Sparrowly Group is calling for nominations from visitors and industry for the best accessible tourism operators and experiences in Australia for inclusion in the annual update of its Creating Real Inclusion paper.
If you’ve ever booked a fully accessible trip, whether it be overseas or within Australia, you know how much hard work goes into making sure everything runs smoothly and your client is able to enjoy, and take part, in the activities that most of us probably wouldn’t even think twice about.
It’s a good learning curve to discover the questions to ask and brings to light how difficult it must be on a day to day basis for those who might need a little extra support when it comes to accessibility.
It’s time for the Accessible Tourism sector to receive the accolades it deserves.
What’s the story?
Sparrowly Group the authors of the acclaimed paper – Creating Real Inclusion – A call to arms to the tourism industry in support of people with disability is calling for nominations from visitors and industry for the best accessible tourism operators and experiences in Australia for inclusion in their annual update of the paper in line with International Day of People with Disability on 3 December 2020.
This independent paper is part of Sparrowly Group’s commitment to giving back to the industry by providing an objective perspective on an important and necessary sector of tourism.
This paper was inspired by Managing Director, Giovanna Lever as a carer of a child with a hidden disability when faced with a significant lack of provisions to support her daughter’s needs when travelling both domestically and internationally.
“This sector is worth was worth more than the Chinese inbound market ($10.8billion vs $10.4billion) and with the advent of COVID-19 and border closures, it should be enough of a message to the industry that this important sector should not be ignored,” said Managing Director of Sparrowly Group, Giovanna Lever.
“Since being released, we’ve been fortunate enough to continue the discussion about accessibility and inclusion in tourism by presenting to Members of Parliament and conferences in Australia and New Zealand. But most importantly though, is that we’ve been advocates for the people who need their voice heard most… People with Disability.”
“What has been wonderful to see is that in the last couple of years, the collective voices of advocates like us and others including Have Wheelchair WIll Travel, Wheeleasy, Getaboutable, Travability and Briometrix, along with a genuine focus on Disability and Inclusion Action Plans across the country have seen a number of new and incredible inclusive experiences launched into market.”
“And we want to celebrate these tourism businesses who are marking access and inclusion a priority.”
“Our next iteration of this paper will include even more case studies so that other tourism businesses can learn from them. It will also provide a checklist developed by Sparrowly Group in conjunction with access and inclusion experts for businesses to use as a guide for making their business more accessible.”
Managing Director, Giovanna Lever
The best way to turn the conversation into real and purposeful change is to ask visitors and industry to nominate who they think is doing it well so that they can be put up as best practice for others to learn from.
Nominations close on November 10 and can be made here with the updated paper released publicly on December 3.