, there were no discussions about diversity and social topics surrounding disability. These conversations continue to be omitted in mass media, which appeals only to individual efforts of the “warriors” as the way to overcome hurdles they face due to their disability.

There were a few exceptions, such as the history of Natalia Mayara, a Brazilian tennis player who wants to be acknowledged not by her life dramas but as an elite athlete. These may be indicative that there is room for positive changes in the social imagination.

Despite the media focus on the sentimentality of athletes, the main open TV broadcaster (Rede Globo) has a very weak coverage of the Games. It only broadcasts live on its pay TV channels, which have had a major increase in their audience levels since the start of the Paralympic Games. The broadcast of the Paralympic opening ceremony has broken all audience records on these pay TV channels.

Public TV (TV Brasil) is covering most of the games live, but few people access it,  and the new government after Dilma Roussef’s impeachment is planning to reduce or even to close this very important public vehicle.

Accessibility for tourists

In the lead up to the Games, the IPC ran workshops for tourist organisations and tourism businesses on the opportunities for accessible tourism.

The international media spotlight also brings with it initiatives such as the Accessible Rio City Guide by Lonely Planet. The guide was developed in conjunction with IPC support and is provided free on the Lonely Planet website.

           
           

              Old cities often have significant accessibility issues, and Rio is no exception.
              OIC
           
         

While developed with the dual idea of servicing both athletes and visitors with disabilities, the guide also provides a certain amount of corporate social responsibility cachet for both organisations.

Historically these types of CSR programs are part of a plethora of strategic alliances that the IPC has worked with in the lead up to the games and announced strategic alliance extensions of during the games.

How will we know if there is an accessibility legacy? Within Rio and Brazil this may involve the improved visibility of people with disability in life but without baseline research on current levels of social participation how will we know improvements have been made? Another KPI might be to look at the growth in competitors and countries at successive Paralympics, if there are more athletes and/or more countries then this might be a signifier of the increasing accessibility of the International Paralympic movement.

Access game changers

One missed opportunity is the training of the 70,000 passionate volunteers as “game-changers” for access. Typically, disability is just a small fraction of the overall volunteer training (which may be less than three days per volunteer). We are not even sure that accessibility is addressed in the training at all.

If volunteers were given more training in accessibility and disability, which could be done very simply and cheaply via online training such as with Vancouver 2010 and Rio 2016, they could also become the “game changers” for access in their communities after the Games.

The volunteers would be able to support accessibility during the games, and then have the knowledge, skills and vision to support accessibility in their communities when they return home, enabling a true accessibility legacy for the host country.

It’s important we remember that accessibility does not happen by accident, it happens by design.



Tracey J Dickson, Associate Professor, Centre for Tourism Research, Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra; Jorge Knijnik, Senior Lecturer, School of Education; Researcher, the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, and Simon Darcy, Professor & Co-Director  Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre - UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Asia Pacific Network on Accessible Tourism to get country chapters

Reprinted from http://bit.ly/2boJZ6w

The Asia Pacific Network on Accessible Tourism (APNAT) will soon see the establishment of country chapters, which would help champion barrier-free travel for all people with disabilities in the region.  This move was agreed upon at the recently concluded 5th International Conference on Accessible Tourism.  APNAT itself was formed after recommendations from participants who attended the first South-east Asia Conference on Accessible Tourism in 2012 (SEACAT).   Sia Siew Chin, protem committee chairman of APNAT, said: “Through APNAT, we would like to be able to reach out to governments, people in the tourism industry and service providers to provide for the access needs of everyone in society, in particular people with disabilities.”   Saowalak Thongkuay, regional coordinator for Abilis Foundation Mekong, said: “APNAT gives us a strong and collective voice to negotiate with governments to include accessible tourism into their development agenda.

It is hoped that all links in the tourism chain will become accessible.  Speaking at the conference,  Annagrazia Laura, president of European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), stressed that providing barrier-free environment means that from arrival to departure, visitors must be guaranteed an unbroken and seamless chain of accessibility.  “If just one link in the chain is broken, such as inaccessible monuments and tourist attractions, the holiday experience will be spoilt” said Laura.

Joseph Kwan, chair, International Commission on Technology & Accessibility, Rehabilitation International also attended the conference.  “Once governments realise that people with disabilities and the senior market are a sizable population with disposable incomes to spend and can contribute significantly to foreign exchange earnings, employment generation and social inclusion, they will be more willing to act, to create barrier-free travel for all” said Kwan.   Kwan stressed the importance of governments to do audits on the current status of tourism accessibility in order to develop policies and plans regarding accessibility and human rights.

Follow on Twitter: @EUaccesstourism

Photo 1: Hong Kong MTR system accessibility © Fiona Darcy 2010