Accessible tourism resources
To support Queensland tourism businesses to become more accessible and inclusive to all visitors, these resources have been developed by Get Skilled Access and TravAbility on behalf of the Department of Tourism and Sport.
Get Skilled Access is an Australian-owned disability enterprise founded by Australian of the Year and retired wheelchair tennis ace Dylan Alcott OA. TravAbility is a specialist travel agency catering for travellers with disability.
Online learning videos
- Creating accessible events
- Service animals and tourism
- Non-visible disability
- Neurodiverse travel
- Business case for accessible tourism
- Defining disability, accessibility and inclusion
- Inclusive mindset and universal design
- Misconceptions and unconscious bias
- The language of disability
DestinationQ: Embracing accessible tourism now and beyond 2032
This DestinationQ 2023 session featuring Dylan Alcott AO highlights how embracing an inclusive approach makes good business sense.
Podcast: Igniting Accessible Experiences
Igniting Accessible Experiences is a six-episode podcast series designed to help tourism operators make their services more accessible and inclusive. Join co-hosts Ben Pettingill and Bridie McKim as they talk with people with disability and tourism operators to uncover insights from both perspectives, shedding light on the experience of accessing and providing accessible tourism.
Ben Pettingill
Ben is the world's only individual to have competed in a Spartan obstacle course race while legally blind and untethered. He has successfully trekked the Kokoda Track twice and has also participated in the world's fastest water-skiing race.
Bridie McKim
Bridie is an actor, advocate and consultant. She has worked across both stage and screen and made history as the first actor with a disability to have a lead role on Australian television in The Heights. Bridie, who has cerebral palsy, uses her personal experiences to advocate for individual with disabilities in the arts and within broader communities and workplaces.
Episode 1: Experiences of accessible tourism providers – Dreamworld case study
Episode 2: Understanding the experiences of tourists with disability
Episode 3: Welcoming visitors with a service animal
Episode 4: Impact of universal design in tourism
Episode 5: Inclusive recruitment in tourism
Episode 6: Understanding non-visible disability
Episodes are available on Spotify and Apple.
Igniting Accessible Experiences has been produced in partnership with Get Skilled Access.
Podcast: Accessed That
Explore what it’s like to travel as a person with a disability. Hosts Oliver Hunter, a comedian with Cerebral Palsy, and Paralympic swimmer Karni Liddell – chat to travel lovers about their experience navigating the world, hearing the highs, the lows and the low down from the people who have been there, accessed that.
More accessible tourism resources
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Delivering world class accessible tourism products and experiences can expand your market reach, attract more visitors and grow expenditure for your tourism business.
- QTIC Quality Tourism Accredited Business – Accessibility Module
- QTIC micro-credentialing program – offering service to guests with disability
- ATEC accessible and inclusive host business development program
- APEC tourism access and inclusion best practice guidelines
- WHO accessible tourism
- TEQ Best of Queensland Experience program
These Regional and Local Tourism Organisation websites are examples of programs and partnerships that enhance the accessible visitor experience in their respective regions.
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Organisations that represent a particular disability sector in your region can provide valuable information for your tourism business specific to your requirements.
- Queensland Disability Network
- Autism Queensland
- Braille House
- Better Hearing Australia Brisbane
- Braille House
- Carers Queensland
- Council of the Aging Queensland
- Deaf Connect
- Down Syndrome Queensland
- Guide Dogs Queensland
- Queensland Alliance for Mental Health
- Spinal Life Australia
- Synapse
- Xavier Children's Support Network
Accredited access consultants and architects can assist you with accessibility design in the built environment.
When planning to make tourism more accessible, projects should align with Queensland's Disability Plan. This means involving people with disabilities in the design process, thinking about various types of disabilities, and finding ways to promote the improved accessibility.
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People with disability bring a range of skills and abilities to the workplace and can strengthen your tourism business through a more diverse, inclusive and stable workforce and assist in addressing workforce shortages.
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Learn how to organise accessible and inclusive events.
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Discover ways to make venues and activities more accessible.
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For many tourists with disability and accessibility requirements, the journey starts online. Planning and researching a trip can take place across multiple platforms so it is vital websites and digital resources are accessible.
- Accessible communication and brand guidelines
- Inclusive language and disability etiquette guide (PDF, 26.7MB)
- Web content accessibility guidelines
- Design and development overview
- Evaluating web accessibility overview
- Human interface guidelines
- Inclusive design
- Accessibility designer guide
- Accessibility insights
- Colour contrast checker
- Stark
Social media
- Social media overview
- Social media toolkit
- Social media tutorial
- Developing social stories
- Accessibility Facebook page
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Tourism Research Australia Accessible Tourism in Queensland summary states: “There are a number of Australians with a disability (including adults caring for a child with a disability) who are not currently travelling, but who would likely travel with certain industry improvements (in accommodation, transport, current technologies). The potential of this sector is approximately $735 million (an additional 1% in spend). When travel party is factored in, this comes to $1.8 billion, or an additional 2% in spend for the travel party (including the person with a disability). Source Tourism Research Australia Accessible”:
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Find out how the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009 applies to your business.
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As part of the Queensland Government, the Department of Tourism and Sport is committed to protecting your privacy, and have responsibilities under the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act) regarding the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information held by the department.
Last updated: 13 Feb 2024