This article was written by Catherine, a DisCo Inclusion Consultant who uses a powered wheelchair.
Let’s get the obvious part out of the way: if you are in the tourism industry, the ROI on accessibility is so good that failing to invest in it is to throw money away.
Firstly, 20% of the population are people with disabilities. Add in their friends and families and leaving them out in the cold adds up to a lot of missed sales.
Secondly, improving accessibility is about much more than ensuring people with disabilities are not excluded. It also quite simply improves the experience of all your visitors.
The ramp that was installed for wheelchair users makes traversing with a double wide pram infinitely more pleasant. The addition of grip tape, edge markings, and nonslip tiles are great with people with low vision but also reduce the risk of slips and falls. Writing in clear simple language and large fonts benefits those with reading difficulties, plus every tourist with English as a second language.
In fact, I would wager that whether or not your business has ever specifically considered people with disabilities, it may be pretty darn accessible already.
However
A business that is physically accessible will not get me through the door, unless I know about it.
In 2024 I attended the Art Gallery of New South Wales for an exhibition I was thrilled to see and because it was the Art Gallery of New South Wales I never bothered to check how accessible the facility was. I figured it was probably pretty okay and I was right.
Some of their solutions were insufficiently elegant for my taste but that is something you grow accustomed to in a wheelchair.
It worked out for me and it certainly worked out for the gallery because I ran utterly amok in the gift shop.
However, during the same time period I have procrastinated on visiting a wildlife sanctuary that is 1/10 the distance of the art gallery because their website tells me absolutely nothing about which of their interactive areas and exhibits I will be able to reach.
And of course I could give them a phone call, but I don’t want to. So I put it off and miss out and they miss out on my money. No one is winning here.
My advice to tourist operators is that accessibility is extremely important but you may already be doing quite a good job incidental to managing other concerns. However, it does not become disability accessibility until we know it exists.
We cannot assume that everything will be alright because often it isn’t. A friend could reassure me but if they have completely forgotten the three steps at the entrance – and why wouldn’t you if you didn’t have to make extremely detailed terrain notes everywhere you go? – then I am going to arrive and be very, very disappointed.
If I don’t know, I don’t go.
So tell me!
Accessibility considerations and checklist
All I need is one dedicated page on your website talking about accessibility. Here are some of the reassurance I need as a wheelchair user:
Which areas of your business are wheelchair accessible? That means no steps, no lips, and no gaps of more than half an inch, plus width clearance of at least 70 cm and no severe slopes
If some areas are accessible and some are not, please say which.
How close can I get to your exhibits? If the closest I can get is 50 cm away, will I still be able to interact?
Photographs help a lot. If I want to eat in your café, I would rather know in advance that all of your tables and chairs are bolted to the floor because that will be somewhere between difficult and impossible for me to eat at depending on how they’re configured.
How far would I have to travel to get to a disabled bathroom? How many are there?
How many mobility parking spaces do you have? If those are taken, how far away would I have to park?
What areas have coverage in case of bad weather?
What are your paths made of?
If elevators are a key part of accessing the facility, how many do you have? Is there a plan in case they become unavailable?
Different people have different accessibility needs – this little list covers most physical mobility issues but says nothing about sensory issues, visibility, and so many others.
Which is why at DisCo we are proud of having access to experts across all accessibility needs and can help you ensure that disables guests know that you understand them and will make their experience safe as well as joyous.
Let’s chat [email protected]