Did you know that 5.5 million Australians live with disability? Or that accessible tourism generates $13.5 billion annually?
Find out how we're helping local tourism businesses reach more customers by making their spaces and services more accessible for people of all ages and abilities.
Read on, or jump to areas of interest.
How to make a walking tour more accessible
Find out how a pilot program is helping businesses in the visitor economy reach new customers by making simple changes.
We paired 14 local businesses in the visitor economy with disability advocates to find ways to make tourism experiences more inclusive, through a pilot program Amplify Access External link.
Local walking tour operator Melbourne Foodie Culture teamed up with disability advocate Geoffrey Lim from our Disability Advisory Committee. Here's what happened next.
An age-old apprehension washed over deaf-blind Melburnian Geoffrey Lim before he booked in for a walking tour in his home town.
A seasoned traveller, Geoffrey is no stranger to pushing outside his comfort zone. He signs up for walking tours the world over.
As a not-for-profit arts leader, Geoffrey pushes for more diversity in street dance culture External link. He even won hearts on So You Think You Can Dance External link. Twice.
But the idea of meeting strangers in a public place to be led through the busy city was unnerving.
“It can be scary as a disabled person in an unfamiliar place. You tend to shut down. You stick to what you know, the places you have memorised,” Geoffrey said.
Hovering over the ‘book now’ button, Geoffrey searched for clues that the operator, Foodie Trails External link, would be responsive to his access needs.
"I could see that they had already built some accommodations into the tour. I got the sense that Foodie Trails were genuine and I wouldn’t have to worry about participating," Geoffrey said.
Reassured, he booked in for a four-hour Melbourne Foodie Culture Tour External link, which takes visitors to iconic foodie destinations and hidden gems across the city, showing how each wave of migration has changed the culinary, historical and architectural landscape of the city.
“It was a small group, and it was really reassuring to know that I didn't have to take care of myself. I was really comfortable the whole tour."
On the day, he showed the tour guide:
- which streets to avoid when they are crowded
- how to cut through the city using plazas and arcades
- where to find smooth flooring.
“I loved it. It was amazing. It was my favourite city walking experience around the world. It was really easy. The tour guide was amazing and almost all the venues were accessible.”
The biggest adjustment he recommended was a refresher on road safety.
“We are in high-alert mode when crossing the road. So I suggested the tour guide try to wait until we’re settled and safe on the other side of the road before sharing new information on the tour."
He also suggested website improvements, including:
- a change in the font
- increased text size
- high contrast between text and background.
“As a local, I didn’t realise how interesting Foodie Trails would be ... going into the history of Melbourne. There’s so much culture and history I didn’t know about in Melbourne.
“I became even more proud to be a Melburnian. There were lots of surprises for locals as well as visitors. And they really looked after me,” Geoffrey said.
Small changes make a big difference
When Foodie Trails founder Himanshi Munshaw Luhar joined Amplify Access, she suspected her business would need to make big adjustments for customers with disability.
“We are a walking tour, and it’s not the first thing people would think of as an experience to do in the City of Melbourne if you have accessibility requirements,” Himanshi said.
“Most of the changes were really small things that can make an even better experience."
“We were already ticking so many boxes with the tour itself, as we have a natural affinity to great customer service,” Himanshi said.
"We learned that many people with disability are looking for information before the tour, so they can be prepared and know what to expect. Then they can decide if the tour is suitable for them or not.”
On Geoffrey’s advice, Himanshi created a new accessibility guide to give potential customers a fuller picture of what to expect on the four-hour tour.
It lists the distance between venues and the time spent at each stop. It also uses images to show footpaths and surfaces, access points, nearest accessible toilets and potential hazards.
“We learnt to be more conscious about which pathways we take through the city, the accessibility requirements of each venue, where there is an incline, what kind of surface we are walking on.
“Things we would have taken for granted in the past.”
“Now we keep these in mind when we’re planning the tour and adjust the tour to suit any accessibility requirements.”
By providing innovative solutions and forward-thinking strategies, Amplify Access empowered businesses to enhance their service offerings, establish pathways for long-term accessibility improvements and create more inclusive environments.
“Amplify Access has been instrumental in giving us the confidence to say ‘yes we can cater effectively to this community’, because what we’re doing is along the right pathway."
"We added a field to the online booking form for customers to list their accessibility requirements, where before we only asked if people had a pram,” Himanshi said
She’s also bringing in experts to help with her marketing materials, to increase the contrast between the text and background images.
"Now we’ve had the lived experience feedback to say we are on the right track," Himanshi said.
"It gives us the confidence to go out to this cohort and tell them we can give them an experience of Melbourne they might not have considered before.”
Designing Accessible Experiences
To help more businesses in the visitor economy create inclusive, market-ready accessible experiences or enhance existing ones, we've created a new free, four-month program.
Designing Accessible Experiences is working with 10 local businesses within the City of Melbourne to adapt what they learn and transform it into new accessible experiences.
Accessible dining and entertainment
Explore wheelchair-friendly restaurants with easy entries, open spaces and accessible toilets.
And plan your foodie tour of Melbourne with handy dietary guides.
What’s On Melbourne features a guide to accessible and inclusive Melbourne External link.
And check out our Disability pride guide to Melbourne for ways to make the most of Melbourne.
Resources to make your business more accessible
All people have fair access to goods, services and opportunities.
Get tips for how to make your business accessible.
Our Good Access is Good Business program helps city businesses meet legal and community expectations.
Look for business guides including:
- How to make an accessibility guide External link (PDF)
- Online accessibility for every business External link (PDF)
And customer access checklists for these and more types of businesses:
- Festivals and events External link (PDF)
- Restaurants and cafes External link (PDF)
- Accommodation businesses External link (PDF)
- Retail businesses External link (PDF)
Speak to one of our friendly Business Concierge officers to find out how we can support your business.
