To celebrate National AccessAbility Week from May 30 to June 5, Travel Penticton will be working to improve accessibility so more people with mobility challenges can enjoy the many great attractions Penticton has to offer.
Travel Penticton wants to make sure the city is seen as an inclusive and accessible destination for all visitors.
The work will be spearheaded by Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) regional accessibility specialist Sonja Gaudet and Nancy Harris of Spinal Cord Injury BC as they collaborate with Travel Penticton to research and gather data that will help with the development of a new app that shares accessibility information around the world.
The AccessNow App is a grassroots social start-up with a mission to share accessibility information around the world by mapping as many places as possible using crowd-sourcing.
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Every pin added to the app highlights the accessibility of that exact location. Anyone with the app is able to contribute by adding pins and reviewing the accessibility of anywhere in the world. AccessNow is available to download on Android at Google Play and for IPhone in the App Store.
To find out more about the app visit, accessnow.com.
Harris and Gaudet will be in Penticton doing accessibility research over the next few days.
Travel Penticton special project manager Jo Charnock said improving accessibility is key to Penticton’s growth and development as a city.
“We have been working in partnership with Spinal Cord Injury BC and TOTA for a couple of years now to raise awareness about universal design and the benefits of a more accessible community for residents, business owners and visitors,” said Charnock. “Our continued collaboration will shine a light on the accessible and inclusive visitor experiences that Penticton has to offer, which is integral to the future growth and success of tourism in our city.”
Travel Penticton is encouraging all of the city’s tourism businesses to find out more about accessible tourism and how they can contribute to making the community available to all.
For further information about the accessibility program email jo.charnock@visitpenticton.com.
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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