Easy English for leisure and travel

Access Easy English
4 min readOct 21, 2024

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The Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Conference. AITCAP 2024 Melbourne/Naarm

That’s right, people with disabilities like going on holidays too! It does make the holiday heaps more fun if it’s accessible and inclusive. So last month there was a conference all about that. Access Easy English was one of the exhibitors.

Cathy and I met many tourism operators who were amazed at how Easy English can:

· make it possible for information about their event or service or product be understood

· help their event or service or product to be truly inclusive

· assist the 44% of Australian adults who do not have the literacy skills to manage day-to-day reading tasks. Yes, that stat had everyone gobsmacked!

Photo 1. 2 Access Easy English staff at their exhibition space. Photo 2. staff talking to a delegate.
Cathy and Julie working at the exhibition.

We pointed out that access and inclusion isn’t just about installing ramps, having accessible vehicles and beach wheelchairs. People with low literacy need to be able to read about that fact, and see that content in places they go. People with low literacy go on holidays, go out for the day and go to the city. They go to the movies and festivals and other local and larger activities. Providing information about events or tours or what to do at a destination or stories about the event afterwards in Easy English clearly indicates that you value your current or future customers.

Do you remember the last time you travelled without access to the internet? Maybe you were in a rural community with poor internet access or overseas without internet roaming available everywhere you went. How excluded did that feel? Well….only 2 in 5 adults are able to use the internet effectively. We talked with many tourism operators about this huge unspoken need.

We shared our website www.readee.com.au to showcase how we can assist you in reducing some of these barriers. It is ironic the most visited part of our new website, the section on ‘Things you can do’, has very little available in Easy English. Talk to us about having your events and festivals and destinations in Easy English to be more readable and available to all people with low literacy.

Here are some of our projects for accessible and inclusive tourism

Front covers to 4 Easy English projects for leisure and travel. Topics with orgnasiotns in links listed below image.
4 different projects for leisure and enjoyment. Links listed below

Nillimbuk Council (Victoria) Recreation and Leisure plan 2022 to 2030.

Merribek Art show at the Coulihan Gallery 2023.

Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts, Australia (DADAA) Art Show

Women with Disabilities Australia Art contest. 2021

There is so much information we want, so that we can get out and about and participate in everything there is to offer.

Front covers to 4 further Easy English projects for leisure and travel. Topics with organisations in links listed below image.
4 different projects for leisure and enjoyment. Links listed below

Parks Victoria Disability Access and Inclusion plan 2022–2026

City of Adelaide Disability Access and Inclusion plan 2024–2028

City of Parramatta. Quarterly council newsletter. Summer 2022

Franskton City Council. Parking Permit. (now out of date)

Have you thought about how people get to your event, or times that things start or privacy or risk waivers? All these must be in Easy English to ensure we can all be included.

International conference. General information and about the plenary sessions.

This conference program ands content is from August this year at the International Association on the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities conference, Chicago 2024. IASSIDD

But don’t forget things like sign up forms, or buying tickets, times and places for events, privacy and fees. This content is just as critical.

Be one of the very first to really be an accessible and inclusive tourism operator. Talk to us about how to have your content and information in Easy English for all people with low literacy.

Julie — Specialist content writer

Cathy — Founder

Access Easy English
Office phone: 0466 579 855

Email: julie@accesseasyenglish.com.au or Cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/ and www.readee.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish
LinkedIn: Access Easy English and Cathy Basterfield
Twitter: @accesseasyengli

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Access Easy English

Award winning creators of Easy English. Based in Australia, working across all states & territories. International partnerships