Tourism Noosa is joining with other organisations around Queensland to help improve accessibility in businesses and employment opportunities for people with disability.
The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) says that for the almost 4 million Australians living with a disability, our iconic destinations, experiences and venues are sometimes inaccessible: “It is important that our industry seriously consider this often overlooked sector of the visitor economy, and make every effort to be more inclusive and welcoming.
“Ensuring that tourism is accessible is not only an important step in achieving a more inclusive Queensland, but it also translates to big business.
“In 2018, people living with an accessibility challenge or disability contributed a staggering $10.8billion tourism spend to the Australian economy.”
Tourism businesses are encouraged to consider the many benefits that accessible tourism brings to our society and industry.
Our Noosa Visitor Information Centre on Hastings Street has become more inclusive thanks to a new audio-based technology platform, Vacayit - let your guests know!
With a goal to provide information in a sensory way, capturing sights, sounds, smells, textures and tastes in storytelling, the audio guides make trip planning and in-person holiday experiences more engaging and make Noosa more accessible for visitors and locals.
The audio guides feature five two-minute informative pieces on:
Pictured: Noosa National Park accessible boardwalk, courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.
There’s information on local highlights and tips about getting around for those with mobility issues.
With the year of Accessible Tourism being extended to 2024, Tourism Noosa is also committed to providing a website that is accessible to the broadest possible audience, regardless of ability.
It now offers a globally-recognised accessibility feature to help people with vision and motor impairment and cognitive disabilities, which they can adjust to their personal needs. There's also an ACCESSIBILITY FILTER FOR ACCOMMODATION and information on accessible experiences in Noosa and the Sunshine Coast.
Download the Vacayit app in the APP store or find it on the Australian Visitor Centre app, or click the link below.
Congratulations to Tourism Noosa members and partners who will improve their accessibility services for visitors, thanks to Queensland Government grant funds.
Funds aim to improve exceptional customer experiences, community accessibility and support inclusivity for visitors and workers with disabilities. Local recipients are:
• Amaze World: Accessible pathways and new puzzles
• Pelican Boat Hire: Construction of new wheelchair-accessible pontoon boat
• The Sands Holiday Hire: Purchase of mobility aids for hire
• Tourism Noosa received funds for our Accessible Noosa project now under way which will deliver accessibility modifications to our Visit Noosa website, support members and provide a portal for visitors to plan an accessible itinerary.
Local recipients who will undertake Access audits, plans and statements; Digital and communication accessibility, including accessibility content; Training and awareness; and Experience design and planning are:
• Bandita Woodfired Mexican Restaurant, Noosaville
• Cérge
• Coast to Hinterland Tours
• Creative Tours and Events
• Gay & Lesbian Tourism Australia
• Hastings Street Association
• Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World
• Narrows Escape Rainforest Retreat
• Noosa Ferry & Cruise Company
• Noosa North Shore Pty Ltd
• Queensland Music Festival
• Rattler Railway Company (Mary Valley Rattler)
• Studio Untitled
• Sunshine Coast Airport
Find information about accessible tours, activities, parks and other
holiday fun in the Sunshine Coast Accessible Holiday Guide.
This guide was developed by Get Skilled Access and TravAbility as part of Queensland's Year of Accessible Tourism.
Image courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.
Whether your business is advanced in its accessibility journey, or just starting out, Queensland Tourism Industry Council's (QTIC’s) Access for All webinar series will deepen your understanding of inclusivity in the tourism space. It runs from 28 February to 17 April, with topics:
• Accessibility Self-Assessment Module
• Better understanding disability and access, Wednesday 28 February, noon - 1.30pm
• The legal case for accessibility and inclusion, Wednesday 20 March, noon - 1.30pm
• Empowering inclusive communication, Wednesday 17 April, noon - 1.30pm
Presented by experts from QTIC and Inclusion Access, the free webinar series will help you create meaningful outcomes for your guests, staff, and business.
The Queensland Government Accessible Taxi Grant Scheme provides support of up to $45,000 with a 50% co-contribution from applicants to offset the cost of purchasing and modifying a new wheelchair-accessible taxi.
The scheme is open until 30 June 2024.
Our Embracing Accessible Tourism workshops in November were a chance for members to find out more about why accessibility is important for your business, and how you can tap into this important market without
costly or major changes - and be inclusive for all visitors.
Presented by The Accessible Group (Accessible Accommodation and Accessible Experiences), with further information across the 2 workshops about Sunshine Coast Airport’s new digital mapping technology, Sunshine Butterflies (local disability support charity), and a local woman talking about her travel experiences as a person with a disability, the workshops provided information on:
• The business case for accessible tourism
• Tips on communicating effectively
• Marketing checklist
• Checklist before and during your customer's stay
• Accommodation and venue checklist
• Understanding physical, vision, deaf, neurodiverse and invisible disabilities
• Moving through your accessibility journey in stages.
To help tourism businesses become more accessible and inclusive to all visitors, Get Skilled Access (GSA) and TravAbility have developed resources on behalf of the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport.
2023 is the Year of Accessible Tourism in Queensland. With $12m in Government programs, this will provide opportunities and support for tourism businesses, resulting in a better holiday experience for people with disability and accessibility issues. The funding will cover:
Tourism operators who cater for travellers of all abilities will be championed and there will be help in developing itineraries for travellers with disability.
Tourism Noosa is involved in several projects around disability access, including the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport’s Accessible Tourism in Queensland. This will result in resources and support for businesses to improve their accessibility services and communication to help visitors with disability plan and enjoy their holiday.
We have also completed a project with University of Queensland Masters students which will help us build itineraries for people with disability to be available at the Noosa Visitor Information Centre and on visitnoosa.com.au. We will bring these to our members in the coming weeks and months.
Almost 1 in 5 people have a disability and they spend about $8 billion on tourism services annually.
With almost 1 in 5 Australians living with a disability, Spinal Life Australia and Cérge, a Peregian-based disability services and support organisation, invite tourism businesses to join their free Access Accelerator program, designed to make the Sunshine Coast and Noosa one of Australia's premier accessible tourism destinations.
Up to 50 businesses will take part in the program which aims to help businesses make changes so they can better understand and serve people with disability, creating an accessible and inclusive workplace that benefits everyone – and make the destination more accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to travellers with diverse accessibility needs.
The program will give businesses the knowledge, tools and confidence to create accessible tourism destinations through:
• Disability awareness training
• Use of award-winning inclusive technology
• Guided access and inclusion planning
• Promotional and marketing content
• Accessible tourism destination promotion
The program is free for businesses, thanks to a Queensland Government Accessible Tourism Enablers Grant for the Year of Accessible Tourism in Queensland.
FIND OUT MORE & EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST
Four new learning videos are available in the Accessible Tourism Toolkit, with insights and practical tips to enhance your services:
• Creating accessible events
• Service animals and tourism
• Non-visible disability
• Neurodiverse travel
Also see new written resources:
• Inclusive language and disability etiquette guide
• Disability inclusive mindset in recruitment
• Accessible and inclusive interview checklist.
FIND OUT MORE
Displaying an accessibility statement on your website demonstrates your commitment to accessibility to your customers. It may include:
The Web Accessibility Initiative: Developing an Accessibility Statement tool helps you create an accessibility statement for your website, mobile application or other digital content.
With 1 in 5 Australians identifying as living with a disability or accessibility challenge, creating inclusion through accessibility can start with your business and visitor offerings.
Accessible tourism means you can deliver a more welcoming experience for all visitors. Through the Queensland Tourism Industry Council's Accessibility Self-Assessment Module, find out how accessible your business is for guests and the small steps that can be taken to bring about big changes to your visitor offerings.
The self-assessment module helps businesses assess how inclusive their experience offering is for people living with accessibility limitations including limited mobility, wheelchairs and scooters, low vision, low hearing, cognitive impairment/autism, and allergies and intolerances.
The Module provides businesses with a helpful toolkit to assess where improvements can be made.
Despite domestic accessible tourism being valued at $8 billion/annum and predicted to grow by $1.8 billion/annum when barriers are removed, business is still yet to prioritise this customer segment. Why?
A lack of the right information, concern over the cost to re-engineer your business and a fear of getting it wrong is holding business back.
The most important aspect to solving accessible and inclusive tourism is also the cheapest and simplest. Good old-fashioned customer service!
Not convinced? Try this experiment: Invest a bucket of money into accessible bedrooms, bathrooms, car parks, ramps and rails, then when your customer with disability arrives at reception, treat them poorly. You know the result and it isn’t pretty.
The biggest barrier to accessible tourism is the fear and anxiety customers with disability experience of how they or their family will be treated i.e. Exclusion.
Inclusion is paramount.
Cérge is a cost-effective technology solution to:
Contact Chris on chris@cerge.app or 0400 422 064 for a no-nonsense chat to prioritise a highly valuable customer segment.
Tourism businesses can access resources to help successfully adapt their business and work practices to make them more accessible and inclusive for their customers. The online resources are produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s APEC Tourism Working Group project.
Spinal Life Australia has an Access and Inclusion Consulting Service to bridge the gap between consumers with a disability and businesses. Get in touch to book your access and inclusion consultation.
The Food & Agribusiness Network (FAN) and EPIC Assist have a Job Taster program to enhance FAN members’ knowledge of employing people with disability and providing brief work experience opportunities in members' businesses for people with disability.
Participating FAN members will receive free disability awareness training at their workplace. They can also have a person with a disability undertake an unpaid work experience session.
Give your business the advantage of being an accessible business and an employer of choice through Business Inclusion & Disability Services. They can help you build your “disability confidence” to be welcoming, confident and accessible.
