Singapore's third, five-year Enabling Masterplan
- to guide the development of policies and services for people with
disabilities - is being drawn up and is expected to be ready by next year.
Priscilla Goyvisited Stockholm in May to see what can be learnt from the
Swedes.
At
Scandic Hotels in Stockholm, some rooms have two door peepholes - one is at
standing height and the other is at sitting level .
TV remote
controls are placed on the bedside table, rather than on top of the TV sets. In
the restaurants, cups are not placed on high shelves. An able-bodied guest is
unlikely to notice, but these are some of the accessibility features for guests
using wheelchairs.
Scandic's
accessibility ambassador Magnus Berglund told The Straits Times: "All the
improvements we're making don't just benefit guests with disabilities.
Comforts, such as remote controls, were originally designed to help the
disabled, but that doesn't stop everyone else from being able to benefit."
Other
efforts to serve guests with special needs include giving hotel factsheets in
Braille for those who are blind and vibrating alarm clocks, which can also
function as fire alarms, for guests who are deaf.
The
Sweden-based hotel chain has won several international awards for its
accessibility work. Scandic is believed to be the first hotel chain in the
world to have accessibility information on each of its 230 hotels in seven
European countries on the hotels' respective websites.
It also
has an "accessibility standard" online - a list of building and room
features that should be available for people with special needs.
The list
of 135 points covers every aspect of a hotel - from the parking area and lobby
reception, to meeting rooms and guest rooms.
Ninety of
the 135 points are mandatory for all hotels; new or renovated hotels must meet
all 135 points. At least 10 per cent of the rooms in new hotels must be
"accessible rooms".
In 2013,
Scandic also became the first hotel chain to offer an interactive online course
with advice and quizzes on how to provide the best service to guests with
special needs.
Anyone
can view the half-hour free video online. Tips include how to present food to
guests who are blind: staff are advised to use the clock reference system when
describing where the food is on a plate.
Said Mr
Berglund: "Improving accessibility is not always about investing in the
building. Many times, it's the small things in our service to guests that make
a big difference."
He worked
at Scandic as a chef, before being diagnosed in 1998 with rheumatism, which
affects his muscles and joints.
After
five years of medical leave, he returned to Scandic and persuaded the group to
improve accessibility, as it made good business sense.
"We've
seen people book our hotels for conferences because of the accessibility. One
wheelchair user can influence the venue choice for 400 other delegates,"
he said.
The
potential market of travellers with disabilities is large. About a billion
people, or 15 per cent of the world's population, have a disability. Travel
publisher Lonely Planet launched an e-book of resources on accessible travel in
January.
Mr
Abhimanyau Pal, executive director of SPD which helps people with disabilities
in Singapore, said the accessible tourism market is growing. "With the
elderly being more affluent and well-travelled, it could be a viable business
proposition to... cater to the needs of these holidaymakers," he said.
In
Singapore, new hotels and those undergoing major renovations must have one
accessible room for every 100 rooms, and one in every 50 rooms should have
elderly-friendly features such as grab bars in toilets.
But
Disabled People's Association executive director Marissa Lee Medjeral-Mills
said the number of accessible rooms is "still too low".
A check
on the Building and Construction Authority's Our Friendly Built Environment
Portal found that only eight hotels and resorts have a four- or five-star
rating for "(user-)friendliness level".
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