Accessibility

Accessibility is smart business, unlocking a larger, loyal customer base, lifting conversion, reducing compliance risk, and strengthening brand trust and growth.

• Service quality is the top reason customers with access requirements return, or recommend a business.
• Accessibility standards are tightening. Acting now helps you stay ahead of regulation and future-proof your business.
• Inclusive practices strengthen your brand, build community trust, and foster customer loyalty.
• Meeting diverse needs increases visitation, encourages longer stays, and generates positive word-of-mouth - boosting our region’s overall tourism success.

Visitors to our district are often challenged by finding accommodation, experiences and venues that suit their needs. Physical or environmental conditions, safety requirements, and procedures may limit some peoples’ ability to access certain spaces or activities. 

The needs and abilities of visitors with mobility and/or sensory impairments are all completely unique and it is up to them to decide what is suitable for them.  Regardless of whether you believe your space to be fully accessible, a simple and affordable, yet impactful step you can take is to publish clear information on how to access your venue, in the form of an Access Guide (information on how to create one for your business is below).

Access Guides empower visitors by providing clear, accurate information about the accessibility of your business, helping customers understand what to expect before they visit. It does not imply that your establishment meets any specific accessibility standard. Instead, it outlines your current features, services, and potential barriers, allowing customers to assess how they might navigate your space.

Here is an example of an access guide for the Destination Queenstown Office.

1. Accessibility in Tourism 101: Educates on the benefits of improved accessibility in the tourism sector, with a key focus on understanding customers with disabilities—their unique needs, characteristics, and potential requirements and options for assistance.
2. Best Practice for Accessibility: Provides practical design guidance to refer to when you upgrade or adapting your premises. It includes best practice for parking facilities, pathways, stairs and ramps, entrances, restrooms and special features.
3. How to Write an Access Guide: Takes you through exactly how to write an Access Guide for your business and includes sections tailored to accommodation, food and beverage, and experience providers.

Check out this example of an access guide for the Destination Queenstown Office.

The stages outlined below are not necessarily meant to be followed in a strict, step-by-step order. Depending on where your business currently stands, you may find that you are jumping back and forth between stages as you assess your needs, plan improvements, and implement changes.

It’s important to take a flexible approach, revisiting previous stages as needed to ensure that accessibility is continuously enhanced, and your Access Guide is kept up-to-date. Some businesses may move quickly through the initial stages, while others might need more time in Stage 2 to fully implement changes. Ultimately, the goal is to make steady, ongoing progress toward a more accessible and inclusive experience for all visitors.

This stage focuses on documenting and sharing the accessibility of your premises. It is relevant to your business even if you don’t consider your premises fully or partially accessible. The goal is to assess your current facilities and provide clear information to your customers, enabling them to make informed decisions. The process includes:

1. Read the Accessibility 101 document and share it with the wider team to improve knowledge and awareness.
2. Create an Access Guide using the detailed instructions provided in the How to Write an Access Guide document. Consider using Makingtrax’s advisory service to ensure an optimised guide.
3. Train at least two team members on your Access Guide and designate a primary point of contact for those with accessibility needs.
4. Host the Access Guide in a visible and easily accessible location on your website, ideally on a dedicated webpage.
5. Send the guide to Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism so it can be considered for promotion.
6. Consider subscribing to the Makingtrax Foundation and if you subscribe, be sure to highlight this in your communications and on your website.

This stage focuses on creating plans to make changes to your services and premises to align with best practice. 

• Train the full team on your Access Guide.
• Use the insights gained from developing your Access Guide and compare with the Best Practice for Accessibility document to understand the areas where your offerings and facilities can be improved. Identify “quick wins’” (improvements you can take that are impactful yet quick and easy to implement) and longer term improvements. Makingtrax’s advisory service can help you to identify these.
• Embed universal design principles into your business processes, ensuring that all future infrastructure or service upgrades include accessibility considerations.
• Develop a clear plan and timeline for improving both your services for customers with accessibility needs and the physical accessibility of your premises, in line with the Best Practice document.
• Share your plan with Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism for their awareness.

This stage focuses on implementing improvements, updating your Access Guide, and keeping staff informed. By promoting your progress to customers and sharing within the local tourism sector, you'll enhance accessibility and inspire positive change across our sector.

• Complete the identified improvements iteratively.
• Review and update your Access Guide after each round of improvements to keep it current and accurate.
• Inform your staff and Destination Queenstown / Lake Wānaka Tourism of the changes to ensure everyone is aware.
• Promote the improvements to your customers. 
• Share within our local tourism sector to help foster change and motivate other businesses to future-proof.

For more information and to get support on your access journey, head to Making Trax Foundation.

Making Trax Foundation is independent organisation dedicated to inclusion in Adventure, Tourism & Travel. Receive assistance from Making Trax Foundation in developing a transparent and unique access guide for your business.

An access guide serves as a digital document that offers potential customers comprehensive information about your experience, services, requirements, and infrastructure, thereby supporting accessibility and inclusivity. Explore further details here. 

Making Trax have created these resources to support the industry in becoming more accessible.

• Access Tourism Market— A snapshot of the accessible tourism opportunity, key customer segments, spend potential, and latest insights to help size the market.
• Part 1. Introduction to Access Guide Guidelines — What an Access Guide is, who it serves, and how to present experience info clearly (planning → booking → on-site).
• Part 2. Transportation; Access Guide Design Guidelines— How to explain getting there: accessible parking, drop-offs, public transport, step-free routes, and wayfinding.
• Part 3. Physical Access; Access Guide Design Guidelines — How to describe on-site access: entrances, lifts/ramps, facilities, activity participation, sensory info, and safety.

Adapting Aotearoa is a nationwide commitment redefining how accessibility is understood and delivered across Aotearoa New Zealand.

As part of the Adapting Aotearoa movement the platform provides templates to create access guides, offer best practice guidance and education for your team.