This week saw the launch of a great initiative from Destination Gold Coast. With funding from the Department of Innovation, Tourism Industry Development a program will be run over the next six months where eight Gold Coast businesses will be mentored through a process enabling them to cater better to the accessible tourism market.
Assistant Minister for Tourism Industry Development, Meaghan Scanlon MP popped her head in to meet the participants and share her thoughts on the need for better accessibility.
Melissa James of Inclusive Tourism will act as mentor to each business. She will guide them through a process where they will identify barriers to access and put together a plan to rectify them, including short, medium and long terms goals. There will also be focus on bringing in Disability Awareness training for staff. With Melissa’s help, each business will also develop an accessibility statement to incorporate into their websites.
This program follows on from an initiative by Destination Gold Coast in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games. The aim was to provide industry with education and inspiration around the Inclusive and Accessible Tourism market. Each participant was asked to sign up to an Accessibility Pledge.
Inclusive Tourism was engaged to facilitate Welcome to Accessible Tourism workshops and Inclusive Customer Service Awareness training sessions. Feedback from these sessions was incredibly positive with participants gaining valuable tools they could immediately implement in their workplaces.
More information about the pledge can be found on the Destination Gold Coast website.
