Access Tourism Conference feedback

The 80 delegates at the recently held inaugural Access Tourism New Zealand conference held at Auckland University of Technology were ask to fill in a short survey to help the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute better plan for subsequent such conferences. Delegates came from the private sector (36), NGOs (18), local government (14), the public sector (6), and academic institutions (6). Just over half (41) of the delegates filled in the form in part or in full. Of these, most were either “very much satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the conference content (91%), speakers and presentations (85%), accessibility (91%), and the overall experience (90%). All except one of the remainder were “satisfied”. Eighty eight percent would like to see the Access Tourism conference become an annual event (10% were undecided). More stated that the main reason for attending the conference was for the content (46%) than anything else, although personal and professional development (22%) and networking opportunities (20%) were also important. Delegates learnt about the conference mainly through e-mailed newsletters or referrals (both 40%).

When asked for comments, delegates stated that the most beneficial aspects of the conference were awareness raising, information gathering, and networking, while suggestions for improving the conference included avoiding duplication, expanding the topics covered, having the presentation material available prior to the conference, more time for group discussions and interactions, splitting into streams, and running the conference over two days. Delegates wanted to see more government and industry representation (for example, it was noted by many that no-one from Qualmark, Tourism New Zealand, major industry organizations such as the Tourism Industry Organization, or the Ministry of Tourism - now the Tourism Strategy Group – were there). Themes or topics suggested for future conferences included providing solutions and ways forward, case studies of access improvement at businesses, inclusiveness in the wider community and what that means, best practice in access in the various tourism sub-sectors and on websites, government initiatives and frameworks for coordination, disability awareness training, consumer research, and disabilities segmentation.

For the full list of comments, download the attachment below.