San Diego, California Disabled Tour Company wins 2000 Paralympics Contract

By Marc Krizack (krizack@sfsu.edu)
 

Neverland Tours, a disabled run travel company that hosts tours to Australia for people with disabilities, has won a contract from the International Paralympics Committee to run hospitality tours coinciding with the 2000 Paralympics to be held in Sydney in October.

"We're very excited about this opportunity," said Neverland's Andy Huesing. "They really didn't know how to handle the large numbers of disabled athletes and tourists, so they were glad to hand it off to us."

In August, prior to the Paralympics, Neverland will be running an Australia trip in cooperation with On A Roll radio talk show host Greg Smith. Smith, a 20-year radio veteran, created On A Roll as a local Phoenix, Arizona, program in 1992. The show has grown steadily and developed a loyal following in the nationwide disability community. It now airs in 18 markets and on the Internet live weekly at www.onarollradio.com.

"It's going to be a lot of fun, "beamed Smith. "A lot of people would not consider doing something like this without the comfort zone of knowing that Neverland has done this before." Smith expects most of the people who sign up for the August tour will be listeners of his radio program.

Neverland was founded in 1994 by Andy Huesing, a C-7 quad from San Diego, California and Rod Gothe, an Australian with mild Cerebral Palsy. Huesing met Gothe when he and his girlfriend were visiting Cairns in the Queensland region of Northern Australia. "He was the only other person in a wheelchair, so I stopped him," said Huesing. "We went for tea and by the time we finished our tea we had decided to form the company."

All of Neverland's tours are kept deliberately small. Usually there are less than twelve people on the tour, not counting staff. This makes it easier for Neverland staff to ensure that everyone's disability can be accommodated. Even with such small tours, Neverland has been able to offer competitive prices because the hotels which they use give Neverland the same discounts which are normally given only to groups of at least 18-20 travellers.

Huesing is particularly proud of the work his company has done to raise disability awareness among hotels and businesses which cater to the tourist industry. He noted that a particular hot air balloon company would not take a person in a wheelchair before Neverland approached them. Neverland helped change seating in the balloon and provided a chase car to carry the wheelchair to the landing spot (wherever that might be). Now, hot air ballooning is a regular feature on Neverland tours.

Huesing assures that all activities and accommodations on Neverland tours have been verified to be fully accessible. He also noted that "one of [Neverland's] biggest strengths is how resourceful we are. If there are problems, we come up with solutions then and there." As evidence of his preparedness, Huesing points out that he brings on each of his tours the power plugs for "every type of wheelchair made today."

"When it comes to disability, we've done our homework," says Huesing. "Any problems we have on the trips are not disability-related. They're the unexpected things that can happen with any tour company."

You can contact Neverland by e-mail at neverland@home.com or visit their web site at www.neverland-adventures.com.