Tourism, hospitality and events professionals came together last week for Young Tourism Network’s Accessibility in Action: Designing Inclusive Visitor Experiences event at Garden State Hotel.
The evening explored what accessibility and inclusion look like in practice, bringing together lived experience, industry expertise and real-world case studies to demonstrate how we can create visitor experiences that welcome more people.
And one of the biggest messages of the night was refreshingly simple: improving accessibility doesn’t always have to be expensive or complicated.
Start by listening
Keynote speaker Oliver Hunter, disability advocate, comedian and podcaster, opened the evening with Making It Work – Navigating a World Not Built for You.
Drawing on his own experiences navigating tourism, travel and everyday environments with cerebral palsy and as a wheelchair user, Oliver brought lived experience to the centre of the conversation.
His insights reinforced an important lesson for our industry: some of the most meaningful improvements can begin by simply connecting with people with lived experience, listening to what they need and understanding where barriers exist.
Accessibility in action
The evening also showcased how organisations across tourism, hospitality and events are putting inclusive thinking into practice.
Sasina Chomsuwan, Customer Service Manager at The District Docklands, shared the development of The District’s Urban Art Experience, a free, accessible and self-guided public art journey incorporating tactile elements, audio guides, braille plaques and sensory features.
The experience demonstrates how thinking beyond the visual can create richer experiences that allow visitors to see, hear, feel and engage with a place in the way that works best for them.
Zangi Dinh, PhD Researcher and Learning Facilitator at Torrens University, challenged attendees to reconsider what good experience design really means. While tourism and hospitality experiences are often designed with visual appeal front of mind, accessibility can sometimes be considered too late in the process – unintentionally creating barriers for guests with disability.
And Jacinta O’Malley, Senior Event Producer and Access and Inclusion Lead at the City of Melbourne, shared practical examples from some of Melbourne’s biggest events and activations, demonstrating how accessibility and inclusion can be embedded into event planning and delivery.
Think about the whole visitor journey
Another important theme to emerge from the evening was that accessibility extends well beyond what happens once somebody arrives.
An inclusive visitor experience considers the entire journey – from discovering an experience and finding the information needed to confidently plan a visit, through to booking, travelling, arriving, navigating the space and participating in the experience itself.
Representation matters, too. When people can see themselves reflected in tourism and event marketing, it can create a stronger sense of belonging and help communicate that an experience has been designed with them in mind.
Together, these ideas highlighted that accessibility isn’t simply a feature to add at the end of the design process. It’s a way of thinking about the visitor experience from the beginning.
Continuing the conversation
A huge thank you to our speakers Oliver Hunter, Sasina Chomsuwan, Zangi Dinh and Jacinta O’Malley for generously sharing their experiences, expertise and practical ideas with the YTN community.
Thank you also to everyone who joined us and contributed to the conversations throughout the evening.
Creating a more accessible visitor economy is an ongoing process, but every improvement matters. By listening to lived experience, considering accessibility earlier and looking at the complete visitor journey, we can all play a role in creating tourism, hospitality and event experiences where more people feel welcome.