Sensory Tourism Australia partners with Cocky Guides to lead blind and low-vision travellers on famil trips

Sensory Tourism Australia has partnered with Cocky Guides to lead groups of blind and low-vision travellers on famil trips to selected regions across Australia.

These famils share knowledge, create inclusive content and promote accessible tourism across regions.

“There has been plenty of infrastructure investment and training with attractions, properties and tour operators around accessible tourism, particularly the last couple of years,” Sensory Tourism Australia director and co-founder Kellie Hayes said.

“We want to keep this momentum going and ensure travellers with accessible needs are active in the community and experiencing improvements, whether this is infrastructure of staff training. Cocky Guides has been making this happen regularly with groups of blind and low-vision travellers since 2018. Our role at Sensory Tourism Australia is to ensure that conversations around accessible tourism, in particular, service excellence, continue both before, and after we visit regions with travellers led by Cocky Guides.”

Creating a famil across a region was an idea developed and executed in 2024 through a collaboration with Sensory Tourism Australia and Destination Port Stephens. Destination Port Stephens wanted to showcase its members’ accessible tourism offer to blind and low-vision travellers and improve confidence in local businesses wishing to learn more about accessible and inclusive tourism.

“Many of our local tourism industry members want to do more to improve accessibility and be more inclusive, but don’t know where to begin,” Destination Port Stephens industry event manager Mel Turner said.

“Others have invested substantially in their business and are keen to showcase their venue. Wherever a venue or attractions is on its accessible tourism journey, it’s great to have organisations like Sensory Tourism Australia and Cocky Guides available to do regular visits to our members tourism businesses with travellers who have lived experience. It builds confidence for everybody involved.”

During the Port Stephens famil, blind and low-vision travellers visited Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters, where they jumped into a wetsuit to get close to the sharks and rays. The first encounter was in a shallow lagoon where the rays swam around their feet while the travellers got to feed them. The highlight of the visit was the Zebra Shark Encounter, held in a deeper tropical lagoon. Travellers sat on a shallow ledge of the lagoon as the shark swam right up their legs, allowing travellers to reach out and feel the shark’s rough texture.

“Irukandji has always been passionate about inclusion, especially focusing on unique, tailored visits,” Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters owner and director Lia Pereira said.

“Being part of the Port Stephens famil with Sensory Tourism Australia was lovely. I was surprised to discover we were already leading the field in what was, in our eyes, a given. For all tourism operators starting or wanting to grow in the industry, reach out and be part of a famil. The program is professional, provides the best cooperative visits, and is terrific for melding new staff.”

Sensory Tourism Australia now seek expressions of interest from Regional Tourism Organisations and Local Government keen to get involved with their local tourism businesses to continue the accessible tourism conversation and learn more about hosting a regional famil for blind and low-vision travellers with Cocky Guides. After each regional famil, business owners can talk to Sensory Tourism Australia to see how they can package their product or experience ready for travellers with accessible needs.