The Tourism Industry Still Ignores People with Disabilities

Travel restrictions are coming down, and people are booking tickets to exquisite places. During this time, we did notice that the tourism industry is still ignoring people with disabilities. Whether there is a pandemic or not, disabled people can only dream of travelling to distant places and enjoy luxurious properties. Well, they can at least enjoy 25 free spins no deposit within the comfort of their home. 

Even before COVID-19 entered the planet, 52% of disabled people in the United Kingdom could not go on a relaxing holiday. There are three things that disabled people don’t get while travelling: 

1. Information,
2. Apt facilities,
3. A positive and motivating attitude from people around them.

The moment you decide to go on a trip, people look at you with pity. They feel you are not fit to travel simply because you are living with a disability. The tourism industry is to be blamed for this! The only thing hotels and airlines do is keep ramps in the area. What about other amenities that help disabled people to travel comfortably? Here’s a quick post on how the tourism industry ignores people with disabilities. It is shameful but also the sad truth of this era. 

Lazy & Bad Attitude towards Disabled People 
A tourist went to an ecolodge and pointed out that certain additions would make the hotel room much more convenient. The ecolodge manager looked at the man and said, ‘Why should I be bothered? We don’t make money out of people like you.’ With this attitude, it is hard for disabled people to travel. People with disabilities have as much right to give suggestions to the hotel staff.

Lack of Funds 
Many properties around the world are not disabled-friendly. The owners and managers think that it is too expensive to transform the space. They have a similar attitude – ‘Why should we pay more? Disabled people don’t travel anyway!’ The tourism industry has some loopholes. If disabled people got everything they needed, they would travel and spend money. But excluding them, the entire scenario is downright shameful.

No In-depth Information
Head to any travel website and search whether it is disabled-friendly or not. In all likelihood, you will not find anything related to disabled travel. Fortunately, some operators care to inform prospective guests about the disabled-friendly services they provide.

There are very few sites that tell you about services for disabled people. This is why people have to call several hotels to check whether it is disabled-friendly or not. More sites should include blogs and vlogs on disabled travel. YouTube has become a popular application/website. Travel bloggers can cover topics like ‘how to travel with a disability?’ in their YouTube channel. This is a good way of treating disabled people equally. Moreover, disabled people will get to plan their next vacation easily. 

Get the Right Training 
People with disabilities deserve a break too! Just like any other regular person, disabled people spend most of their time inside the house. The pandemic was hard for everyone. Thus, a disabled person also needs a break from the mundane life routine. So, the tourism industry needs a revamp. Adding a ramp in the hotel will not be enough. Disabled people need to be treated equally at all phases of life.