State of accessible travel
Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, Travel Weekly examined some of the ways airlines and hotels are attempting to be more inclusive and accommodating to disabled travelers. 

In Part 2, we look at how destinations, cruises and tours confront their limitations while trying to accommodate all travelers, and we explore what advisors must recognize in order to serve this growing market. 

Travel agencies 

Earlier this year, online booking platform Wheel the World, which specializes in serving travelers with disabilities, responded to increasing requests for help from travel advisors by launching an affiliate program for them. The program includes access to the Wheel the World Academy, which offers education on serving clients with disabilities. 

It is among several resources available for agencies serving clients with accessibility needs.

The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards began offering a training course on autism for travel advisors in 2017. The course was born out of increasing demand from travelers and venues, which the company also certifies, board president Meredith Tekin said.

“One thing the training focuses on is that there is a spectrum,” she said. “So we provide direction on what each travel professional should listen for to find out what clients’ specific needs or preferences are in order to plan the best trip.”

The program educates advisors on these needs and on understanding autism and includes recommendations.

Accessio, an accessible travel consultancy that works with advisors, said that it is in talks with many suppliers about adding products with accessible options. Acknowledging that it will take time, the organization hopes that its work will result in more diverse products down the road.

For now, however, co-founder Mitch Gross advises agents serving clients with accessibility needs not to engage in guesswork about whether a vacation will be accommodating to disabled clients.

“You’ve got legal exposure,” he said. “You could put someone in danger. Aside from just having a lousy trip, think about disruption management, duty of care, the implications for travel insurance, all sorts of things. Don’t guess.”

He encouraged advisors to seek out companies like Tapooz Travel, which specializes in tours for disabled travelers and their companions (and is owned by Accessio co-founder Laurent Roffe). 

“In the near term, that’s the best thing that people can do,” Gross said. “Many suppliers, if you get to the right one, can help you piece it together. It’s a patchwork. You have to know the right people, leverage your relationships and find out. And it will take time.”

He also encouraged agencies to set up a dedicated desk and enable advisors to take time to become experts in accessible travel in order to form relationships that will better serve travelers. 

Cruise

Large ocean cruise ships have long been considered among the most accessible vacations for people with mobility limitations, and that is in part because all cruise ships that sail in U.S. waters must be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

But many river cruise ships that operate outside of the U.S., as well as some smaller ocean and expedition ships that visit far-flung destinations, are often not equipped to handle travelers with disabilities.

The number of guests with disabilities booking Royal Caribbean International cruises has “exploded” over the years, said Ron Pettit, the line’s director of disability inclusion and ADA compliance.

“It’s my goal and my team’s goal to help people to take a vacation from their disability,” said Pettit, who is hard of hearing and said he understands the lived-experience of those with disabilities. “What we want to do is make their vacation effortless and easy. We don’t want them to have to fight with the heavy doors on a ship. We want them to get in and out of pools with ease. We want them to be able to utilize all the features of the stateroom comfortably and easily. That is our goal.”

Pettit said other examples of accessibility are to provide wheelchair spaces in both the front and back of a theater to allow better viewing of performances, or offering gluten-free dining options. The line offers autism-friendly movie showings, which have sensory-friendly features such as lower volume or rooms that are not as dark as typical on other movie nights. 

Royal also works with Autism on the Seas, a travel company specializing in cruise vacations for adults and families with autism, down syndrome and other related disabilities. Autism on the Seas offer a specially trained crew member for every two to three guests who sign up for it, as well as specialized respite sessions, private activities and help with the line’s products and services. 

He said the line has provided ship tours with Autism on the Seas to help prepare people with autism for their cruise experience, which helps parents and children understand what to expect.

The offerings have landed well; the pandemic years aside, since the program began in 2014, Royal has doubled the annual number of autistic guests who sail with them.

John Sage is CEO of Sage Traveling, which specializes in planning trips for people with disabilities in Europe and the Caribbean. He said some cruise line offerings can be among the most accommodating vacation options in the travel industry for disabled travelers, with thoughtfully designed rooms and automatic doors. 

However, he said, cruise lines can do a better job of highlighting that information on their websites. And while he commends cruise lines for performing better than many resorts when it comes to providing for disabled travelers, he says there is particularly room for improvement in the area of shore excursions. The need to travel by Zodiac or tender can derail a much-desired excursion, he said, and sometimes the excursion includes unanticipated journeys on hills or cobblestone streets. He would like cruise lines to prioritize offering at least one accessible shore excursion in every port and said the industry should commit to making tenders accessible for people who use wheelchairs.

“The moment somebody is scared while being carried down, it’s all out the window,” he said. 

Disabled travelers wanting to take expedition and river cruises will sometimes discover that they are not nearly as accommodating as mainstream ocean cruise ships. 

Expedition ship excursions often rely heavily on inflatable Zodiacs, which can be difficult for even nondisabled people to get in and out of. Some of these ships do not even have elevators. 

A number of river cruise ships are equipped with elevators, and some lines, like AmaWaterways, provide wheelchairs and even scooters onboard, in addition to walking sticks and facilities on docking decks to better assist guests.

“On the newest ship, AmaMagna, the elevators even go up to the sun deck,” said Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-founder of AmaWaterways, adding that the company also provides excursions based on activity level that may accommodate guests with special requirements. “But if they [must use a] wheelchair, then it is better not to be on a river cruise ship because too many obstacles remain.” 

Most river cruise lines require that travelers with accessibility needs be somewhat mobile in order to embark and disembark, especially in an emergency. In Europe, ships are often tethered together side-by-side, and passengers must go across other river ships in order to disembark.

Scenic Group spokesman Elliot Gillies said mobility means being able to walk up and down the boarding ramp and, in case of emergency, be able to walk up stairs to the top deck (None of the elevators on Scenic or Emerald river ships go to that deck).

Destinations also play a role in whether or not a river cruise can accommodate a traveler with accessibility needs. 

AmaWaterways says Europe is the best destination to visit for a traveler with accessibility needs as more accommodations can be found there than in other destinations, such as the Mekong, where its AmaDara vessel doesn’t have an elevator. 

“You couldn’t cruise in Vietnam and Cambodia on the Mekong,” said Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder of AmaWaterways. “When you go to Angkor Wat, there are exposed roots in the ground — you’re always walking over things. Europe is your best bet. The big cities are the most active in new accessibility.”

Destinations

Destinations around the world are trying to be more accessible, as part of mandates to be more inclusive and also in response to the growing market as boomers age.

At Visit Florida, accessible travel is a top focus for the state’s marketing arm. 

“There is a giant market for accessible travel because the number of Americans, both adults and children, who travel with some sort of disability, be it physical, mental or another limitation, is huge,” said Dana Young, CEO of Visit Florida. 

According to the state’s data, by 2034 there will be 77 million people 65 and older who are likely to have a disability. “So that’s 40% of all adult Americans who will have some form of disability,” Young said. 

Visit Florida’s website has a landing page with information on the state’s varied accessible travel offerings that features contributions from disabled content creators. 

“‘Can I go there and have a similar experience to someone who doesn’t have the disability that I have?’ I think that’s what the community is looking for,” Dana said.

The state is focused on providing wheelchair accessible beaches and accommodations as well as attractions for children with autism. It is also home to the St. Augustine Braille Trail, a permanent installation of seven sculptures with Braille signage, raised tactile diagrams and audio stories available for free by phone and mobile app. 

Last year, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island installed spotting scopes for colorblind visitors that use EnChroma lens technology to enhance the colors they see. It also provides EnChroma eyeglasses for guests to borrow during visits.

Using them, “the colorblind can actually see the park and its birds in vibrant colors,” Young said. 

New York’s destination marketing arm, NYC & Company, is also “leaning into” the accessible travel market, said CEO Fred Dixon, with increased focus on issues around mobility and accessibility and staff training on those issues.

“We’ve always had an accessibility guide, but we’re going in deeper and acting with more intentionality,” Dixon said. “What does it mean to be welcoming to travelers with mobility issues if you’re a hotel, a Broadway theater, an attraction or a restaurant? These will all be greater issues as the population ages.”

Israel is also working to make itself more accessible, something of a challenge in a country with streets that are thousands of years old. Jerusalem’s Old City recently added handrails and wheelchair ramps between three of the city’s holiest sites — the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Temple Mount and the Western Wall — and will add elevators to the Tower of David. The Step-Hear Program app, which assists and supports the visually impaired with navigation, is available in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

Travel advisors have cited Israel as among the countries that has long made itself accessible to disabled travelers. 

“Israel unfortunately has many people with disabilities due to conflicts, and so they are very accommodating,” said Sophia Kulich of Sophia’s Travel, which specializes in heritage travel, Ukraine and multigenerational tours. “It’s their way of life.”

Tours

Tour operators face challenges in accommodating travelers with accessibility needs, because their ability to accommodate them is often limited by the destination they are in. 

To accommodate her clients taking tours, Sophia Kulich of Sophia’s Travel says she screens them prior to booking in order to evaluate their level of mobility and see what accommodations they need.

“We have a lot of possibilities booking handicapped accessible rooms for them,” Kulich said. “Some can use collapsible wheelchairs or regular buses if we make sure an extra stool is available. For other clients, we use handicapped accessible vans with special platforms to lift them. Then there are people who just move more slowly, and we work to accommodate their pace.”

Intrepid Travel can, when possible, offer adjustments to itineraries and create custom trips to fit a variety of different accessibility needs or other physical, medical and cognitive limitations.

“Intrepid understands the incredibly diverse nature of accessible travel — and it is not a one-size-fits-all product solution,” said Matt Berna, president of Intrepid Travel North America. “We have accommodated travelers with vision impairments, hearing problems and various mobility and mental health issues.”

Berna said that adjustments to meet certain needs are more achievable than others, and when it’s not possible to adjust the trip to accommodate a client, it may require reconsidering that itinerary or a destination.

“Most of our itineraries would be possible for a deaf customer, with reasonable adjustments made that might include providing written information, additional briefings or traveling with support,” he said. “Nowhere near as many itineraries would be possible for a customer in a wheelchair because either the infrastructure isn’t there to support them or the adjustments to the trip would be too difficult within a large group trip.”

Despite the accessibility accommodations Intrepid can make, there is still a long way to go in the travel industry and around the world’s most sought-after destinations to make travel truly inclusive for everyone.

“Over a billion people — 15% of the world’s population — live with some sort of disability,” Berna said. “Ensuring equal access to travel is simply the right thing to do. We know that travelers with disabilities are increasingly looking beyond specialized disability tour operators and want to travel in an authentic, exploratory way with their family, friends and other like-minded people. That’s why we like to use the term ‘inclusive travel.’”