Trust SA for Travel – Dignity for Disability launches tourism policy
11/03/2014
Today, amid the buzz of festival-season activity, Dignity for Disability launched its policy for a stronger South Australian tourism industry.
Recognising the value of the tourism industry to the state’s economy, Dignity for Disability Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC unveiled a plan to make SA the accessible holiday destination of choice.
“South Australia is already recognised as a world-leading travel destination for its natural beauty, delicious produce and festival atmosphere,” said Ms Vincent. “But we are missing out on the dollars that are readily available from travelers with a disability – a group that will become more and more significant as Australia’s population ages and the grey nomad movement catches on.”
Dignity for Disability’s plan for an accessible tourism capital has four main points:
– Create an app for rating disability-friendly travel experiences. “Dignity for Disability is developing a phone app that allows users to rate and comment upon the disability accessibility of tourism staples like hotels, cafes, theatres and wineries as well as experiences like jet boat racing and 4WD dune tours,” said Ms Vincent. “If the South Australian Tourism Commission got behind the idea and supported businesses to register with the app and improve the experiences of customers with a disability it could set SA on the path to becoming the disability tourism capital of the world.”
– A city of wheels. “The Tour Down Under has shone a spotlight on Adelaide as a cycle city, which makes way for us to also become an accessible city for people using wheelchairs, walkers, gophers and walking sticks,” said Ms Vincent. “All that is needed to achieve this goal is an upgrading of the public transport system to full accessibility – something d4d aims to have done by 2018, and a focus on the provision and upkeep of wheel-friendly infrastructure and streetscapes.”
– Educated tourism professionals. “SA is home to some of the nation’s top tourism industry and hospitality training facilities, which gives us the perfect opportunity to upskill our service professionals,” said Ms Vincent. “By incorporating disability awareness and communication training into tourism courses, we would develop tourism professionals with unique and desirable skills – making our state a one-of-a-kind experience for holidaymakers with a disability.”
– Better airline access. “Regardless of how lovely our state could be for travelers with disabilities, many will still not be able to get here if our airlines don’t improve their discriminatory attitude toward passengers with disabilities,” said Ms Vincent. “Dignity for Disability has long contended that too many airlines are exempted from the Disability Discrimination Act simply because they seem to find it inconvenient to carry passengers with wheelchairs. Dignity for Disability will lobby the Federal Aviation Minister to stop granting these exemptions, and also encourage the State Government to offer incentives for airlines to offer disability friendly flights in and out of Adelaide.”
