When most people think about accommodating people with disabilities
in their business they get a scared feeling in their gut and
their mind scrambles to search for that all-important date when
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect.
It doesn’t have to be that way! When business owners open their
eyes and start to realize that there are literally billions
of dollars to be made in the accessible travel market, I believe
we will start to remove the fear associated with the ADA.
There are currently more than 50 million people with disabilities
in the United States and 180 million worldwide, representing
the single largest untapped tourist market in the world. According
to a recent Harris Poll conducted in conjunction with the Open
Doors Organization and the Travel Industry Association of America,
the 50 million people with disabilities in our country have
a combined income of more than $175 billion. In 2002, these
people took 32 million trips and spent more than $13.6 billion
on travel ($4.2 billion on hotels, $3.3 billion on airfare,
$2.7 billion on food and beverage, and $3.4 billion on retail,
transportation, and other activities). This study suggested
that these travelers would double their spending if some minor
amenities were made available. Meet and greet programs at airports,
preferred seating on airplanes, hotel rooms closer to amenities,
and employees who go out of their way to accommodate guests
with disabilities topped the list.
The current trends in adaptive travel show most of these travelers
taking advantage of destinations that they know are already
accessible such as cruise ships, Florida, and Las Vegas. The
visitors bureaus and businesses at these destinations that have
gone to great lengths to ensure their visitors that there will
not be any accessibility issues during their stay. From personal
experience and years of traveling in a wheelchair, I can guarantee
that these locations have built and will continue to build strong
relationships with travelers with disabilities. This group is
a very loyal one, who will often return to the same city, hotel,
or activity provider year after year if they have a good experience.
If everyone were to catch on to this we would see growth in
the tourism industry like we have never seen!
With this in mind, it is a wonder that more business owners
have not taken steps to make their accommodations more accessible
and even start marketing to these travelers. If the staggering
numbers listed above aren’t proof enough, the U.S. Census Bureau
recently stated that nearly 16.5% of all people with disabilities
in the U.S. leave their home two days per week or less. That
constitutes nearly 11 million people that are not traveling
at all. Also keep in mind that there are millions of people
in their golden years that are looking for accessible travel
accommodations. Many of these people use canes or walkers, travel
with oxygen tanks, or have other mobility impairments, and are
not included in disability statistics.
With millions of people in need of accessible travel options,
and with our Baby Boomers (almost 25% of our population) starting
to reach retirement age as well now is the time to start thinking
about improving marketing efforts to include people with disabilities
and about better overall accessibility in general. By educating
business owners on the benefits of marketing to people with
disabilities and educating travel agents who are fighting a
losing battle with the internet, we can begin to focus on this
new target market.
If you want to take advantage of the rapidly growing adaptive
travel market, get started now! I recommend hiring an expert
to get your business rated and start removing barriers to access
as soon as possible. Think about accessibility anytime you’re
planning a remodel or addition. These improvements will benefit
everyone, not just people with disabilities. For those of you
who have already taken steps to improve accessibility, start
bragging about it.
Craig P. Kennedy, Steamboat Springs, Colorado,
CK Consulting: Setting Standards for Accessibility
http://www.CKConsultingonline.com
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About The Author
Craig Kennedy is a published adaptive travel author, accessibility
consultant, and motivational speaker with almost ten years of
adaptive travel experience and more than 15 years of tourism
and service industry expertise. He specializes in resort business
growth and customer attraction through better overall accessibility,
education, and marketing, and works with businesses who wish
to become leaders in accessible travel and accommodation.
Copyright Craig P. Kennedy 2005
craig@accessanything.net
Health, Wealth, Travel and Technology Magazine