VANCOUVER - The Province is providing a one-time grant of $1.14 million to 2010 Legacies Now to ensure that people with disabilities, mobility impairments or other challenges can enjoy all that British Columbia has to offer, Employment and Income Assistance Minister Claude Richmond announced today.

"Tourism is a major economic driver in British Columbia," said Richmond. "We know that people with disabilities can greatly contribute to the strength of this industry if we make sure that our spectacular attractions, and tourism infrastructure, are fully accessible to the sizable market they represent."

2010 Legacies Now will use the money for the Accessible Tourism Initiative. Outcomes include an access ratings tool for restaurants, hotels, and service providers; a training program for tourism service providers to raise their awareness of the needs of people with disabilities; and, a virtual resource centre that provides the information and connections that businesses and communities need to improve accessibility.

"People with disabilities spend an estimated $13 billion per year in North America on travel," said Stan Hagen, Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts. "The Accessible Tourism Initiative will help B.C. businesses attract and better serve people with disabilities, such as people with wheelchairs, visual impairments and hearing impairments, who regularly travel, shop, and eat out with family and friends. It will also create employment opportunities for some of the 300,000 working age people with disabilities in B.C. who want to work."

Working with Tourism BC and other stakeholder organizations throughout the province, 2010 Legacies Now expects to have tools and resources available in early 2008.

"Businesses are recognizing that access makes good business sense," said Carla Qualtrough, director of Sport Tourism and Inclusion Initiatives for 2010 Legacies Now. "Making services and attractions accessible to the 12 per cent of the population that have disabilities is good business. This number increases substantially when you include other people with mobility impairments, and when you consider our aging population."

The grant provided to 2010 Legacies Now supports a key component of British Columbia's citizen-centred Disability Strategy improving accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities in their communities. The Disability Strategy is part of the B.C. government's annual $4-billion investment in disability programs.