A TOILET at Arthur’s Seat has won the World’s Most Accessible Toilet award.

Opened in January, the toilet is designed to meet the needs of tourists with disabilities, those with mobility limitations, visitors with young children, older people and tourists from culturally diverse backgrounds. It even includes an Asian squat toilet.

The award judge described the toilet as being “beautifully designed, thoroughly functional, modern and inclusive; a highly impressive addition to the destination experience. I have never seen anything quite like this accessible toilet. It’s a gold star, best practice example.”

The Arthurs Seat toilet was one of 30 entries from around the world – including one where visitors can “do their business” overlooking a creek with crocodiles and an art studio where guests pull up chairs to admire the toilet doors.

“The inclusion of human diversity forms the foundation of our community. Disability is not rare. It can happen to any one of us,” Mornington Peninsula Shire’s all abilities consultative committee vice-chair Karen Fankhauser said.

The awards are based on research by co-founders of MyTravelResearch.com Carolyn Childs and Bronwyn White who organised the inaugural 2017 International Toilet Tourism Awards to demonstrate a link between toilets and tourism.

“Great loos in tourism destinations become talking points, encourage repeat visits and can be a positive indicator of how the host community respects tourists,” Ms Childs said.

First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 11 July 2017