RSCVA details services for travelers with disabilities

When Mary Ann McAuliffe started scouting northern Nevada for places that could be enjoyed by travelers with physical disabilities and special needs, she was astounded at the variety she found.

Everything from golf carts modified for use by people with disabilities to adaptive winter sports programs on the slopes around Lake Tahoe have been available for visitors.

Now, McAuliffe is working in her role as diversity welcoming marketing manager for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Bureau to make sure that potential visitors across the nation get the word.

The message, she says, is simple: "We welcome everyone."

To deliver the message, RSCVA launched an on-line guide that provides information tailored to travelers with special needs.

Hotels, for instance, provided information about the number of rooms they provide that meet the standards of Americans With Disabilities Act.

Accessible recreational activities in the area, meanwhile, range from a seated sled that can be used at the Rink on the River in downtown Reno to specially modified equipment available for people with disabilities who visit Reno's whitewater park.

And the on-line guide part of the RSCVA's site visitrenotahoe.com also details transportation and other services available in the region for visitors with special needs.

"There's all these incredible things you can do here," says McAuliffe. "Some of them are really amazing."

The project also is likely to give a boost to the region's efforts to attract meetings and conventions, says Ellen Oppenheim, the president and chief executive officer of RSCVA.

"Every meeting planner these days is increasingly sensitive to the needs of their participants," Oppenheim said. "This is another selling point, another arrow in our quiver."

Questions about access grow more common, she says, as the Baby Boom generation ages.

Relatively few markets provide similar information to meeting planners, Oppenheim said, and the RSCVA guide helps differentiate the Reno-Sparks area in the minds of meeting planners.