Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Delegates at the Accessible and Inclusive Training Workshop [Photo: SUPPLIED]
Tourism in Fiji should be an experience everyone can enjoy, but for people living with disabilities, tourism can come with barriers.
A new training workshop delivered in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Australia’s Market Development Facility and Rosie Travel Group is encouraging greater accessibility and inclusion across the tourism industry.
The Accessible and Inclusive Training Workshop, currently underway in Nadi, is bringing together tourism stakeholders to share practical knowledge and skills in accessible tourism and inclusive customer service.
Rosie Holidays Managing Director Tony Whitton says witnessing a family member experience the challenges of living with a disability led him to question what could be done to make tourism more accessible for everyone.
“Why can’t our international visitors with mobility challenges, visitors who have challenges with sight, challenges with hearing, challenges with speech, access and experience Fiji’s breathtaking landscape and oceans? To be immersed in Fiji’s living culture.”
Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka says disability inclusion is not a side issue for the tourism sector, but one that concerns the quality and excellence every visitor wants to experience.
He says the initiative opens opportunities for people with disabilities as travellers, workers, entrepreneurs and leaders, while also reflecting a culture of care.
Gavoka encourages tourism stakeholders to take the knowledge gained from the workshop back to their workplaces, identify barriers, make improvements within their reach and share the ideas that work.
Discussions on making tourism more accessible for people with disabilities will continue today.
