Access for all

When Bill Oughton, captain of wheelchair rugby team the Wheel-Blacks, checked into the motel he felt confident. After all, he had phoned ahead to check it was suitable for him. But once inside the room, its shortcomings quickly became apparent.

"The microwave was too high, there were kitchen taps I couldn't turn, and the showerhead was out of my reach," he said.

The experience, he says, is pretty common. Luckily he had someone with him that day - otherwise Oughton would have had to phone reception for help.

A car accident 18 years ago left him a quadriplegic. He stays away from home about six times a year on tour with the rugby team and says accommodation for him in New Zealand is far better than in Europe and America.

"Years ago it was very hard to find places to stay here, but over the past 10 years it has become a lot easier," Oughton said.

Family breaks are often taken at holiday parks.

"Facilities are not 100 per cent," he says, "but I'm able to make the best of it."

A family holiday in New Zealand is an exercise that needs careful planning if you're disabled, according to one expert.

Alexia Pickering was born with spina bifida and has, among other things, worked to help to open tourism doors for people with disabilities.

She spends much of her time advising people such as B&B and motel managers on how to make their properties user-friendly for everyone, not just the able-bodied.

Statistics New Zealand says 20 per cent of the population is limited in its daily activities - but the figure covers a broad spectrum, from minor to severe disabilities.

Pickering highlights one hotel that made some guest rooms user-friendly but then put in king-size beds and other furniture that meant it was impossible to get from one side of the room to the other in a wheelchair.

"In the mid-90s, for example, Greymouth had just one accessible place - today there are about 10 there, so things are getting better," she says.

"The bottom line is that everyone should be able to enter buildings, go where they like and engage in normal activities without having to call on someone else for assistance."

There is a system to identify places that have facilities for people with restricted mobility. The International Symbol of Access is awarded by local authorities to properties its inspectors consider capable of meeting the needs of the mobility-impaired.

"But it's not cast-iron," says Pickering. "There is room for interpretation within the regulations so some places are more suitable than others."

She visited around 600 accommodation providers in 2000 to research her book Accessible New Zealand. Today, she says, there are far more places to stay with the symbol of access sign - but with no central database it's impossible to tell exactly how many there are, or where they are. Finding accommodation is the hardest thing for the independent disabled traveller, says Pickering.

Transport is another issue. Many disabled people miss out because they can't join organised coach tours, she says.

"Not enough operators are geared up for people with disabilities and finding a hand-controlled car to hire is very difficult too," she says.

"The disability sector is starting to be recognised by the Government, but it is taking the tourism industry a long time to catch up and meet what I believe is a niche market.

"Building designers still lay special routes for disabled people rather than have an easy flow-through for everyone. In some hotels a member of staff has to escort a wheelchair-user in a lift to their room."

As for rank-and-file disabled New Zealanders going on holiday with a tight budget, Pickering says for many it's "just too much hassle".

"A lot of people don't go on holiday because the facilities, in the more affordable range of accommodation, are often not suitable.

"Many 'accessible' rooms, for example, are designed as studio units for one or two people, but that's no good for a family with children.

"Also, views are a problem. Queenstown, apart from one lakefront apartment, has no accessible hotel rooms with a view - they are at the back. Why do they think disabled people don't enjoy seeing lovely views like everybody else?"

John Moriarty is CEO of the Tourism Industry Association which represents more than 3500 tourism businesses in New Zealand. He says there's no aversion by the industry to providing facilities that are accessible to everyone but it costs "a lot of money".

"Some providers change things during an upgrade of their accommodation, and others don't because it's a market decision they make.

"The nation hasn't had a design culture of accommodating all its citizens, there are a lot of buildings where it's relatively tricky [for the disabled].

"New Zealanders moving around their own country will have difficulty, there's no doubt people who have a mobility impairment have the law of averages against them.

"Where there's a constant demand, companies meet it. Scarcely any larger [tourism] players would not have taken the mobility-impaired into account, some of the minor players may not have, but I'm sure they will."

One of a handful of companies that caters for the disabled traveller is Accessible Kiwi Tours of Opotiki.

"We tend to use the larger hotels that are known to us for our clients," says owner Allan Armstrong.

"We've never marketed ourselves to New Zealanders because the Kiwi dollar just doesn't go very far, however, more people with disabilities are travelling now.

"I feel the accommodation for the disabled is very good here because of our laws, but we do tend to use the better-class hotels. In smaller towns it can be difficult - we sometimes have to bypass them. But more B&Bs are starting to cater for the market."

Another man who has spotted the gap in the market is Des Tyrrell-Baxter. The Titirangi man is partly quadriplegic and has a Mercedes motorhome built to his design for independent living and driving.

"I couldn't find one to hire, or a secondhand one to buy, so I had one built," he said.

He is now offering to hire it out and plans to add other vehicles if demand grows.

"There has been a lot of interest from locals and from abroad - particularly America. As far as I know it's the only motorhome of its kind to rent in the country."

Pickering believes the tourism tide is starting to turn to meet the needs of disabled travellers as more tourism operators become aware of the opportunities.

"New Zealand has the best legislation for accessibility - we used to lead the world. Our accessibility laws are better than Britain and Australia," she said. "But we need a lot more education out there."

Travelaxess

Tours-NZ

International Symbol of Access

There is no central database of properties awarded the International Symbol of Access. But accommodation-providers credited with it are duty-bound to publish the logo in their advertisements. Unfortunately, exterior wall signs can be bought by anyone, and the Barrier Free Trust wants to hear of places displaying the sign which do not meet disabled people's needs. Ph: (04) 977 7048.

Criteria for using the sign are an accessible route to and throughout the building, and accessible and useable facilities.

Tips for accommodation-providers

Pickering says owner/managers need to ask themselves: can an individual from a seated position reach the light switch, door handle, shower control, wardrobe rail, window catches, taps, or power points for plugging in an electrical device? Every detail of height and width is not always contained in the building code so common sense must prevail.

Most people with disabilities ask that they are not singled out for special attention.

Youth Hostel Association

Of the 27 hostels the association owns and operates in New Zealand, 11 are suitable for people with restricted mobility. They are Auckland International, Christchurch City Central, Franz Joseph, Greymouth, Kaikoura, Lake Tekapo, Nelson, Queenstown, Te Anau, Tauranga and Wellington City.

Most YHA hostels provide single, double, twin and family room options.