Tourism For All NZ Research Group

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/14433

Professor Alison McIntosh, Dr Brielle Gillovic, AUT Adjunct Professor Simon Darcy (University of Technology Sydney) and AUT Visiting Scholar, Dr Cheryl Cockburn-Wootten (University of Waikato) coordinate the Tourism for All NZ Research Group.

Initially funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development Think Differently Fund, NZ Tourism For All is a project to champion accessible tourism in New Zealand. The investigation recognises the citizenship rights of people with disabilities and those living with chronic or terminal illness to tourism as an inclusive leisure activity. Current projects include accessible beach tourism; accessible hotel restaurants; tourism and carers; disability employment and entrepreneurship; terminal illness and travel; and disability, tourism and sustainability.

Further related resources:

Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre
Gillovic, B. (2019). Experiences of Care at the Nexus of Intellectual Disability and Leisure Travel [Unpublished PhD thesis]. The University of Waikato.
Gillovic, B., McIntosh, A., Darcy, S., Cockburn-Wootten, C. (2018). Enabling the Language of Accessible Tourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 26 (4), pp. 615-630.

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Tourism For All NZ at UD2024

The Tourism for All NZ Research Group recently presented a discussion of our lessons about making tourism accessible and inclusive in NZ and Australia to an international audience of delegates at the 2024 Universal Design Conference, Norway, hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality.

View the video online or download the presentation.

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Key Facts and Figures about Accessible Tourism

Tourism For All New Zealand have collected useful, evidence-based facts about accessible tourism in New Zealand. Read them here, and keep up to date with our industry-relevant research.

Did you know that 83% of people with access requirements regularly engage in domestic travel?

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Accessibility and Inclusive Tourism Development: Current State and Future Agenda
(MDPI AG, 2020) Gillovic, B; McIntosh, A
Accessibility constitutes one important consideration in the field of scholarship relating to inclusive tourism development because it is fundamentally about the inclusion of people with disabilities in tourism and in society. This conceptual paper maps how accessible tourism is currently positioned against an established framework of inclusive tourism development and gives examples of relevant accessible tourism studies to recommend a future agenda for more inclusive outcomes that move towards sustainability. The seven elements of Scheyvens and Biddulph’s (2018) conceptual framework for inclusive tourism development form an appropriate and useful tool upon which to examine the current state of accessible tourism. The application of this framework reveals that we still have some way to go. We conclude this paper with a future agenda that posits attention to all seven elements of the inclusive tourism framework for accessible tourism, notably, to increase the involvement of people with disabilities as tourism producers and consumers; increase their self-representation and participation in decision-making; transform power relations; reimagine tourism places and people; and break down social barriers. We especially urge researchers to examine the dominant ableist discourse, to consider how our inquiry can be more participatory and inclusive, and to seek to bridge inquiry, industry and community.
Accommodating Travellers with Pets: Is Auckland Ready?
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2019-06-14) Chen, Y; Schänzel, Heike
New Zealand is considered a nation of pet lovers, with 64 percent of households owning at least one pet [1]. The aim of this study [2] was to explore what the main considerations were for hospitality operators in Auckland with regards to offering pet-friendly services. To answer this question, several key aspects were considered: pet tourism trends; market expansion of pet-friendly accommodations; the profitability of allowing pets; and operational implications, such as additional investment and labour costs. This explorative research interviewed ten accommodation providers in Auckland: five pet-friendly and five non-pet-friendly. These operators represented owners or managers of hotels, motels, lodges and apartments spread across Auckland and Waiheke Island. Research on operators’ perspectives on pet tourism is unexplored, with previous literature focusing on tourists’ perceptions [3–5]. This study hopes to provide practical implications for the industry, especially for the New Zealand context. New Zealand’s pet tourism market is considered small and mainly domestic. According to popular global dog travel directory Bring Fido [6], in 2017 there were a mere fifteen pet-friendly accommodations in Auckland, in stark contrast to other cities such as New York (367), London (96) and Paris (643). Interviewees’ opinions on the profitability of accommodating pet tourists varied. Non-pet operators rejected the idea of allowing pets due to an abundance of non-pet customers and were reluctant to accept perceived pet-related risks. Their pre-conceptions were likely formed by operating in silos without conducting any research on pet tourism and its market landscape. There was a genuine fear of negative online reviews which cannot be easily amended and can have significant longevity. Their key perceived risks were related to hygiene and allergy concerns for other customers. Preventative measures were believed to involve significant investment into property renovation. Pet friendly operators, who mainly accommodated dogs, shared a different perspective through their own experiences. They expressed high trust and optimism for pet tourists and had rarely experienced any major pet-related incidents. From a hygiene and allergy point of view, the risks were considered minimal and customers bore the responsibility when stating their allergies. Pet-friendly operators stated that no additional workload or costs were incurred through accommodating pets. Significant renovations were not deemed necessary, instead relying on what they already had. However, in the unlikely event of a major pet-related incident, the interviewees expressed that their trust towards accommodating pets would waver, meaning their tolerance of risk was not resilient. At the time of the research, pet-friendly operators were relaxed about pet policies and had not formalised them. The majority were conveying rules to pet tourists through word of mouth, such as that pets must be on a leash in public areas, instead of through written and signed agreements. Tellingly, pet-friendly operators did not perceive New Zealand’s pet tourism market as lucrative. They were allowing pets as an extension of service and lacked motivation to expand or to cater for more pets. The study highlights the potential for growth in the domestic pet tourism market despite the current stalemate, where those who allowed pets were supportive and vice versa. Improving this situation might require unified pet-friendly associations and certain levels of government intervention. In parallel, all operators should break out of silos and socialise more with their pet-friendly peers to gain knowledge and validate assumptions. Pet-friendly operators could improve engagement with pet tourists through standardised policies and formal agreements. With guidance and support from their peers, more accommodations may be capable of handling pets. Pet owners could look forward to a day when travelling with pets becomes much more accessible due to abundant pet-friendly accommodation.
Analysing the Rhetoric of Accessibility: How Well Do New Zealand’s Hotel Restaurants Meet the Needs of Customers With Disabilities?
(Auckland University of Technology, 2020) Shetty, Eshwar; McIntosh, Alison
The concept of “accessible tourism” enables people with access requirements/disabilities, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access to function independently with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services and environments (Darcy and Dickson, 2009). Using case study methods, this research aims to investigate the best practices in accessibility among hotel restaurants in New Zealand. The study has two objectives: (1) Identify the strategies and tactics used by the three case study hotel restaurants considered as champions of accessibility, and (2) Critically analyse the rhetoric of accessibility communicated online by the three case study hotel restaurants. The three cases chosen for the research were Sudima Hotels, CQ Hotels and The Rydges Auckland hotel. The three cases are noted champions of accessibility. The website communications of these three cases were analysed to be able to answer the objectives of the research aim. The reason why best practices in accessibility implemented by these champions are being investigated is because research indicated that information on accessibility of restaurants in order to improve the dining experience for people with disabilities (PWDs) is scarce in hospitality and tourism scholarship. A three phase methodology with an interpretivist paradigm was implemented in this research for the exploratory study of the websites of the three hotel restaurants. The three phases in the methodology included a categorical analysis which was used to analyse visual design elements across the websites. The second phase was the content analysis which was used to provide a descriptive analysis of commonalities of content. The third phase, which was the rhetorical analysis, used phase 1 and phase 2 data, as well as company quotes and statements from the websites for a more critical view of first and second order meaning of the visual design elements, not only in relation to each other, but also in the context of the specific organisational settings, the research question and the researcher (Greenwood et al., 2019). Through the findings of the three phase methodology, the best practices implemented by the three cases were found out. The categorical analysis findings showed the best practices in terms of accessible display of content and visual design elements on the website. This included the use of high colour contrast for display of information on the websites, the use of two-step click process to access accessible information, and provision of a common central tab present on the top of the page consisting of links to subsequent webpages. Through the content analysis certain strategies and tactics implemented by the three cases to bring about accessibility were identified. The strategies identified through the content analysis included (i) Accreditations with social change organisations (ii) Inclusion of PWDs in the workforce (iii) Use of persuasive language and the effective (iv) Use of imagery. Similarly, multiple tactics in terms of accessible facilities that were implemented by the three cases were identified. Examples of common tactics found included provision of Braille menus and availability of trained staff to support PWDs in the restaurant. The rhetorical analysis findings showed how the three cases used quotes and statements indicating themes around (i) Accessibility is for all (ii) Persuasion for the Inclusion of PWDs (iv) Validity and (v) Persuasion for social change. This dissertation concludes with certain practical recommendations originating from the findings of the research and implications for imagining and moving towards a more moral, inclusive and accessible society.
Bridging Hospitality Education and Community
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2020) Cockburn-Wootten, C; McIntosh, A
The hospitality industry is not immune from the social issues facing our society. There are cases of hospitality initiatives for social change, including philanthropy and social enterprise [1]. In our academic work, the key driver for change is how to overcome silos in order to create engaged, meaningful relationships between hospitality scholars in academia and external community stakeholders [1–3]. We sought to move beyond the traditional confines of academic institutions in order to ‘flip’ mind-sets and practice hospitality for the benefit of wider society. To achieve this vision of hospitality, we needed to work with and within communities. Intervention on long-standing social issues requires wider collaboration – reaching across businesses, third-sector organisations and education institutions. The New Zealand government has been calling on academia to make meaningful relationships that “open up diverse networks of knowledge and resources” for tackling social change [2]. Universities have not always had a good reputation for sustained meaningful engagement with external stakeholders [2]. For instance, typical interactions at universities may include one-way guest lectures or advisory boards who may serve more as a performance of communication for accreditation boards than actual listening and engaging with stakeholders. Dissatisfied with these limiting relationships, “we adopted principles from critical hospitality and dialogue theories to create a long-term space for inclusion, collaboration, and transformational change” [2]. We held a series of community stakeholder meetings using tools, such as Ketso [4, 5], that facilitated co-created conversations with diverse stakeholders – many of whom would not ordinarily have the chance to think through a social problem together. During these meetings, individuals discussed the issue and gained an opportunity to hear, learn and understand each other’s experiences. A recommendation emerged from these meetings [2] for the formation of a network of organisations, charities, individuals and businesses that were interested in tackling social change – called The Network for Community Hospitality (NCH). This recommendation enabled a communication network for diverse stakeholders, ranging from corporates, funders and third sector to individual community organisations to share conversation, resources, knowledge and work on social issues facing our communities. NCH has worked with a variety of stakeholders within communities drawing on different sets of knowledge to tackle social cultural issues related to hospitality, such as social housing, disability and employment, refugee welcome, and poverty. NCH has held ‘Town & Gown’ events to encourage dialogue between stakeholders who may not normally have access to decision-making and financial resources. Invitees to the dinners ranged from businesses to charities and aimed to encourage stakeholders to collectively think through how we can practice and make our communities hospitable. At these dinner events, people with similar interests were strategically placed around the tables. Between dining courses, short three-minute speeches were given by various organisations with a specific call to action for change. Other examples include organisations working with student groups to tackle a particular hospitality issue. Active collaboration with external stakeholders involves student internships/volunteering and students pitching their intervention ideas to the stakeholder. In many cases, after the course key students or student groups will continue either working or (micro-)volunteering with the organisation to help deliver and implement the enterprise or intervention. One of the determinants of success is the mind-set adopted during these processes. The aim is to enact participatory community development approaches that emphasise ‘bottom-up’, co-creation, and dialogue as important tactics for success. Many of the approaches we used were organic, even chaotic at times, inclusive, and always involved friendly conversations over a cuppa and food. Of course, issues can emerge from time to time due to differing understandings around concerns such as timeframes, focus, ownership and commitment. For education, the benefits are that we engage learners in meaningful practices that bridge students’ understanding of theories and real life for a better future. For businesses, it means future hospitality graduates are exposed to real-life issues, well-prepared to manage, able to take leadership and can vision new enterprises and practices for the sector. For society, involving a range of stakeholders to tackle social issues works towards developing inclusive, safe community spaces with a strong sense of civic engagement; in short, a vision for more hospitable communities.
Co-creating Knowledge in Tourism Research Using the Ketso Method
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2019) Wengel, Y; McIntosh, A; Cockburn-Wootten, C
Tourism scholars have called for critical engagement with transformational co-creative methodologies. Within this call, there is a need for researchers to be positioned as facilitators and co-creators; rather than lone experts. We provide a critical review of the Ketso method. Ketso is a facilitated ‘workshop in a bag’; a toolkit that enables people to think and work together. Ketso can be used for data collection and as a supplementary analysis tool. Critical reflections on Ketso are provided to illustrate how it co-creates knowledge and collaborative solutions for transformational tourism. As a data collection tool, Ketso provides an innovative and authentic approach to stakeholder collaboration and decision making. As a supplementary data analysis tool, it provides an opportunity to address some of the limitations of thematic analysis such as simplicity and lack of coherence. In providing critical reflections on Ketso, we contribute to future thinking for the adoption of this co-creative method for tourism research.
Communicating Across Tourism Silos for Inclusive Sustainable Partnerships
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2018) Cockburn-Wootten, C; McIntosh, A; Smith, K; Jefferies, S
Overcoming traditional tourism silos to develop long-term relationships with stakeholders is essential for transformational change. Adopting broader networks connects researchers to pertinent issues facing society, develops reciprocal capacities for learning, and creates inclusive sustainable partnerships. As critical tourism scholars and not-for-profit employees, we illustrate the journey of how we engaged collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, from businesses, not-for-profits and the university, to tackle issues of economic disadvantage and social exclusion. Critical hospitality and dialogue theory were adopted to provide a framework for the processes of collaboration, research, networking, and advocacy work for inclusive sustainable spaces. Drawing on our involvement with co-founding a collaborative research network, the Network for Community Hospitality, and analysis of data from two Ketso workshops and interviews with 41 network members, we present reflections on setting up and facilitating the network. In addition, two examples of collaborative Network activities are presented to illustrate the techniques and dialogic communication processes for doing critical hospitality. The article thereby contributes by providing empirically informed and reflexive understandings into the experiences of working and communicating within long-term inclusive partnerships with diverse stakeholders to create traction for positive social sustainable change.
Connecting Through Family Tourism and Social Inclusion During COVID-19 Times
(Beykoz University, 2021-06-23) Schänzel, Heike
Elaine Can Dance: Can't?
(Elsebear, 2022) Benez, Elaine
Experiences of Tourists With Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenological Approach
(Elsevier BV, 2021-09) Gillovic, B; McIntosh, A; Cockburn-Wootten, C; Darcy, S
This paper aims to explore ways in which adults with intellectual disabilities experience tourism. The study applies phenomenology and draws on in-depth interviews with participants with intellectual disabilities focusing on their lived experiences of tourism. The tourism experience was significant and meaningful to the participants, in that tourism provided a sense of ‘normality,’ encouraged self-efficacy, and strengthened relational connections. This paper advances theory by conceptualising the nature of the tourism experience through the authentic voices and lived experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities. This lens of intellectual disability addresses a scarcity of representation in existing tourism scholarship, augmenting and advancing inclusive understandings of tourism experiences for these individuals with disabilities.
Extending Hospitality to Customers With Epilepsy
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2020) McIntosh, A
According to the World Health Organization,1 around 50 million people worldwide live with the invisible disability epilepsy. Research has found that the neurological condition is generally shown to reduce an individual’s quality of life because it impacts on personal sense of control and can limit positive life experiences.2 However, little remains known about how an individual’s experience of hospitality may be affected by the condition. This article reports on the findings of a recent study that aimed to explore the lived experiences of tourism and hospitality for people with epilepsy.3 The phenomenological in-depth study concluded that, for the most part, hospitality customers with epilepsy were unaffected by their condition. Despite this finding, the study revealed important implications for the hospitality industry in terms of the need to provide greater support and accommodation to customers with epilepsy. Although most of the study’s respondents were found to have controlled their seizures through medication, they reported needing to follow an ‘epilepsy plan’ in the event that they have a seizure when out in public based on their known triggers. To further ensure their safety, respondents reported that they only travel if accompanied by a support companion, and/or a service animal. The physical accessibility of hospitality establishments was also claimed to be important, notably in relation to wheelchair access (if required) and physical and private spaces in case of a seizure. However, one of the most significant findings was the individual’s preference for non-disclosure of their condition. As one respondent explained, “If we go into a restaurant for a meal, unless [name] had a seizure right in the middle of the meal, we probably wouldn’t say anything.” Despite regulations that prohibit the discrimination of people with disabilities, the lack of disclosure was attributed to individuals’ fear and perceived stigma in relation to the reactions of other people. Misunderstandings of the condition have been widely noted. cf4 Respondents commented that sometimes hospitality staff have been known to confuse behaviours associated with an epileptic seizure with a mental health or some other stigmatising condition. For example, some people may be quite alert during a seizure but appear ‘odd’ in terms of their behaviour; they may start tapping their feet, or decide they can smell something, or feel disconnected. Some people may appear ‘drunk and disorderly’ in their seizure pattern. As such, there is a need for greater awareness, beyond basic first aid training, of the forty different epileptic seizure types and what they might look like. This may start with gaining information about the common triggers for epileptic seizures, and how to respond, from a tailored session with a local epilepsy advocacy agency, or their online training resources. There is a need for hospitality providers to consider access, support and accommodation for people with epilepsy. The result of lack of awareness is that people with epilepsy remain restricted in their ability to enjoy life and stigmatised by their condition. An epilepsy advisor in the study explained, “It is about giving them the confidence; it is that you will look after them, you will make them secure. It is not about disabling them; it is about enabling them to cope and that’s where you go through in understanding their seizure triggers and their seizures so that they understand how to cope for themselves.” The study respondents’ advice to the hospitality industry was to become aware, informed and ‘just ask’, rather than reacting with fear and ignorance. Hospitality, to them, was related to extending a welcome to people with epilepsy into the café, restaurant, motel or hotel and asking their needs, so that if a seizure happens, hospitality workers know how to help. In the words of one respondent, “You’re made welcome, and whatever happens, you are still welcome.”
Fun Time, Finite Time: Temporal and Emotional Dimensions of Grandtravel Experiences
(Elsevier Masson, 2019) Gram, M; O'Donohoe, S; Schänzel, Heike; Marchant, C; Kastarinen, A
Grandtravel, a growing but under-researched aspect of family tourism, appears to be a rich site for exploring temporal and emotional dimensions of tourism. This interpretive study draws on interviews with grandparents and grandchildren in Denmark and New Zealand to explore the meanings, emotions and experiences associated with grandtravel. In both contexts, we suggest that this particular form of family holiday contributed to individual and intergenerational wellbeing. Specifically, we characterise grandtravel as offering fun time, finite time and also legacy time. Each time was associated with particular affective flows including joy; loss and acceptance; and hope and confidence. These affective flows fostered playmate, poignant and continuing bonds between grandparents and grandchildren, contributing to their wellbeing in multiple ways.
The Hidden Side of Travel: Epilepsy and Tourism
(Elsevier Masson, 2019-12-29) McIntosh, A
Previous tourism research has examined the barriers and travel experiences of people with physical/mobility and sensory impairments. This paper advances tourism knowledge by revealing the travel experiences of people with the invisible and stigmatising condition of epilepsy. The study employed a phenomenological approach to explore whether, and how, the hidden neurological condition affects the travel experience. Analysis of the data revealed three main themes relating to the experience of travel for individuals with epilepsy: seizure episodes; invisibility of the condition; and managing anxiety. The paper illuminates the hidden side of travel for people with epilepsy and its social stigma, and problematises the socially constructed nature of travel as mostly visible, an escape from normality, independent and authentic.
Hospitality Training As a Means of Independence for Young Adults With Learning Disabilities
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2018-10-25) McIntosh, A; Harris, C
Employment is a core plank of independent living for people with disabilities and a key part of their identity and self-esteem. Nevertheless, it is widely recorded that people with disabilities have lower employment rates than the non-disabled, and continue to experience workplace discrimination. Workers with disabilities are generally found to have greater loyalty to the company, punctuality to the job, dependability, greater levels of cooperation and dedication, and lower turnover rates and absenteeism. Representing an estimated 10–19 percent of the general population worldwide, people with disabilities are seen as an untapped source of workers for hospitality labour [1]. Yet evidence shows that the hospitality industry has, so far, been a follower rather than a leader with respect to training and employment practices for people with disabilities compared to other industries [2]. Viewing disability as a product of the disabling wider social and attitudinal barriers around disability (known as the social model of disability [3]), there is an opportunity for the hospitality industry to contribute toward positive social change. Given the need to change negative societal attitudes before there can be an increase in the employment of people with disabilities, there is an important need to examine representations of disability in hospitality training and employment. Representations are important because they set expectations around behavioural norms and can help break down barriers by influencing the perceptions of those who receive them. Applying a constructionist approach [4], this research examined how hospitality work and training is represented in the popular television documentary series The Special Needs Hotel as it relates to training for young adults with learning disabilities1 – a group who are rendered more marginalised in employment than any other group of young people with disabilities. The three-part TV series, which aired on TVNZ in 2017, followed the experiences of young people with learning disabilities as they received hands-on hospitality training at the Foxes Hotel and Academy – a specialist catering college and residential training hotel in Somerset, U.K., that is also a fully operating hotel with paying guests (http://foxesacademy.ac.uk/). Over their three years of study, learners are trained in three vocational departments – house-keeping, food preparation and food service – before being prepared to apply for and seek hospitality employment. The research found that the series positively presents hospitality training as a means of enjoyment and of ‘achieving independence’ for the young adults with learning disabilities, with coping strategies and accommodations used to ensure the learners meet the necessary ‘realistic expectations’ and requirements of hospitality work. Through the intensive hands-on training, the learners are found to successfully acquire life skills, gain independence, find hospitality employment, and make plans for the future. However, this positive representation contrasts with the fear and realities of independence and struggles with the pressures of hospitality work for the trainees themselves (struggles that are both emotional and physical due to the nature of their disability). Our research highlighted that not all learners wanted independence, and often struggled with the training; for example, the stress and speed of service delivery, difficulties in communicating with customers, and having to work alone. Lessons from this research provide the opportunity to review and vary what is expected of the ‘look and feel’ of hospitality work and service delivery in order to increase employment for people with disabilities. In particular, if left unchallenged, the stereotyping of the ‘professionalism’ expected in hospitality work and training can render people with learning disabilities as being and looking unprofessional as hospitality workers and requiring accommodation to meet the standards of ‘doing hospitality’. There is a need to give greater attention to disability awareness training, including information geared toward working alongside employees with disabilities, and HR practices. There are challenges to employers about their attitudes toward employing people with disabilities and management of the physical and service environment with regards to how they can render it welcoming or unwelcoming for employees with disabilities. Above all, this understanding can open opportunities to review and realign hospitality employment and training with ethical and non-discriminatory principles and guidelines, which are essential if the employment of people with disabilities is to be improved. As this research concluded, the inclusion of people with disabilities can make the hospitality experience more diverse, personal, meaningful, unique and memorable.
Hospitality Training for Prisoners: A Second Chance?
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2019-06) Harkison, T; McIntosh, A
Noting rising statistics relating to incarceration and reoffending, there has been increased attention given to analysing the delivery, effectiveness and challenges of hospitality training and employment programmes for rehabilitating prisoners. The stigma of having a criminal record and being unreliable and untrustworthy remains a significant barrier for prisoners in gaining employment. This stigma may be compounded by a prisoner’s lack of skills, education, social problems and poor (physical and mental) health. However, there are now an increasing number of prisons around the world offering qualifications in catering, or a hospitality social enterprise such as a jailhouse café; for example, the Verne café and The Clink restaurants in the U.K. Our research sought to fill a gap in understanding about how the public feel about such initiatives, which aim to give prisoners a second chance. Using the case study of the very successful annual ‘Gate to Plate’ event in Wellington, our research gained various perspectives on the use of this prison event as a social model of rehabilitation through hospitality training. Specifically, we used thematic analysis [1] to analyse public information sources about the event. Sources included newspaper articles, trade magazines, social media, information taken from the New Zealand Department of Corrections website, independent reviews of the event, and a radio interview with one of the inmates. Since 2012, local industry chefs and minimum-security prisoner-cooks from Rimutaka prison have teamed together to produce fine dining cuisine for the annual ‘Wellington on a Plate’ festival – a festival designed to showcase the region’s food and beverages. The inmates are usually experienced in cooking and working towards a cooking qualification. During the ‘Gate to Plate’ event as part of the Wellington festival, Rimutaka prison hosts 160 paying members of the public and more than 60 stakeholders over three nights. After clearing security and a briefing, guests experience a glimpse of ‘life inside’ and are served a three-course dinner in the Staff Training College followed by a question and answer session with the prisoner-cooks. The event is an innovative way to show the public the work happening to rehabilitate prisoners, and an opportunity to break down the negative stereotypes of offenders. Our research revealed three common themes in the content of the public information sources we analysed. The themes were: ‘breaking the stereotypes’; ‘pride and passion to make a difference’; and ‘training for rehabilitation’. The first theme emerged from comments by chefs, journalists and other guests on their change in attitude toward a more positive perception of prisoners as a result of attending the event, suggesting that this type of initiative may enable transformation in terms of social identity. The second theme saw inmates commonly discussing their passion and desire to ‘make a difference’ for themselves; a fresh start. Thus, the passion of volunteering in such an event can provide a sense of new meaning for a new future. The third theme related to common positive reports of the importance of in-prison training and qualifications for rehabilitation. While this paper makes no claim about the effectiveness of the ‘Gate to Plate’ event as a reforming rehabilitation practice for prisoners, there is mounting evidence worldwide to suggest that in-prison training and post-release employment programmes can successfully assist prisoners to remain custody free post-release (e.g. [2]). As such, we encourage further research to examine how hospitality training and employment may provide a positive opportunity to change lives through enabling a second chance. This research was presented at the CHME (Council of Hospitality Management Education) conference in May 2019 at the University of Greenwich in England.
How Hospitable Is Aotearoa New Zealand to Refugees?
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2020-03-02) McIntosh, A; Cockburn-Wootten, C
Following the tragic events of the Christchurch shooting on 15th March 2019, New Zealanders projected a national image of hospitality towards Muslim New Zealanders, involving an Islamic call to prayer in Parliament, and women wearing hijab in solidarity – unique public demonstrations of compassion and inclusion. In 2020, the New Zealand government will raise its refugee quota to 1,500 refugees per year as part of its United Nations obligations and remove its race-based aspects [1]. Globally, there are vast displacements of people fleeing persecution and economic oppression [2]. Arguably, despite its small refugee resettlement quota, New Zealand appears hospitable. Yet our study reveals a context within which negative economic, social and political factors dominate policy and practices. It similarly highlights ways in which New Zealand’s hospitality towards refugees is paternalistic and interventionist, even if not deliberately [3]. ‘Being hospitable’ is typically defined as a social relation that accompanies the ideologies and unconditional practices of ‘welcome’ [4]. As an act of welcome, hospitality gives ethical recognition to the stranger. This practice of hospitality enables and resonates a feeling of belonging and inclusion. However, the intrinsic nature of hospitality may foster exclusion as well as inclusion. The Christchurch incident arose from an act of unwelcome and a false sense of security from authorities as previous discrimination reported by the local refugee Muslim community was ignored. As such, key questions remain about how hospitable New Zealand is to refugees. When refugees are resettled into a destination, refugee-focused service providers (including not-for-profits, community groups and NGOs) offer frontline services to ease refugees’ experiences of trauma and marginalisation. They provide advocacy and welcome through reception processes, translation services and multicultural centres. We facilitated a national think tank attended by 34 refugee-focused service providers to examine how they practice a hospitable welcome through their advocacy and frontline services and how the welcome could be improved. Participants identified the need for greater collaboration and communication between refugee-focused service providers to enhance trust, relationships, to enable former refugees to feel safe in voicing their concerns and access services, and to reduce the competition and duplication of service provision in the face of scarce funding. They also recognised the need to increase attention to the notion of welcome and advocacy by adopting practices from non-interventionist actions that draw on the notion of welcome as empathetic, warm and connecting, with minimum rules, and to centre refugee voices with their active participation in policy development, service delivery and social inclusion activities. Participants also advocated continued efforts by the media and wider community to reduce discrimination and negative social dialogue around refugees and to encourage their social inclusion. To achieve these outcomes, participants raised the need to address the important issues of underfunding and strategy underpinning the delivery of refugee-focused service provision. Overall, our findings suggest that beneath the initial welcoming surface, an alternative perspective may be concealed that restricts us from providing a broader inclusive hospitality and welcome into Aotearoa New Zealand. To bridge this potential impasse, a more humanistic approach is potentially required, where refugees actively co-create the critical framing of hospitality [5, 6] to better support their resettlement.
Improving the Accessibility of the Tourism Industry in New Zealand
(MDPI AG, 2020) Cockburn-Wootten, C; McIntosh, A
Internationally, the accessible tourism market has been identified as a growing segment that could lead the way for social inclusiveness, as well as providing the industry with financial gains and destination competitiveness. Despite the increased number of people who travel with access requirements, the sector still lacks an understanding of the expectations and experiences of access tourists. Accessible tourism covers an array of impairments from people who are immobile, visually impaired, an invisible impairment, parents with pushchairs, and seniors. The purpose of this study was to understand the expectations and experiences of the access consumer to suggest improvements for accessibility for the New Zealand tourism sector. The social model of disability was adopted to examine the sector and framed the semi-structured interviews with access consumers. Key results identified from the data were the need to achieve dignity in service offerings to gain experiences that facilitate independence and equity of access, access to information before the travel that is clear and accurate to aid planning, and accessible transport and education. In conclusion, the paper calls for the New Zealand tourism industry to align with the Disability Strategy sustainability goals to achieve equity and inclusion and create enjoyable accessible experiences in their tourist offerings.
Investigating Cuisine Experiences in the Maldives: A Novel Research Method Utilising Tasting Buffets
(Ingenta, 2021) Shenaan, M; Schänzel, Heike; Berno, T
Food as a tourist activity offers the rare prospect of fulfilling all five senses, especially taste, and heightening experiences. For food studies in tourism, taking part in the act of eating and drinking as part of the research design is rare. This study aims to address this methodological gap by introducing tasting buffets as a novel research method. Buffets, which included local dishes, were arranged at three guesthouses on three different local islands in the Maldives. International tourists staying in guesthouses were recruited to sample the dishes and were then invited to participate in interviews about their experiences, perceptions, and sensory memories of food. Various themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews, including food neophilia and neophobia, food to explore local culture, indifference to food, and the connection be-tween food, memories, and sensory recall. The study offers an effective and practical meth-odological contribution towards embodiment in tourism food research. It offers a valuable method to prompt discussions of local cuisines, unfamiliar cuisines, and holiday food memo-ries, behaviours, and intentions. The efficient, practical, and useful methods utilised in this explorative study can be used as a blueprint for future food tourism studies, to explore food sensations and sensory memory recall related to food experiences.
The ‘MeBox’ Method and the Emotional Effects of Chronic Illness on Travel
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Ramanayake, U; Cockburn-Wootten, C; McIntosh, A
Within tourism studies, there has been a gap in attempting to understand chronic illness within the context of travel. Researchers examining affective tourism have noted that much of everyday life endeavours to create order through ‘ontological security’ for individuals. In creating this sense of order, positivity and emotional security are emphasised, while taboo issues such as death, pain and chronic illness are ‘bracketed off’. Despite these attempts at bracketing, travel experiences can prompt individuals to reflect on their own mortality, existence and purpose, which in turn may reshape their travel experiences. For senior travellers, chronic illness may be part of their everyday reality, challenging the individual’s sense of self, time and relationships with places, things and people. These topics can be challenging for data collection, because such experiences can be hidden, emotion-laden, difficult to articulate or difficult for others to observe. Researchers have noted the methodological challenges with the use of traditional data tools and have turned to creative visual methods to facilitate and gain deeper understandings of participants’ experiences of chronic illnesses. We used one creative visual tool, the ‘MeBox’ method, to study the hidden aspects of chronic illness and to understand the embodied experience of chronic illness in the context of their travel. The ‘MeBox’ method was created to understand and communicate the participants’ multifaceted experience of chronic illness. The ‘MeBox’ method contributes to tourism scholarship, particularly for sensitive topics, by facilitating the inclusion of participants’ voices to capture their affective travel experiences. This method usefully represents the deeper emotionality of tourists’ lived experience that may have otherwise remained invisible to others.
Online Communications of Accessibility in Hotel Restaurants
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2020) Shetty, E; McIntosh, A
Previous attention to examining how well hotels cater to the access needs of customers with disabilities has predominantly focused on problematic hotel infrastructure, bathroom facilities, service failures and a lack of knowledge among industry workers in dealing with customers with disabilities. This study examined the online information available on hotel websites to uncover best practices of those New Zealand hotels viewed as accessibility champions. The focus of the study was the online communications about the accessibility of hotel restaurants, given the lack of scholarly attention to the accessibility of the hotel dining experience in New Zealand’s hotels and the rhetoric of those organisations championing accessibility. The concept of accessible tourism has gained attention in tourism studies. Its focus is enabling people with access requirements/disabilities, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently with equity and dignity through the provision of universally designed tourism products, services, and environments.1 There is a need for tourism and hospitality champions to encourage the take-up of the accessibility agenda so that others may follow from their example in the pursuit of social change. Without efforts to champion change, customers with disabilities may remain marginalised and excluded, find it difficult to access information and experience barriers to the dining experience (e.g. aisles not wide enough, difficulty reading menus, lack of support accessing buffets, etc.). Current research still reports many barriers to accessing transport, buildings, services and accessibility information, as well as social barriers imposed by negative attitudes from service providers.2 Organisations’ websites play a very important role for hotels as they promote customer reviews, as well as the espoused values of the organisation and the championing of a particular cause. Very rarely have hotel websites been used to look at rhetoric, or the persuasive types of language for social change, and the best practices implemented by accessibility champions. We examined the website communications of three case study New Zealand hotel restaurants, deemed champions in accessible best practice, to determine their strategies and tactics for accessibility, and critically examined the rhetoric of accessibility communicated online on their websites. We followed the methodology employed by Greenwood et al.,3 involving categorical, content and rhetoric analysis of the visual design, content, language and meaning of the website communications in relation to the hotel’s accessibility agenda. The limited available information about accessibility communicated online is a noted limitation of the research. The study revealed common use of high colour contrast for the accessible visual display of information on the websites, and the use of a two-step click process to access accessible information quickly and easily. Common to three hotels’ communications was promotion of logos of their accreditations with social change organisations, photos including employees with disabilities in their workforce, use of inclusive language (e.g. the term ‘accessibility’ was preferred to ‘disability’), and the effective use of inclusive imagery (e.g. the interior of the restaurant with a sign language menu on the wall). Examples of common tactics used by the hotels included provision of Braille/Sign Language menus, accessible restaurant and bar areas, and availability of trained restaurant staff to support customers with disabilities (e.g. staff who can speak New Zealand Sign Language, or who are trained for general disability support). Common rhetoric included commonly communicated themes around accessibility for all (e.g. “It’s about removing discrimination”), persuasion for the inclusion of people with disabilities (e.g. “true accessibility means empowering people”), validity of the accessible facilities provided (e.g. through displaying their accessibility rating), and persuasion for social change (e.g. “A 100% accessible society can only be achieved through a commitment from us all”). New Zealand statistics indicate that one in four New Zealanders live with a disability, and 60% of adults are over the age of 45.4 The growing disability rates and ageing population in New Zealand, and the opportunity for change in a post-pandemic climate, are pressing reasons to make greater accessibility efforts in the hotel industry. Existing champions, through their best practices and persuasions for social change, can inspire other hotels who have not yet thought about accessibility of their services. More champions of social change are urgently needed.
Online Information for Visitors About the Accessibility of Museums in New Zealand
(Auckland University of Technology, 2021) Upson, Laura Dannielle; McIntosh, Alison; Gillovic, Brielle
Research attests to the reality that people with disabilities are not provided for, or offered the same opportunities as those without disabilities; nor are they seen as a valued market segment of the tourism sector. Accessible tourism is viewed as the opportunity to enable people with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in tourism services and environments, with the same level of independence, equity, and dignity. For museums within the tourism sector, it is important that they consider the importance of accessibility and information provision, because if they do not, people with disabilities miss out on the museum experience as a whole, so they are not capturing or providing for an important market. The aim of this research was to examine the current provision of online information for visitors about the accessibility of five selected museums in New Zealand: Auckland Museum, Puke Ariki, Te Papa, Canterbury Museum, and Otago Museum. The research had two key objectives. Firstly, it aimed to critically examine the online website content of selected museums in New Zealand to determine the extent to which they communicated information about the accessibility of a museum visit. Secondly, it aimed to benchmark the website content provision of the selected museums against international tourism accessibility standards. This was achieved through the implementation of a content analysis and a case study methodology; the research adopted a qualitative and interpretive approach. The findings of this research revealed conclusions about website navigation, the inclusive approach of website communications, content about accessibility, and access to the museum experience, in the five selected museums. This research concluded that there are multiple gaps between the international accessibility standards of best practice, and the practices of the selected museums in New Zealand. To meet international accessibility best practice, it is important that New Zealand guides or sets recommendations for accessibility standards to which tourism organisations can refer. The contribution this research brings is that it identifies and highlights the online information provision and accessibility problems that museums in New Zealand are not solving for people with disabilities.

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