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Disability and the travel industry

Attracting disabled travellers

Disabled people want to travel and are able to do so. In an age where both travel and leisure are readily available, the disabled traveller is an important stakeholder in the worldwide travel industry.

  • Of 54 million Americans with disabilities, 39 million are actual or potential travellers. (i.e. persons who have both the economic and physical ability to travel) [i]
  • People with disabilities travel with friends and family doubling the potential market to at least 78m American travellers. [ii]
  • In 2002 American travellers with disabilities spent $13.6 billion on 31.7 million trips. In 2001 the lodging industry had $4.2 billion in revenue from disabled guests, resulting in 60,000 jobs created. The airline industry had $3.3 billion in revenue from disabled travellers, creating 52,800 jobs. All told, according to these projections, travellers with disabilities generate 194,000 travel-related jobs, $4.22 billion in payroll and $2.52 billion in tax revenues. [iii]
  • According to a General Accounting Office report, implementing the access provisions of the ADA has increased revenues in the American hotel and hospitality industry by 12% [iv]
  • 70% of Europeans with disabilities have the means to travel. [v]

With the addition of friends and family the European potential market for disabled travelling rises to 75m [vi]

  • Older Americans account for 80% of all luxury travel purchased in the U.S. They make up 65% of all cruise passengers and typically spend 74% more on vacations than the 18-49 year-old population segment. [vii]
  • Americans aged 55+ travel 3 or more times each year, more than any other age group. [viii]
  • Disability increases with age - 42% of people over 65 in the UK have a disability. [ix] Older travellers are more likely to need disability related adjustments to enable them to travel.

Experience of barriers means that access is very important to disabled travellers when planning their holidays. Businesses which demonstrate a commitment to excellent customer service for disabled people will attract this significant group of customers. Disabled traveller's reasons to go away are similar to those of non-disabled travellers (ie. rest, relaxation, feelings of freedom and the discovery of new places). If these criteria are met then a sense of loyalty can emerge, with the disabled traveller returning for future visits.

  • Recent research shows that European disabled customers who find no reliable or appropriate information on accessible facilities, equipment or services often decide not to travel. [x]
  • 58% of UK adults bought goods, services or tickets online in the first quarter of 2005. However, recent research found that 50% of the Top Ten online travel companies' sites did not meet even the most basic accessibility standards. All the sites had inaccessible HTML and 90% were structured in a way, which meant that users of PDAs, mobile phones and internet television would find it very difficult to access information. [xi]
  • About 48% have stated that they would travel more frequently if more accessible services were available. [xii]

In a recent survey, 30% of UK respondents cited hotels as presenting a variety of facilities and service difficulties for the disabled traveller. [xiii]

  • 25% of disabled people in the UK surveyed by Leonard Cheshire who had not taken a holiday in the past year said it was because of problems with accessibility [xiv]
  • Almost one in three people found their accommodation inaccessible [xv]
  • Four out of five UK leisure venues do not provide proper access for disabled people. [xvi]
  • The reward for businesses who do take disabled customers into account is to secure some of the £80bn spent by the UK's 10 million people with disabilities. [xvii]
  • Disabled people rely on the internet to make their travel plans, particularly in these three areas: finding and / or booking accessible hotels (57%); finding accessibility information about airlines (47%); finding accessible activities, tours and attractions at their destination (47%). [xviii]
  • Between 2002 and 2005, 26% of all disabled American travellers who booked online visited England. [xix]
  • By providing more information on foreign destinations, tourist planners will be able to attract a large customer segment who previously stayed in domestic countries for holidays. [xx]

Useful links

Sources

  1. [i] Fortune Magazine 02/03/1998, in 'Travellers with disabilities: Market Size and Trends' Laurel Van Horn, 2000.
  2. [ii] Extrapolated figure from Fortune Magazine 02/03/1998, in 'Travellers with disabilities: Market Size and Trends' Laurel Van Horn, 2000.
  3. [iii] Robert Rudney, A Disability Market Survey 2003, NOD
  4. [iv]General Accounting Office report, 1997
  5. [v] Deloitte Touche study, 'Tourism for all in Europe', 1991, in 'Travellers with disabilities: Market Size and Trends' Laurel Van Horn, 2000.
  6. [vi] Deloitte Touche study, 'Tourism for all in Europe', 1991, in 'Travellers with disabilities: Market Size and Trends' Laurel Van Horn, 2000.
  7. [vii] 2002 U.S. Census Bureau research figures, cited at http://www.suddenlysenior.com/maturemarketstatsmore.html
  8. [viii] Market survey by Modern Maturity, 2001
  9. [ix] Labour Market Survey 2005
  10. [x] BMWA - Federal Ministry of Economic and Labour (2004) Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All. Cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis 2005
  11. [xi] Nomensa, January 2005, quoted on Travel Mole.
  12. [xii] BMWA - Federal Ministry of Economic and Labour (2004) Economic Impulses of Accessible Tourism for All. Cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis 2005
  13. [xiii] The 'Walk Away £ Survey' conducted by RADAR, on behalf of Employers' Forum on Disability.
  14. [xiv] Results from 'Wish you were here' survey undertaken by Leonard Cheshire 2005.
  15. [xv] Results from 'Wish you were here' survey undertaken by Leonard Cheshire 2005.
  16. [xvi] Results from the 'The Free2Pee Big Night Out' survey conducted by Scope 2004.
  17. [xvii] Results from the 'The Free2Pee Big Night Out' survey conducted by Scope 2004
  18. [xviii] ODO (Open Doors Organization) (2005) Travelers with Disabilities. Survey cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis 2005
  19. [xix] Harris Interactive Public Relations Research prepared for Open Doors Organisation, 2005.
  20. [xx] ODO (Open Doors Organization) (2005) Travelers with Disabilities. Survey cited in OSSATE Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis 2005