That was the message from Angus Drummond, founder of accessible travel operator Limitless Travel at TTG’s Diversity Forum.

Part of the first-ever Fairer Travel Week, the session led by Drummond delved into how his company created holidays aimed at the wider disabled community – born from his own personal experience.

Delegates heard how he was 22 years old when he was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy and how he decided to leave his investment banking job to travel the world. It was during that time that his mobility began to decline and he started to truly understand the challenges in disabled travel.

“Travel enabled me to escape. But that experience was anything but an escape – for someone who was abled bodied previously, I was going to far-flung countries and didn’t have the support,” he recalled.

“I remember going to Machu Pichu… and what I didn’t appreciate was the hundred or so giant steps to get there. That was all due to a lack of information.”

He said: “Travel is so powerful and amazing. [But in that instance], an experience that should be amazing was nerve-wracking.

“When I came back I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to create a travel company that would empower people with disabilities.”

Drummond said he “loved the idea of being limitless, of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone”.

“That felt like stepping off a beach into an ocean, but I knew I had enough drive passion and energy to get me there. Then we began making that progress.

“But what we really found was that individuals needed help and support and a high level of reassurance. If something went wrong, who was on hand to support you? That was incredibly stressful for some [disabled] people.

“And that was when we started Limitless Travel.”

He explained: “What we’re giving is that feeling of normality and that feeling of burden being taken away from you.

“Ultimately we make it so Limitless opens doors to a better life. I believe travel has the ability to improve people’s lives and the opportunity to take away the worry you’re feeling on a day-to-day basis.”

Drummond went on to say that for disabled people, going out for a coffee, meeting friends or going to the shops isn’t as easy for them as their abled counterparts, and Limitless’s goal is to make those things “seamless”.

“That’s the core of our mission – that travel has the means to enrich people’s lives,” he said.

Addressing the challenges on how travel companies can better cater for disabled people, Drummond said: “It is hard, there’s a lot of nerves out there. There’s a lot of challenges you have to consider and you want to make sure you deliver a good service.

“Ultimately a good disability service is good customer service. People believe they’re different, but they’re the same. You [still] take the time to understand them and their needs and challenges. The worst is they assume they know the answers.”

Citing transparency as another challenge, he explained: “The worst thing is to pretend everything is OK and that you know the answers, and when things go wrong that’s when things really go wrong.

“Last thing is to communicate. Being able to communicate through the process, make sure you’re on hand and [keep those lines open]. Those three things are key.”

“Always listen to the client and always open up to them. If you provide good service they will keep coming back.”