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

Australia lagging behind accessible and inclusive global destinations!

For referencing purposes please cite:

Darcy, S. (2013). Case study: An act of omission, resourcing and will: Tourism, disability and access within the public policy sphere. In B. Lovelock & K. M. Lovelock (Eds.), The ethics of tourism: Critical and applied perspectives (pp. 172-175). Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxam UK: Routledge.

 An act of omission, resources and will - Tourism, disability and access within the public policy sphere.

The acting Prime Minister of Australia Wayne Swan, the opposition leader Tony Abbott, the Commonwealth, Sen Jan McLucas the Parliamentary Sec for Disability and Carers, State Disability Ministers and a large number of VIPs welcomed home the Australian Paralympic Team from the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Thursday, 13 September 2012. The Australian Paralympic Team had done extraordinarily well and were greeted by speeches lauding their performances, their inspiration and their sportsmanship. They were told what a wonderful performance they had done on the world stage and how all Australians supported them. Yet, these same Australians do not have an equal opportunity when it comes to tourism within their own country or when they travel abroad unless they are part of an elite sporting team. Why is this so?

An examination of all Tourism Australia, Australia's Commonwealth tourism marketing authority on its corporate site has no reference to disability or accessible tourism outside of human resources statements about recruitment where it states,

“Tourism Australia is committed to eliminating any adverse action against a person who is an employee, or prospective employee, of the employer because of the person’s sex, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, race (including colour, national or ethnic origin), age, sexual preference, disability, religious or political conviction” (Tourism Australia, 2011).

With regards to its consumer website it has a single paragraph that states

“Accessible Travel

If you have a disability and are planning to explore Australia, there is a host of services and special deals to meet your needs. Thorough preparation is essential to a successful trip, so speak to your travel agent about your specific requirements. For more information on accessible tourism in Australia go to NICAN or the AustraliaForAll  websites” (Tourism Australia, 2012).

Yet, on the corporate site that they identify the market segments that they target including: the Australian cruise industry; the youth segment; the family segment; the holidaymaker segment; and the honeymoon segment. Nowhere is there any recognition that people with disabilities could be part of all of those segments but require specific information if they are able to participate. This overt omission by the premier Australian tourism marketing authority is a failure to be inclusive for Australians travelling domestically or tourists from overseas.

The situation in Australia is made even more disappointing as in 2011 NICAN (an organisation providing inclusive information for sport and tourism) together with Sen Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Sec for Disabilities and Carers hosted a National Tourism Dialogue at Parliament House that brought together stakeholders in disability and tourism in Australia. The outcome of the dialogue was the joint issuing of a Communiqué, where the stakeholders called for increasing access to tourism for people with disability. Sen Jan McLucas issued a media release supporting the communiqué (McLucas, 2011; NICAN, 2011). Yet 18 months on, there has been no further commitment to increasing access to tourism for people with disability at a Commonwealth level.

Yet, the above reflects historically Australian approaches to disability and tourism policy that have seen a series of well documented policy inclusions (Darcy, Cameron, & Schweinsberg, 2012) that have not been resourced. This lack of leadership at the Commonwealth level can partly explain the cases of disability discrimination in tourism outlined elsewhere in this chapter. The Commonwealth's role as a coordination agency for information, marketing and promotion needs to lead the industry as a benchmark for inclusive approaches to tourism information that acts as a foundation for tourism trip planning. Under the Disability Discrimination Act applies to all services open to the public and states that they should provide an equality of opportunity for people with disability. However, as the disability discrimination cases highlight, even in this most basic of tourism function there has been an abject failure to treat people with disability equally before the law. As we have seen in this chapter, the Australian situation is very similar from a disability discrimination perspective to that of the UK and the United States where similar types of omission, considerations or will lead to discrimination.

The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability was adopted by over 150 nations in 2008. This presents a significant challenge to government tourism marketing authorities and the industry as Article 30 clearly identifies their responsibilities to provide an equality of tourism experiences for this group. This requires more than policy rhetoric and a significant contribution towards ensuring that the travel chain offers people with disability the opportunities that the rest of the population take for granted  (World Health Organization & World Bank, 2011, p. 179). The travel chain in tourism starts with information to allow tourism planning, and then goes on to include transport, accommodation, attractions and other destination experiences.

So, with the closing of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games we can take heart in the extensive programme of new offerings that Visit England have undertaken over the last three years. These include research, policy, industry collaboration, awareness workshops and a celebration that the Olympic and Paralympic Games offered an opportunity to improve accessibility for all those coming to the UK (VisitEngland, 2012). We can only hope that other destination marketing authorities consider their economic management and equity responsibilities in the same way. As the world looks towards the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we can only hope that the Parliamentary Sec for Disability can in the future truly welcome back our Paralympians and offer them an equality of tourism experience in the same way that they experience sport at the elite level.

References

Darcy, S., Cameron, B., & Schweinsberg, S. (2012). Accessible Tourism in Australia. In D. Buhalis, S. Darcy & I. Ambrose (Eds.), Best Practice in Accessible Tourism: inclusion, disability, ageing population and tourism (pp. 79-113). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

McLucas, J. (2011). Media release: Increasing Access to Tourism for People with a Disability  Retrieved 25 June, 2011, from http://www.janmclucas.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/2011/Pages/increase_access_tourism_20062011.aspx

NICAN. (2011). Communiqué: National Tourism Dialogue  Retrieved 1 September, 2012, from http://www.nican.com.au/news/communique-national-tourism-dialogue

Tourism Australia. (2011). HR 33 Recruitment. Sydney: Tourism Australia.

Tourism Australia. (2012). Useful tips  Retrieved 13 September, 2012, from http://www.australia.com/plan/before-you-go/useful-tips.aspx

VisitEngland. (2012). Accessible Tourism  Retrieved 11 September, 2012, from http://www.visitengland.org/busdev/bussupport/access/index.aspx

World Health Organization, & World Bank. (2011). World Report on Disability, from http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/index.html

National Tourism Dialogue and Communiqué on Accessible Tourism

The National Information Communication Awareness Network for the arts, sport, recreation and tourism (a.k.a. NICAN) recently held a National Tourism Dialogue that brought together stakeholders with an interest in the area disability, access and inclusive or accessible tourism http://www.nican.com.au/news/communique-national-tourism-dialogue

The Dialogue was opened by Sen Jan McLucas the current Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers where she issued a media release http://www.janmclucas.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/2011/Pages/increase_access_tourism_20062011.aspx and the text of her opening speech http://www.janmclucas.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87:nican-national-dialogue-on-tourism&catid=4:speeches&Itemid=17

The day adopted a participatory action research approach (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003; Goodley & Lawthom, 2005; Kitchin, 2000; Taylor, 1999) and a background paper on Setting a Research Agenda for Accessible Tourism (Darcy, 2006) was circulated as a starting point for the participants. Research can be a foundation for policy development and change particularly where industry groups demand a business case. Historically disability, access and accessible tourism have been challenged by industry groups as they do not believe that people with disability are a market segment or believe that they are a low yield group or that provision for accessible accommodation does not provide a reasonable return on investment (Australian Hotels Association & Tourism and Transport Forum, 2010). To counter these arguments, two presentations were incorporated within the agenda to provide a research base  from nationally collected government statistics,  and to challenge market myths and stereotypes (Dwyer & Darcy, 2011; Forrester, 2011). The afternoon was then devoted to a stakeholder brainstorming session aimed at coming to a group consensus for a call to action to action to improve the tourism opportunities for the group through leveraging industry engagement. Photo 1 is the group present at Parliament house with a number of other speakers joining by teleconference - Sheila King, Access for All Alliance Inc.,  Associate Prof Simon Darcy, UTS Business School.

Photo 1 - National Tourism Dialogue Group Photo plus others who joined by teleconference.

The agenda for the day was:

National Dialogue

Stakeholders in Disability Tourism 

Monday 20 June 2011

9:30am – 3:00pm

Parliament House, Canberra 

AGENDA

9:30     Welcome and introductions (Patron Annette Ellis)

a.     Apologies

b.     Brief introductions (all)

c.      Scene setting and purpose of forum (CEO NICAN Suzanne Bain-Doniohue/Marketing Manager NICAN Craig Wallace)

10:00  Formal opening and keynote

     Current directions in disability & the importance of access tourism

                Senator the Hon. Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers

Morning tea [Group photograph]



10:30  The Case for Accessible Tourism

a.     The value of disability tourism - what the research tells us?

(Ass. Professor Simon Darcy, UTS Business School - University of Technology, Sydney)

 (Bill Forrester, Travability)

b.     Other sources and gaps in our knowledge (all)

12:30 Lunch

1:30    Taking action (brainstorm of all stakeholders)

a.     What do we want to happen?

b.     Who do we need onside to make it happen?

c.      What could we do to make it happen?

d.     What are the barriers to getting there? 

2:30     Next steps

a.     Possible joint communiqué (draft with papers)

b.     Recap key outcomes & agreements (Annette Ellis)

3:30     Close

For inquiries please contact Craig Wallace at Nican on (02) 6241 1220 / 0451 199 750

The communiqué from the National Dialogue is now reproduced for your convenience and can be accessed from http://www.nican.com.au/news/communique-national-tourism-dialogue

National Dialogue

Stakeholders in accessible and inclusive tourism 

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Parliament House, Canberra 

COMMUNIQUÉ

Inclusive and Accessible Tourism – an opportunity for Australia

A National Dialogue of key stakeholders in inclusive and accessible tourism was opened on Monday 20 June by Senator the Hon Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers at Parliament House, Canberra.  The Dialogue, hosted by Nican and chaired by Annette Ellis, National Patron and former Shadow Minister for Disability and Carers, has agreed on a call to action for the tourism industry, government and the Australian community:

Tourism by people who have a disability or who are ageing is an opportunity for Australian Tourism to seize the competitive advantage in a tight market. It is also a great way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility.  The time is right for action as Australia’s baby boomers retire.

Key stakeholders including researchers, tourism operators and referral providers have joined forces, with the support of the Australian Government, to build awareness about the opportunities and to address barriers to tourism by these groups. 

Together, we believe that there is a growing understanding of the potential of the tourism market for people with disability, including seniors, which goes hand-in-hand with boosting visitor numbers and strengthening our place as a top draw tourism destination for people around the world. 

We recognise that access to leisure and recreation, including taking a holiday, is an important part of living an ordinary life and helps realise the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with a Disability and the National Disability Strategy. 

Ultimately, this will help to build a more welcoming and inclusive society, where individuals and families with a disability have choices and no longer feel shut out.

There are significant advantages to developing better tourism products, services and experiences to people with disability as well as information about opportunities, venues and services. 

This is good business sense and is also consistent with rights, access and corporate social responsibility. 

With the right planning this can be a real win for both people with disability and the tourism industry. 

Now is the time to promote the business case for disability tourism where:   

·        Some 88 per cent of people with disability take a holiday each year which accounts for some 8.2 million overnight trips.

·        The average travel group size for people with disability is 2.8 people for a domestic overnight trip and 3.4 for a day trip.

·        There is a myth that the inclusive tourism market does not spend because of economic circumstance.

·        People with disability travel on a level comparable with the general population for domestic overnight and day trips.

·        The total tourism expenditure attributable to people with disability is $8bn per year or 11 per cent of overall tourism expenditure (Dwyer & Darcy, 2011).

The business case is clear and draws on landmark research from Associate Professor Simon Darcy, with the University of Technology’s Business School, who presented at the session. 

We welcome the Government's commitment in the area of travel and tourism through the National Disability Strategy as well as work on Access to Premises and Transport Standards, access to airlines and cinema access. 

More could be done including an inclusive/accessible tourism category within a mainstream tourism award; a marketing strategy; a practical information guide; a National Forum with Tourism operators and further work to refresh and promote the business case for inclusive and accessible tourism, especially with industry.

We commend these ideas to government and each of us is committed to moving from commitment to action.

We are excited by the opportunity to deepen the understanding of the importance and potential of inclusive and accessible tourism for all Australians.  We will continue to work together and promote the benefits across the tourism industry, agencies of governments at all levels, tourism promoters, and the Australian community.

Issued by:

Australia For All Alliance Inc

Greatvenue

Disabled Motorists Association

Disability Information and Resource Centre

Nican

IDEAS

Travability

Leadership plus (formerly Inclusive Leisure Vic) 

Media contact: Craig Wallace, Marketing Manager, Nican – 0451 199 750

References  

Australian Hotels Association, & Tourism and Transport Forum. (2010). Accessible Rooms In Short Term Accommodation: A Look At Supply and Demand. Canberra: Australian Hotels Association and AZthe Tourism and Transport Forum.

Darcy, S. (2006). Setting a Research Agenda for Accessible Tourism (pp. 48).  Retrieved from http://www.sustainabletourismonline.com/137/universal-access/setting-a-research-agenda-for-accessible-tourism

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2003). Strategies of qualitative inquiry (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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.

Forrester, B. (2011). What’s happening overseas - Learning’s from the SATH Conference Paper presented at the National Tourism Dialogue, Parliament House, Canberra. http://www.nican.com.au/news/communique-national-tourism-dialogue

Goodley, D., & Lawthom, R. (2005). Epistemological journeys in participatory action research: alliances between community psychology and disability studies. Disability & Society, 20(2), 135-151.

Kitchin, R. (2000). The Researched Opinions on Research: disabled people and disability research. Disability & Society, 15(1), 25-47.

Taylor, G. (1999). Empowerment, identity and participatory research: Using social action research to challenge isolation for Deaf and hard of hearing people from minority ethnic communities. Disability & Society, 14(3), 369-384.

  

Embodiment in the disabling built-environment: an experience of daily life in Thailand

In another excellent contribution by a recently completed Ph.D. and Architecture Lecturer, Antika Sawadsri (2010) (Photo 1), we are provided with a compelling examination of the embodied challenges of a disabling built environment on a person's daily life in Thailand. In drawing on the rich body of knowledge from the geographies of disability (see Gleeson, 1999), the thesis creates a compelling understanding of social rather than medicalised approaches to understanding disabling environments and the impact upon an individual's citizenship. An abstract of an article is provided with permission from the author.

Photo 1: The researcher - Antika Sawadsri

Abstract

The approach to the inaccessibility of the built environment for disabled people in academic research has been heavily focused on legislating for access requirements and providing technical solutions. The spatial experiences of disabled people tend to be disregarded or taken as a peripheral form of knowledge. This article draws on an in-depth study of the lived experience of one wheelchair-using volunteer. It reveals that the majority of the physical and psychological difficulties encountered by disabled people are the result of inaccessible environments rather than their impairment. There is a need to understand the built environments of disabled people by regarding different forms of negotiating with a disabling environment, acquiring capital, the social agency of disabled people as well as attitudes towards them and discriminatory constructions.

Keywords: Spatial experience, disabling environment, lived experience, disabled people, agency for change

One of the strengths of the research was an understanding of how Turn, the individual the thesis is based on, negotiates accessibility to challenge the disabling nature of their local environments. One such example, was where upon discussing the access challenges that the Turn was facing, the local neighbours collaboratively got together to remove parts of the disabling streetscape to provide a continuous pathway. Photo 1 is an example from the thesis of Turn's ongoing process of negotiation that is indicative of people with disability's continual negotiation of accessibility on a daily basis.

Photo 2 The place where the street hump in Tum's village was removed on her behalf by neighbours

I am conscious that a great deal of the research and literature on accessible tourism is only from the English-speaking world and I implore readers of this blog to encourage researchers from non-English-speaking countries to submit English language abstracts so that we can promote their research and get a better cross-cultural understanding of the embodied nature of disabling environments. Congratulations Antika!

Readers can contact Antika on antika@gmail.com

Lecturer, School of Architecture

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand

References

Gleeson, B. (1999). Geographies of Disability. London: Routledge.

Sawadsri, A. (2010). Accessibility and Disability in the Built Environment: negotiating the public realm in Thailand. Doctor of Philosophy, Newcastle University, Newcastle.  

People with Hearing Impairment and Who Are Deaf: Creating an Enabling Tourism Environment through Hearing Augmentation

Simone Fullager’s (2011, p. 123) article provided an understanding of the role that tourism could play in the recovery and re-empowerment of women with depression through providing a liminal space that “gave them hope, desire and the vitality to escape the weight of depression”. Simone’s paper contributes to the growing body of work on wellness tourism and provides insights into the intersection of the “double whammy” of gender and disability that has been explored more fully in a leisure context (Henderson & Bedini, 1997; Samdahl & Jekubovich, 1997). When Fullager’s paper is read in conjunction with Richards, Prichard and Morgan (2010) contribution on embodiment from a vision impairment perspective, we can see a rich new contribution to tourism that has broad application to tourism studies for considering what constitutes tourism experiences.

A group that has been omitted from the tourism literature are people with hearing impairments or who are Deaf. The definition of hearing impairment varies in different parts of the world but can be simply thought of as those who have experienced some form of hearing loss and have access needs that require hearing augmentation. Deaf capital D is used specifically as a signifier that this group regard themselves as a distinct cultural group who are unified by the use of sign language. Quite simply people who are Deaf do not regard themselves as having a disability but as part of a separate cultural group (see Barnes & Mercer, 2010; Corker & French, 1999; Davis, 2006). However, from the tourism perspective the inclusive and enabling environments required to service the access needs of this group have received little attention in the research literature. As with mobility disability, Figure 1 presents the International Deafness Symbol that is licensed to be used for businesses that provide enabling environments through different types of hearing augmentation systems.

Figure 1: International Deafness Symbol (source: http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php?q=accessible-accomodation )

At best a number of tourism studies have at least identified the group as having access needs or presented one-off experiences of the group (Cavinato & Cuckovich, 1992; Darcy & Dickson, 2009; Goodall, Pottinger, Dixon, & Russell, 2004; Ray & Ryder, 2003) or identified specific disability discrimination practices against the group (Darcy & Taylor, 2009; Kreismann & Palmer, 2001; Shaw, Veitch, & Coles, 2005; Small & Darcy, 2010). One area where some specific work has been done on the needs of the group was Darcy’s (2010) examination of the room requirements for people with disabilities in commercial accommodation. The sample included people with hearing impairments or who were Deaf. As part of the literature review and subsequent development of the Hotel Accessibility Scale six items relating to hotel room access needs of the group were included in the research. All six items were identified by the group as being essential inclusions within their hotel rooms. They were: Non audible door bell; Access to telephone typewriter (TTY); Teletext decoders; alternative format guest information; and phone with vol control and alert. Apart from these inclusions, people with a hearing impairment or Deaf also identified the importance of a positive customer service attitude, clear signage and having an evacuation orientation.

These findings supported the industry work by the Deafness Forum and the Hotel, Motel and Accommodation Association (HMAA) (2005) where the two bodies worked collaboratively to establish a set of criteria required by the industry association members to provide to the group. The HMAA established a competitive advantage for their members by providing a listing of all complying properties on the Deafness Forum website, hence, gaining the status as a preferred accommodation provider for the group. The full reference to Deafness Forum website is provided together with the inclusive practices and enabling environments required to be listed.

Deafness Forum, & HMAA. (2005). Accommodation Industry Voluntary Code of Practice for the Provision of Facilities for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Retrieved 13 Feb, 2010, from http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php?q=accessible-accomodation 

EXCERPT FROM THE WEBSITE

ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE PROVISION OF FACILITIES FOR THE DEAF AND HEARING IMPAIRED

The intention is to promote the adoption of this code as quickly as possible over a 12 month period subject to negotiating the commercial agreements for the purchase of the large quantities of equipment envisaged and widely distributing the information about alternative sources of supply. The intention is to review this Code at the end of a three-year period. A working party will be established to represent the interests of the hearing impaired and the hotel, motel and serviced apartment industry for the purposes of monitoring the progress of this voluntary code of practice and any evolution or refinement necessary that becomes apparent prior to the three-year time frame for a formal review. The working party is to meet bi-annually.

All PROPERTIES

That all hotels, motels, and serviced apartments who are members of the HMAA will provide hearing access facilities and special services to guests as follows:

·         Ensure appropriate means are in place to ensure that all Deaf and hearing impaired guests and staff will be alerted to any danger (e.g. fire, bomb threat), and to any drill or system test, within the premises at the same time as all other guests and staff. (Registration card to include “If you are likely to have any difficulty hearing alarms, or evacuating the building in the event of an alarm, please tick this box.”)

·         Provide a telephone with built in or clip on amplifier, telecoil coupler and flashing light alert

·         Will be provided with minimum specifications for the purchase of new telephones which will include a built in or clip on amplifier, telecoil coupler and flashing light alert and all properties replacing or purchasing telephones will, whenever possible and practical, adopt this new standard.

·         Provide a television capable of accessing free to air captioning.

·         Where pay TV access is provided, ensure that available captioning may be accessed.

·         Will be provided with minimum specifications for the purchase of new televisions which will include the provision for captioning and all properties replacing or purchasing televisions will, whenever possible and practical, adopt this new minimum standard.

·         Ensure that all TV signals carrying captioning are not stripped of captioning by pay movie or pay TV equipment

PROPERTIES IN EXCESS OF 50 ROOMS

For all properties with 50 or more guest rooms, one piece of each of the following items of equipment will be available without notice at the time of check in. For all properties with 100 rooms or more two such sets of equipment will be available without notice. All properties will undertake to make additional kits available with 48 hours notice. All properties will co-operate with each other in the loan of equipment to nearby properties when additional units are required.

·         A portable non-audible door alarm.

·         A television capable of accessing free to air captioning.

·         A telephone with built in or clip on amplifier, telecoil coupler and flashing light alert.

·         A text telephone or access to email.

·         A vibrating alarm clock.

PROPERTIES WITH MEETING ROOMS

Those properties that provide meeting rooms in excess of 100 sqm will ensure that they can provide functioning assistive listening systems (ALS) to enable all participants in events in all function or meeting rooms to clearly hear all speakers without reverberation or background noise. These might be Induction Loop (IL), Frequency Modulated (FM), or Infrared (IR) systems.

For further information see:

Deafness Forum, & HMAA. (2005). Accommodation Industry Voluntary Code of Practice for the Provision of Facilities for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Retrieved 13 Feb, 2010, from http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php?q=accessible-accomodation 

New Research Study - Get Involved

To redress the lack of specific tourism research on people with hearing impairments or who are Deaf, the Auckland University of Technology's New Zealand Tourism Research Institute is currently conducting a study on this group. Their call for participants is now included together with the contact details of those involved. We wish the study well and encourage people who have a hearing impairment or Deaf to participate.

University survey of people with mild to total hearing loss and their tourism experiences and needs

Do you or someone you know have a hearing loss, whether minor or total?  Then we would like to learn about your tourism experiences and what you as a person with hearing impairment want in the way of tourism, travel and hospitality products and services.  We will use the feedback you give us to inform the tourism industry about the needs of people who are hard-of-hearing.  Whatever country you live in, please help us by taking a survey that can be found at:

http://www.tourismandhearingsurvey.co.nz/  

Your input will be gratefully appreciated and will help to improve access not only in tourism, but in other walks of life.  This is the first such survey of its kind.  Your input is anonymous and your answers cannot be traced back to you. 

If you know of anyone else with a hearing loss who may be interested in taking the survey, or if you are an organization, can you please pass on the link to the survey? 

Thank you in advance for your help.

Please forgive cross-postings.  If you no longer wish to receive emails from this sender, please reply to this with “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Survey: The Tourism Experiences and Needs of People with Hearing Loss

Dr. Sandra Rhodda, PhD

Research Programme Leader Access Tourism

Auckland University of Technology,

New Zealand Tourism Research Institute

Private Bag 92006,

Mail Number B39

Auckland 1142,

New Zealand

sandra.rhodda@aut.ac.nz 

Ph: (649) 921 9999 ext 8977

References

Barnes, C., & Mercer, G. (2010). Exploring disability. London: Polity.

Cavinato, J. L., & Cuckovich, M. L. (1992). Transportation and tourism for the disabled: An assessment. Transportation Journal, 31(3), 46-53.

Corker, M., & French, S. (1999). Disability discourse. Buckingham: Open University Press.

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