Jezza Williams says it is a misconception that disabled people don't want to do adventurous activities like rafting. Photo: 123RF
People with disabilities are missing out on experiencing all the country has to offer because of poor accessibility in the tourism industry, advocates say.
They want the government to tackle the problem by creating minimum accessibility standards that are backed with enforcement.
One in four New Zealanders have some form of disability and that number is expected to grow as the population ages.
Auckland mother Amy Clay would love to take her family travelling more, but she said the lack of accessible options and information meant her family of six had to stay home.
Her 11-year-old daughter India-Rose has cerebral palsy.
Travelling was more difficult now India-Rose was older and needed more equipment, including a travel commode - which is not funded - due to a lack of accessible bathrooms, she said.
"We rarely travel because the organisation of the travel is significant to find somewhere suitable. The amount of equipment we have to take is challenging, and then when we get there we often can't do anything," Clay said.
Organising a trip was frustrating because many hotels did not detail accessibility features on their websites, she said, so she had to call each one to check them out.
It was also expensive - the family has to book multiple rooms because accessible rooms were not big enough for all of them.
Clay wanted businesses to provide more information about what they offered for people with disabilities, including experiences that they could enjoy.
"That would allow us to travel more freely in the way that non-disabled New Zealanders enjoy. I would love to just hop onto a website, see what's available. If we can make it work, book a room just like everybody else.
"But at the moment, we can't do that and that's a big barrier."
Barriers and increased isolation
Access Matters Aotearoa lead campaigner Juliana Carvalho said becoming more inclusive would be a win-win for travellers and tourism operators.
"For people with disabilities and their families, finally the holiday season will become a time for joy and connection, instead of barriers and increased isolation," Carvalho said.
"I would say people have no idea how many individuals would love to be enjoying the outdoors this summer, but they just really can't, there's no way."
Carvalho said she went for her first swim in three years when a nearby beach hosted an accessible surf experience this summer that catered for wheelchair users, but the rest of the time, she said that was not possible.
She wanted the government to co-design new legislation with the disabled community - creating enforceable standards, a way for people to report barriers and a process to resolve disputes.
Jezza Williams from MakingTrax Foundation, an inclusive tourism organisation, said there needed to be accessible standards so everybody had the potential to enjoy and experience what the country has to offer, as well as more education about inclusive travel.
He acknowledged it was difficult for businesses to know how to adapt to be more inclusive.
"Because we've got no guidance or really any legislation behind it, what we've tended to do is we have this thing called wheelchair accessible or accessible, and these words don't mean anything because it is an assumption of what is required."
There was an often a misconception that people in the disabled community didn't want to go travelling or do outdoor or adventurous activities like rafting, but that was not the case, he said.
"If you can open your environment to everybody, it's better for your staff, it's better for your income and it will create a more welcoming environment."
Officials to analyse gaps in proposed legislation
The Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill introduced in 2022 initially offered hope but disabled communities called it a failure that should be scrapped or rewritten.
Disability Issues Minister Penny Simmonds said as a response she has paused the Bill's progress.
"I don't want to go any further until I see what the gap is and perhaps whether the Bill is worth trying to revive or whether we should be starting from scratch again," Simmonds said.
The Bill was opposed by the National Party last term, calling it fundamentally flawed as it lacked enforceable standards.
Simmonds has given officials the next year to analyse the gaps in the legislation, examining what other countries doing, before deciding what to do next.
She acknowledged that travellers with disabilities often didn't find New Zealand an easy place to travel in and couldn't access everything they expected to.
"That's a reflection of what our disabled community is facing every day so that's why we need to make sure we get this legislation right, and I acknowledge and I accept what the disability community has been saying that the current Bill wasn't right."
