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
