Keroul - Wednesday 28th April

Back to work....I spent the day with Andre leCLerc and his team at Keroul in Montreal today. What a great day. This organisation is doing a number of the things that we can see IDEAS doing....we can learn a lot from them. Keroul have specialised in supporting accessible tourism for people with disability in Quebec for 30 years and have a wealth of experience and knowledge. I spent time with the executive team, Research and Development team as well as peopel working on their Äccessible Road project. The dedicated staff of 8 people were wonderful hosts and I can't thank them enough for their time. I came away from the day armed with a mountain of papers, reports and tools to research and review as well as a genuine hockey puck. Great ambassadors for Quebec; it was so nice to connect with colleagues in our field.I will meet again with people from Keroul at the Transed Conference in Hong Kong. www.keroul.qc.ca if you would like to see what they do or www.larouteaccessible.com which is another of their websites.

New York - Friday 16th April

Yesterday’s meeting with Jani Nayar from SATH (Society for accessible travel and hospitality) was another wonderful couple of hours where Jani confirmed my thoughts about the state of play in the USA. Similar issues, same problems with finding the solutions. How to collect accurate information across large geographic areas using the assistance of local people? Again, Jani gave me new names and contacts for me to meet along the way. It is obvious that Jani has a very positive outlook and a lot of energy that she put to this cause. She and I discovered many similarities and other areas where we can certainly learn from others experiences. I will meet up again with Jani in Hong Kong.

Loved New York – again we visited iconic tourist destinations – Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Macy’s, Central Park and the Guggenheim.

Sunday 11th April 2010

I have had two days in San Francisco investigating the tourist sights. People with Disabilities seem to be catered for pretty well, even with the hilly environment. A lot of the bus system (and train system) seems to be accessible. My meeting with Bonnie on Tuesday will confirm this for me and give me a better indication. The Tourist Information Centre was also closed today so I will have to visit there on Monday to obtain the information I am after. Visiting the major tourist attractions would be relatively accessible and if you stay away from the accommodation in the hilly areas a lot of the area seems to be accessible. It is a great destination.I have also spent time sorting out the technical side of things - getting the Smart Pen to work, arranging for mobile phone etc in the states and getting the Wifi internet connection at the hotel to work (they are blaming the rain).
Ready to begin my appointment schedule tomorrow, looking forward to meeting up with Scott Rains.