With its mobile carriage setting and accessible design, Olive Express is bringing destination experiences directly into care facilities.

For older Australians living in aged care, taking an overseas holiday can become difficult or impossible. Health conditions and mobility restrictions can put destinations out of reach, even when the desire to travel remains.

Brisbane business Olive Express is giving residents another way to experience the world, using mobile travel rooms designed to look like luxurious train dining carriages.

Through immersive windows, guests watch destinations unfold around them, accompanied by movement, sound, music and narration. The experience brings travel into aged care facilities, including for people who use wheelchairs or daybeds.

How to keep travelling when getting out and about is harder

Olive Express has been named a finalist in the Hutchinson Builders Social Enterprise Award at the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards, recognising its work with aged care and healthcare communities.

Its approach addresses a challenge familiar to many older Australians and their families: how to maintain access to enjoyable experiences when getting out becomes harder.

For someone who has spent years travelling, moving into care can mean losing opportunities to pursue a longstanding interest. Others may reach later life with places they have always wanted to visit but never had the chance to see.

Olive Express offers residents the opportunity to experience destinations without the physical demands and practical arrangements of a conventional trip. Rather than requiring residents to travel to an attraction, the business brings its mobile travel rooms to them. Accessibility is central to the service, allowing people with different mobility needs to take part within their care facility.

The train carriage setting provides the backdrop for a journey, while the windows and accompanying effects create an experience that goes beyond watching travel footage on a screen. Motion and narration help guide guests through the destination, with sound and music adding to the surroundings.

Immersive travel improves wellbeing in aged care residents

The service draws on University of Queensland research examining the impact of immersive travel experiences on wellbeing and social engagement among aged care residents.

That research explores areas including depression, cognitive decline and chronic disease risk. These are important areas of investigation, although the supplied information does not establish that the Olive Express experience prevents or treats those conditions.

The business focuses on providing positive experiences and helping residents reconnect with interests beyond their immediate surroundings.

For families considering activities for a parent or partner in care, the inclusion of wheelchair and daybed users is particularly relevant. Residents whose needs can limit participation in outings are included in the travel experience.

A finalist in the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards

Olive Express is among 33 businesses and eight business leaders competing for recognition at this year’s Lord Mayor’s Business Awards.

Now in their 21st year, the awards recognise achievement across Brisbane’s business community, with finalists working in fields ranging from health and technology to manufacturing and the creative industries. There are 11 award categories, culminating in the Optus Platinum Award.

This year’s finalists include businesses developing specialised blood tests intended to detect cancer earlier, restoring marine habitats and creating new scaffolding systems.

Others are helping companies connect to artificial intelligence infrastructure and cloud services, reflecting the range of work emerging from the city’s business sector.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the finalists demonstrated the talent and innovation within the city. “Brisbane is home to so many incredible businesses and entrepreneurs making their mark at home and abroad,” Cr Schrinner said.

He said their work was having an impact across industries and contributing to Brisbane’s future. The awards also recognise businesses creating jobs, attracting investment and expanding into national and international markets.

For Olive Express, the social enterprise nomination recognises a service directed towards people whose opportunities for travel may have narrowed considerably. Its work places aged care residents within Brisbane’s broader innovation story, alongside developments in medical testing and global technology services.

The nomination also draws attention to the role businesses can play in developing activities around the needs of older people, including those requiring substantial physical support.

For residents who still want to discover somewhere new, or revisit an interest in travel, it provides an opportunity to take part without having to leave the place where they receive daily care and support.

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