Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) launches Singapore’s first accessible beach track and inclusive tours: What you need to know?

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) today launched Singapore’s first accessible beach track and a series of inclusive tours led by persons with disabilities (PwDs), marking a significant milestone in its commitment to becoming a more inclusive tourist destination.

These innovative initiatives are designed to enhance the visitor experience for everyone, regardless of physical ability or mobility challenges, and to set a new standard for accessibility in tourism.

The accessible beach track and inclusive tours are part of Sentosa’s broader vision to be an inclusivetourism destination and workplace that caters to the diverse needs of all visitors and colleagues.

This initiative aligns with SDC’s accessibility approach to holistically consider island infrastructure, offerings and programming to the specialised training of employees to assimilate guests and colleagues who are differently abled.

The design of developments on Sentosa already includes accessible entrances, pathways and lifts across more than 30 locations on the island including hotels, attractions and dining outlets.

The recent island addition, Sentosa Sensoryscape, incorporates low-gradient walks and lifts, suitable forwheelchair users and parents with baby prams, aligned to Universal Design1 guidelines.

Beyond strengthening the inclusive proposition, today’s new trial takes pioneering inclusive tourism to the next level by test-bedding the accessible beach track as well as introducing wheelchair-friendly adventure for guests.

Pioneering Accessible Beach TrackThe new accessible beach track, a pioneering project in Singapore, is designed to provide a seamless andenjoyable experience for visitors with mobility challenges.

The track features a 23-metre-long slip-resistant and sturdy surface that extends from Emerald Pavilion across the picturesque Siloso Beach, ensuring that guests of all abilities, including strollers, can have a means to access the beach and the sand, along with accessible restrooms and amenities along the route.

These new initiatives were launched today at the ‘Beyond the Waves’ event, which was co-organised bySDC and SG Enable, and supported by Republic Polytechnic.

The event brought together persons with disabilities, such as ex-Paralympic medallist Theresa Goh, social service organisations, and members of the public to foster greater inclusion and promote a deeper understanding towards the lived experiences of persons with disabilities.

The beach track will also allow accessibility-challenged guests to experience the sandy beach for the first time with ease while collecting valuable feedback for future initiatives in inclusivity on the island.

The track will be trialled from now until 31 October 2024. Visitor feedback will be collected via a QR codelocated near the track, which will help SDC to further assess its feasibility of scaling up on other beacheson the island.

This new trial at Siloso Beach will add to the range of inclusive activities already on our beaches, includingstand-up paddling programme for persons with autism held at Ola Beach Club, further enhancing ourproposition as an inclusive and welcoming destination for everyone.

Inclusive Island AdventuresComplementing the island’s first accessible beach track, SDC also recently introduced the Sentosa WheelVenture Accessibility Tour, a five-hour adventure designed for and led by persons with disabilities.

This first of its kind tour includes an accessible route to attractions such as Sentosa Nature Discovery, SkyHelix Sentosa, Palawan Beach and UltraGolf at The Palawan @ Sentosa.

Each tour aims to provide an enriching and enjoyable experience, ensuring that every mobility-challenged visitor can explore and appreciate the island’s attractions.

Sentosa’s Commitment to Inclusivity on the IslandSDC is fully dedicated to being a world-class destination with many fulfilling experiences to visitors of allabilities.

Apart from pioneering the accessible track and introducing inclusive tours, the organisation alsoinitiated the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Accessible & Inclusive Travel Course, which aimsto empower all employees to gain deeper insights and to acquire practical strategies to provide exceptional experiences to individuals of all abilities.

Beyond training, SDC is also actively exploring additional enhancements and developments to furthersupport and enrich the experiences of persons with disabilities, such as enabling Eye-Able on the Sentosawebsite, allowing for greater digital accessibility for guests on the website to plan their trip to the island.

Our commitment to developing an inclusive destination is evident since the signing of the Sentosa CaresMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SG Enable and Ministry of Social and Family Development last year, which aims to support PwDs and families with children living in public rental housing under theComLink initiative by providing them employment opportunities on the island

Since October 2023, more than 200 employees across Sentosa have undergone disability awarenessworkshops with Enabling Academy by SG Enable as part of their onboarding programme.

The training not only equipped them with the knowledge and skills to better integrate colleagues with disabilities in the workplace, but also provide quality guest experience to those with disabilities or special needs.

In addition, Island Partners such as Capella Singapore and Mount Faber Leisure Group who have hired persons with disabilities have attained the national Enabling Mark (Silver) accreditation, recognising their best practices and commitment to inclusive hiring.

“We are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where guests of all abilities can experience the joyand beauty of our island and our beloved beaches.

With the trial of Singapore’s first accessible beach track and our new range of inclusive tours, we are setting a new benchmark and taking a significant step toward making our destination welcoming and enjoyable for all.

“SG Enable is dedicated to enabling persons with disabilities to live, learn, work, and play in an inclusivesociety.

The accessible beach track and inclusive tours are groundbreaking steps towards ensuring thateveryone can enjoy Sentosa’s island offerings.