Developing accessible tourism facilities and activities “makes business sense”, World Travel Market London delegates heard.
Ryan Smith, the founder of The Access Agency, said investing in the accessible sector can generate $13 for every dollar spent. He said 25% of inbound tourists to Australia have access needs, adding: “If you do it well, you are not leaving people behind, and you are not leaving money on the table. We are a loyal cohort, we stay longer and go in shoulder seasons. The industry is a bit slow to catch up…but it will eventually catch up.”
He told the WTM diversity, equality, accessibility, inclusion and intersectionality (DEAI) summit about how attitudes to disability, government policies, technology and representation are improving, adding: “You can see people with disability in media, in boardrooms. I think that stigma is really starting to become reduced.”
He highlighted how adaptive equipment can help wheelchair users to explore the great outdoors, citing examples in his native Australia and his travels to places such as Machu Picchu in Peru. Furthermore, public bodies in Australia are developing accessible beaches and a directory listing more than 70 such sites, which offer beach padding for wheelchairs and special types of wheelchairs.
Other facilities include “discovery tents” and all-terrain wheelchairs in Victoria. “If I was a tour operator or developing a tourism product…I would certainly be thinking about how I might integrate this into my offering,” he said.
Queensland has designated 2023-24 as the year of accessible tourism, ahead of Brisbane hosting the Paralympics 2032, which has seen more funding for outdoor inclusive and accessible experiences.
“We are seeing the private sector start to lean into this as well,” he said, pointing to examples such as hot air balloons that feature an easy-access basket, a farm offering glamping, and a crocodile boat tour.
Smith also urged operators and destinations to incorporate sustainability and indigenous experiences into their accessibility strategy, adding: “This is really where product is going in the future.”
He noted how accessible tourism is “going mainstream” as it is being featured by aggregators such as Wheel the World, while the likes of Airbnb and GetYourGuide offer filters for accessibility features.
Earlier in the DEAI summit, delegates heard how focusing on employees’ strengths can pay dividends, during a discussion with Mark Julian Edwards, CEO of The Strengths Explorer. He said the attraction and retention of talent in the industry is the “number one hot topic”, adding: “If we have a culture where people feel included, they are going to give more.
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“People who lean into their strengths have a three-times higher quality of life.” He assessed the strengths of his panellists: Jo Rzymowska, who brings 40 years of experience to her own consultancy Jovolution, which helps organisations to create better teams through more diversity, and Rosina Budhani, Senior Account Director at PR firm Palm.
Rzymowska has “woo”– winning others over – and “maximiser” strengths, while Palm has “developer” and “futuristic” qualities among her strengths.
“If you have a diverse team, you have a better team,” said Rzymowska, who helped Celebrity Cruises to increase its ratio of female officers from 2% to 32%.
She also set up employee resource groups so staff learned about different types of people within the company, and led a marketing project to create a photo library of real guests on cruises rather than stereotypical heterosexual parents with 2.4 kids.
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