Accessibility
Adaptive skier riding the F15 Run at SilverStar Mountain Resort | Reuben Krabbe
An Inclusive and Accessible Tourism Industry
An inclusive and accessible tourism industry means eliminating and preventing barriers to ensure greater opportunities for equity deserving groups. This work spans well beyond our built environment and includes employment and marketing efforts, and it begins by creating awareness.
Destination BC actively supports the development and improvement of accessible tourism products, services, and activities to help ensure every person can participate in BC’s transformative experiences. We recognize we can play a greater role in supporting a more inclusive destination for women, Indigenous peoples, persons of colour, people with disabilities and/or the LGBTQIA2S+ community, all who continue to face systemic barriers in society. In doing so, Destination BC will build greater capacity in the tourism industry by providing more tools and resources to support inclusion. By working with partners in the tourism ecosystem to identify roles and responsibilities, we can understand where to provide the best value for supporting the inclusion of equity deserving groups within the tourism industry and amongst visitors.
Destination BC’s Accessibility & Inclusion Committee
Accessibility is a key pillar of Destination BC’s organizational commitments, both in culture and approach, and we believe in equity-based access that acknowledges lived-experience as unique and intersectional.
Our aim is to ensure Destination BC’s Accessibility and Inclusion Committee (AIC) supports us in meaningful implementation of the Accessible British Columbia Act and Regulation, furthering our goal to authentically identify, remove, and prevent barriers to individuals in, or interacting with, Destination BC in the pursuit of a more inclusive and accessible tourism industry.
Volksmarch Trail overlooking the hoodoos.
“Tourism is one of the most diverse industries in the world, and changing systemic inequalities will take all of us working together – our employees, suppliers, partners, tourism communities, and the tourism industry as a whole.
We have a great opportunity to better authentically represent communities in BC, understand how others encounter the world, and ensure tourism experiences are safe, accessible, and inclusive.”
– Richard Porges, President & CEO of Destination BC
Strategic Framework and Action Plan
In Support of the Accessible British Columbia Act
Our commitment to building a province that is accessible to all travelers of varying abilities started with “Toward an Inclusive and Accessible British Columbia Tourism Industry”, a three-year strategic framework and action plan that was developed in 2019. This framework aims to build capacity within the industry and champion meaningful tourism employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
The framework outlines several deliverables, including the development of educational resources to help tourism businesses in BC build a better understanding of accessible travel needs and the benefits of hiring people with diverse abilities; improving and enhancing accessibility planning and travel information on HelloBC.com; providing ongoing assistance to the Provincial Government’s Accessibility Secretariat; partnering with Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) to create a new accessible tourism business recognition award; and others.
To view all deliverables, review the framework here.
Destination BC’s commitment to accessibility supports the Government of BC’s goals to elevate BC into the most progressive province in Canada for people with disabilities and in support of Accessible British Columbia Act implementation. Work will complement the Accessible Canada Act, and advance the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Visitors to our consumer trip-planning website, HelloBC.com, are able to search for accessible accommodation, attractions, activities, and experiences. If you are a BC tourism business, you are encouraged to add your business’s accessibility features to your HelloBC Listing to ensure your business appears in the results.
