Tourism Australia has a web page titled Accessible Tourism. It is not a “how to” page. It gives a brief description of what accessible tourism is and Australian policies and legislation. Then it refers readers to a list of other organisations or guides listed below. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good start for tourism businesses, planners and local government.
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- Accessible Tourism in Victoria and Queensland – based on research the report examines the travel experiences of domestic travellers with accessibility needs
- PhotoAbility – Stock image library featuring individuals with disabilities in travel, leisure and lifestyle settings.
- Push Adventures – Push Adventures is a South Australian business, founded in 2014, that offers advice to make tourism businesses inclusive and accessible by a whole range of guests.
- Sydney for All – This visitors’ guide to Sydney has changed format to embedding accessibility information into each category of destination and attraction.
- Accessible Victoria – The official tourist site for Melbourne and Victoria including information on accessible accommodation, activities and attractions and the best ways to get around in Melbourne and Victoria.
- Queensland Inclusive Tourism Guide – The Queensland Government has developed a guide for making businesses more accessible and inclusive to assist tourism operators understand their legal obligations in relation to accessibility, increase their knowledge about the market for inclusive tourism, and develop strategies to improve the accessibility of their business to appeal to a wider range of visitors of all abilities and ages.
- TravAbility – TravAbility is dedicated to Inclusive Tourism through education, advocacy, and by providing accessibility information for the world’s best travel destinations.
- Travellers Aid Australia – An organisation that provides simple, practical travel-related support and aid to help visitors of all backgrounds travel independently and confidently.
- Vision Australia – Vision Australia (an organisation which assists those with vision impairment) has a large range of fact sheets on issues relating to people who are blind and vision impaired. The fact sheets range from accessible design for homes to customer service tips.
- Inclusive Tourism: Economic Opportunities – This report is part of a project that aims to enable regional tourism businesses and local governments to improve information about and the marketing of inclusive services and products. This project is led by Local Government NSW with the University of Technology Sydney, Institute for Public Policy and Governance providing research support.
Including people with disability also includes people with young children in prams, older people, and people with temporary disabilities. Accessible, or inclusive tourism is about ensuring tourist destinations, products and services are accessible to everyone, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age. There are more guides in a previous post.