Last December, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the Safe and Dignified Assistance Standard, a new rule that requires airlines to provide training to airline employees and contractors who provide assistance to travellers in wheelchairs, ensuring they are not injured while being assisted and that their wheelchair or other assistive device is returned without delay or damage. The rule was slated to go into effect on Jan. 16. Flouting the mandate would have resulted in an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).?
However, major U.S. carriers are appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for a review of the regulation, claiming it is an overreach of the DOT’s authority.?
“Legally, you can’t discriminate against someone with a disability,” says Jani Nayar, executive director of the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH). “But there is still travel industry staff that needs more training, including flight attendants and gate agents. But the ACAA requires airlines to have trained Complaint Resolution Officials (CROs) available to rectify issues affecting individuals with disabilities and so we advise travellers not to get into a conflict at the airport, but to request a CRO to assist with any issues.”
A Multi-Billion Dollar Market
Travellers with mobility disabilities annually spend $58.2 billion on travel, according to MMGY Global’s 2024 report Portraits of Travelers with Disabilities: Mobility and Accessibility. The study found that these travellers enjoy leisure tourism as often as travellers that are not mobility-impaired.?
In a 2024 study conducted in conjunction with The Harris Poll, Chicago-based Open Doors Organization (ODO) found that 25.6 million travellers with disabilities took 77 million trips.
“Travellers with disabilities, including older adults, are a critical and growing part of the economy,” says Eric Lipp, ODO’s executive director. “This data provides the travel sector with information to create a business case that will help to justify and drive meaningful change.”
UN Tourism, too, is working to bring attention to the 1.3 billion people worldwide who have a disability and represent potential travellers. That market size specifically includes 85 million individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean, 690 million people in Asia and the Pacific, and 80 million people in the European Union, 70 percent of whom have the means to travel. Furthermore, this global tourism authority also pointed out that individuals with disabilities tend to travel with another two to three companions. An aging segment of the population will also be looking for more accessibility options as they approach their 60s and beyond.?
Last December, the organization commemorated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by issuing a new set of guidelines to encourage accessible tourism across the industry. The downloadable guidelines, which are specific to various industry sectors, are intended to emphasize the social and economic advantages of enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities, specific requirements and seniors. They also point to the fact that accessible tourism can bolster mid- and low-season travel as well as a destination’s or business’ standing, and lead to more job creation.?
Industry Initiatives
The travel industry globally has made great strides in improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities. In its 2024 State of the Cruise Industry Report, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) stated that 45 percent of cruise travellers booked an accessible shore excursion in the past year. Norwegian Cruise Lines offers wheelchair rentals, pool lifts and accessible restrooms on all of its ships, while Royal Caribbean not only has accessible staterooms, but also accommodates travellers with autism and developmental disabilities as well as those on dialysis.?
Major international hospitality brands like Accor and Hyatt Hotels are also improving services for guests with disabilities. Accor is working towards the French government’s “Tourisme & Handicap” certification for 380 of its hotels and Hyatt Hotels has partnered with KultureCity to improve stays for neurodiverse guests, providing personalized and frequent pre-arrival communications, including visual layouts like 3-D virtual tours.
Destinations near and far are also putting initiatives in place to welcome more travellers with disabilities. Australia’s 2022 launch of a 10-year disability strategy to improve accessibility throughout the country ignited local initiatives like Queensland naming 2023 “the Year of Accessible Travel,” including a AUD$12 million investment in accessible infrastructure, website accessibility and training, among other things. Melbourne introduced a practical accessibility map.
Stateside, The Colorado Tourism Office announced its new Accessible Travel Program this past summer, with the goal of improving accessible travel throughout the state. In November, the tourism office announced that Beaver Creek Resort Company, Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce and Pueblo Chamber of Commerce were all chosen to take part in the program and receive resources such as on-premise accessibility assessments and complimentary staff training on recommended approaches for welcoming travellers with disabilities.
Training Opportunities
Nayar recommends contracting with a third party to create a hybrid staff training program on accessible travel. Look for an outside organization that understands and can speak accurately to compliance, current accessibility standards at the state and local levels and also ADA regulations. “This is important, particularly in the U.S. where ADA regulations can change slightly or new regulations can go into effect and a lawsuit can result for anything a traveler feels was not done,” says Nayar.?
So while a third party works to keep the organization compliant, a hybrid program allows the company to train to their business needs and culture. Nayar also suggests including people with disabilities as educators in the program because no one other than a person who is visually or hearing impaired or using a wheelchair can better explain what works for them and what doesn’t. According to Nayar, accessible travel trainings are situations where the expression “say nothing for us without us” is apropos, meaning decisions affecting a particular group should not be made without their direct involvement or input.?
The Future of Accessible Travel
For all of the progess that’s already been made in accessible travel, there’s still work to be done. Nayar points to the need for more Universal Design adoption, a concept in which goods, services and publicly accessible spaces are designed for all of society, without special adaptability features. For example, fully-enclosed, single-user restrooms are typically designed to be wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair and even a carer. However, for parents with small children, the single-user restroom is a preferable option to a restroom stall when the child needs to use the facilities.
Nayar also notes the rise of travel agents who specialize in travellers with disabilities. They streamline the travel planning process for their clients because they’re already familiar with the accessible products and services available in a destination or at a specific tourism business. “There are many of these travel professionals and many more joining the market because they recognize the sheer size of this market,” she says.?
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