Tourism businesses are busy places, most operators are moving from one thing to the next – that’s the nature of the work. Introducing new ideas or processes or customer considerations is not easy.
The Accessible Tourism Mentoring Pilot Program was initiated in 2021 with the idea of introducing accessibility and inclusivity in a way that was guided, enjoyable and informative.
The pilot program, funded by The Department of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), was undertaken by Clair Crowley of Push Adventures and rolled out to more than 50 operators across the country.
The job of the program was to assess tourism product, support operators and mentoring small business owners in the Accessible Tourism arena.
Push Adventures created the WELCOME framework and provided self-assessments and mentoring to participants across the country – with the framework was designed to educate and support tourism operators to look holistically at their business from an inclusive perspective.
Push engaged The Access Agency to deliver the on-site visits across Victoria, with the participating regions being Lakes Entrance and East Gippsland.
We visited a range of product operators and small business owners – from beachside accommodation businesses and rural retreats to cruising tours and heli-experiences. We listened to them, guided them on accessibility and provided recommendations on how they might become more universally accessible. Meeting these unflagging, innovative operators and having them walk us through their site and experience access was rewarding and enlightening.
The resulting reports were compiled and included in the final work for The Department of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).
Thanks to Clair for bringing The Access Agency in to the important and illuminating piece of work.
#Access #Inclusion #AccessibleTourism #MarketingAccessibility
“As a wheelchair user, Ryan’s site visit helped us understand where we can further extend the Country House offering...”
