Don't miss out on a big part of your audience

Disabled tourists are one of the biggest growth markets, so are we ready to welcome them to Auckland for RWC 2011?

Did you know that 20% of Aucklanders (and people worldwide) are disabled?

And from a tourism point of view, they’re big spenders as disabled tourists often travel in groups of five or more. Just look at our neighbours across the ditch - 88% of Australian people with disabilities travel, spending A$4.8 billion a year.

Recent Ministry of Tourism research shows the “Being There” group aged 65 years and over makes up 22% of the domestic tourism market.

Minnie Baragwanath, Auckland City Council’s disability programme advisor, says there’s a wealth of opportunities to tap into the disabled tourism market especially for RWC 2011.

“The Disability Resource Centre has been doing a lot of work looking at the facilities at the key venues and we’ve received a really positive response. People are keen to know what they can do to help.”

One of the first initiatives Minnie’s team is tackling is having mobility scooters available to visitors to the city.

Then she’s looking at what’s been implemented at other world-class events.

“Nick Morris from Melbourne is helping us put together an action plan of what we want to achieve. Nick’s worked on accessibility planning at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, so he’ll be a great source of ideas.”

Minnie says the next step is to communicate to businesses about what they can do to ensure people with a disability can access their business.

“It might be something as simple as whether a disabled person can actually get into your shop.”

Keep an eye out for accessible information in the Event Ready kits for businesses, which will be available early next year.