When most people think about accommodating people with disabilities in their business they getscared feeling in their gut and their mind scrambles to search for that all-important date whenAmericans 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 inaccessible travel market, I believe we will start to removefear associated withADA.
There are currently more than fivezero million people with disabilities inUnited States and oneeightzero million worldwide, representingsingle largest untapped tourist market inworld. According torecent Harris Poll conducted in conjunction withOpen Doors Organization andTravel Industry Association of America,fivezero million people with disabilities in our country havecombined income of more than $onesevenfive billion. In twozerozerotwo, these people took threetwo million trips and spent more than $onethree.six billion on travel ($four.two billion on hotels, $three.three billion on airfare, $two.seven billion on food and beverage, and $three.four 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 toppedlist.
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 inwheelchair, I can guarantee that these locations have built and will continue to build strong relationships with travelers with disabilities. This group isvery loyal one, who will often return tosame city, hotel, or activity provider year after year if they havegood experience. If everyone were to catch on to this we would see growth intourism industry like we have never seen!
With this in mind, it iswonder that more business owners have not taken steps to make their accommodations more accessible and even start marketing to these travelers. Ifstaggering numbers listed above aren’t proof enough,U.S. Census Bureau recently stated that nearly onesix.five% of all people with disabilities inU.S. leave their home two days per week or less. That constitutes nearly oneone 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 twofive% of our population) starting to reach retirement age as well now istime to start thinking about improving marketing efforts to include people with disabilities and about better overall accessibility in general. By educating business owners onbenefits of marketing to people with disabilities and educating travel agents who are fightinglosing battle withinternet, we can begin to focus on this new target market.
If you want to take advantage ofrapidly growing adaptive travel market, get started now! I recommend hiringexpert to get your business rated and start removing barriers to access as soon as possible. Think about accessibility anytime you’re planningremodel 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 ispublished adaptive travel author, accessibility consultant, and motivational speaker with almost ten years of adaptive travel experience and more than onefive 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 twozerozerofive
craig@accessanything.net
