Category: Travel and Tourism

Tourism for All Manual

Front page of Tourism for All Manual showing a pathway between large trees.Tourism is big business, but some operators are missing out. State and local governments have an interest in tourism and they can lead the way for operators. The Accessible Tourism for All Manual shows how. 

The manual is a simplified version of a larger research project and this makes it easy to follow in five separate modules.

Module 1 gives a definition and context for accessible tourism. Module 2 is about accessibility chain, and Module 3 is about action and implementation. 

Module 4 is about evaluation and progress, and Module 5 provides principles, tools and good practice examples. 

The full title of the publication is, Accessible Tourism for All: An Opportunity Within our Reach.  The research paper with greater detail is Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Best Practices.

From the abstract:

The Manual on Accessible Tourism for All: Principles, Tools and Good Practices is intended to provide stakeholders with a useful tool to understand the needs of the tourism sector in terms of accessibility, the competitive advantages of tourism for all, and the methods for its implementation.

Best and least accessible cities for tourists

A scene of a medieval part of Luxembourg showing a town square with old building surrounding it. One of the most accessible cities. While airlines and airports are making an effort to be  accessible, the same cannot be said for tourist destinations. An article on ThiisCo website reports on a new study that has evaluated Europe’s capital cities for accessibility.  Luxembourg takes top spot and Chisinau, Moldova is ranked bottom with four others.  London came in 11th place.  It would be interesting to have the same study done in Australia. The full list is in the article, Europe’s most and least accessible capital cities ranked for disabled travellers.  Here is the information on Luxembourg:

“The research highlights that the most accessible city in Europe is Luxembourg, with 18.56 percent accessible accommodation available, 33.33 percent accessible attractions, a fully accessible airport, an Access City award and an ongoing council campaign for accessibility.

The small European city won third prize at the Access City Award 2018 after it actively raised awareness of various disabilities. It reduced the stigma associated with them and coined the term “specific needs” to reframe the way people discuss disabilities.

In addition, the city overhauled its public transport system to improve accessibility for all residents and visitors.  

Tourism Tips for increased business

A distance view of an English coastal village showing a harbour wall.Holidays for All is a key section in a new research report by Barclays. It is a pity that this section ends up in the latter part of the report because it applies to all other sections. The tips and case studies in a pdf document cover all aspects of the hospitality and tourism business.  Although the report focuses on the UK domestic tourism market, the principles for increased business are applicable elsewhere.

The title of the report is the Great British Staycation. It is a very readable report and the section on holidays for all is worth a look, and it ends with strategies for success with key points from each of the chapters:

    • Know your demographic
    • Foster Loyalty
    • Capture early bookers
    • Add value through collaboration
    • Reap digital dividends
    • Provide options where possible
    • Take them behind the screen
    • Be accessible to all

It is not unusual to find references to accessibility and inclusion somewhere in a subheading of a research report. This is unfortunate because this is the one part that applies to all other sections. See also the economic argument from Simon Darcy.

Can tourism improve walkability?

brick paved footpath with planter boxes with flowers .If local and state governments aren’t listening to residents about mobility, walkability, and wheelability then perhaps they might consider visitors and tourists with money to spend locally. But are they really interested in the extra tourist dollars? Does the local Chamber of Commerce think it’s all too difficult to create greater access and inclusion? The walkability issue isn’t just about footpaths, seating and toilets – it’s about all the links in the chain to make it happen – joined up thinking. Otherwise we end up with islands of access and inclusion. And you can’t be a bit inclusive – it either is or it isn’t. That means business, community and governments need to work in unison on the design of physical environments, customer service and tourist information. And of course the reverse of the question is, “Can walkability improve tourism?”

Accessibility and Equitable Tourism Services for Travelers with Disabilities: From an Charitable to a Commercial Footing, takes a corporate and social responsibility perspective on some of these issues. You will need institutional access for a free read – published in Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility in Tourism, where there is further reading.

A research paper from Turkey, Assessment of factors influencing walkability in shopping streets of tourism cities is also worth a read. They found that “Urban planning and design should focus on how to connect people and places together, by creating cities that focus on connectivity, accessibility, crime security, traffic safety, and comfort
and use’. 

You can find some inclusive tourism guides, magazine articles and research papers in the tourism section on this website. 

A less lonely planet with inclusive tourism

Martin Heng is in a very busy street in India. It shows donkey carts cars and bicycles with street vendors on either side.International travel is a great experience for everyone especially when operators get on board with inclusive thinking. In his latest article, Martin Heng goes beyond the rights arguments to explain the economics of inclusive travel. With a growing market of older travellers tourism and travel businesses need to step up to take advantage. Heng also picks up the issue of terminology: “accessible” makes people think of compliance for wheelchair users. But he rightly points out that wheelchair users are a small proportion of the population that has some kind of disability or chronic health condition. That’s why we should be calling it “inclusive travel”. 

Heng goes on to list the easy, cost effective things that businesses can do. And not just thinking about the building. Easy to read fonts on menus and other information materials, TVs with captioning options, and websites that provide relevant visitor information about rooms, attractions and services. The article has several pictures showing Martin in various overseas locations. The title is What is accessible travel, and why should we be talking about it? Martin Heng works for Lonely Planet as their Accessible Travel Manager. 

Image courtesy Martin Heng from his article. 

Travel magazine focuses on inclusion

Front cover of the magazine showing a family at the Vivid Sydney festival. The father is sitting in a wheelchair. His wife and two children surround him.A new magazine, Travel Without Limits, is specifically aimed at individuals and families living with disability. The first issue is 48 pages of information, personal stories of travel experiences from around the world, and of course travel advertisements. It also contains travel tips for people with specific disabilities from small children to older adults. The publisher is Travel with Special Needs which also runs a website with holiday information.

Editor’s Note: This online magazine is on the Issuu platform which, in my opinion, is not the most accessible. Even expanding the page size 200% did not help the small size or clarity of the font. I couldn’t see an option to download a PDF version. It will be interesting to see if the magazine improves matters for people with disability when they travel. My feedback about a successful trip has more to do with the quality and availability of the information about accessibility, as well as staff competence in welcoming guests with disability. Good to see this as an addition to the inclusive tourism sector. Perhaps we should have a magazine for older Australians as well?

Inclusive Tourism: Global Report

Front cover of the Inclusive Tourism Global Report showing a yellow two storey building with blue doors and shutters. A man sits in a tuk tuk outside.Inclusive tourism has two outcomes: individuals and their families can benefit from participating in tourism activity, and it can help with sustainable development and the reduction of poverty. The Global Report on Inclusive Tourism Destinations is a large document by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. It has practical advice and success stories from across the globe. Good resource for anyone interested in following the Sustainable Development Goals as well as inclusive tourism in general. In developed countries the same holds true – more participation equals more customers.

“The report highlights the need to foster discussion on and examine new approaches to inclusive tourism in order to drive long-term sustainability in the sector. The Model for inclusive tourism destinations presented in this Global Report is a formula for practical and realistic public action that can be applied to different types of destinations. It is a path towards inclusion that is adaptable, modular and scalable, and facilitates the transformation of tourism models towards socially and economically inclusive models.” 

Destinations for All: A Guide

man in a powered wheelchair looking out between Roman columns and across the water in the Roman BathYet another excellent resource for the tourism and travel industry – an industry now leading the way in best practice. Importantly, the principles and learning from case studies can be applied everywhere. The business world should take note of the good advice in Destinations for All: A guide to creating accessible destinations.

Included in the guide are several case studies, some statistics on the number of people left out if the destination if it is not inclusive, engaging with other businesses, and dispelling myths. It even challenges the notion that heritage issues make it impossible by showcasing the Roman Baths project. This guide is informed by research and can be applied as much to a day out in Sydney or Melbourne as a two week holiday in Scotland.