Is the Travel Industry trying to make disabled people invisible on purpose?
This was a question that a fellow accessible specialist travel agent and I raised in a recent conversation. We had both hit a wall while each of us were researching hotels for disabled clients.
We both found that tour operators and hotels rarely had any information on accessible features, facilities and adaptations in their public spaces and ‘adapted rooms’.
Indeed many tour operators do not show that they have adapted rooms and most did not have any relevant photographs of the bathrooms, bedrooms and other facilities.
It was then that we noticed that most of the hotels and tour operators not only did not have the relevant information but most had no sign of a single disabled person in any of their marketing.
It was as if they had intentionally erased disabled people from society and were trying to create the image that disabled guests are not good enough for them.
When you consider that over 20% of the population has a declared disability, and more with less visible disabilities such as neurodiversity, learning disability, cognitive impairment or sensory impairments that often go undeclared, you realise the industry is alienating a sizeable part of the potential market.
This is compounded by the fact that in the majority of cases disabled people often travel with family and friends. So, when the industry alienates disabled people, they are also alienating their families. The majority of those families will not travel without the disabled member of the family.
The travel industry and the hospitality industry need to consider if they can really afford to ignore the rapidly increasing accessible travel sector and the benefits it could bring to their businesses.
Disabled clients are incredibly loyal to travel businesses that welcome them and are more likely to advocate for businesses that treat them with respect. Such loyalty can, and does, generate increased income. So, it makes economic sense to be more disability friendly in your approach to accessible travel.
So, I call on the travel industry to start making disabled guests more visible in your marketing and start giving them the information they need about the facilities and adapted rooms in the same way you do for other potential guests.
Stop treating potential guests who have a disability like pariahs and second-class citizens to be not seen or acknowledged.
Are you working hard to advocate for disabled clients in your marketing campaigns? Enter this year’s Travel For Every Body Awards to spotlight your organisation’s accessibility efforts.
