“We want more disabled people to travel and we want you to promote travel to disabled people because if they are confident and comfortable enough to travel it’s incredible,” Dom Hyams, head of strategy at disability-focused marketing agency Purple Goat, told delegates at the event on Wednesday (5 July). 

Hyams said that although 24% of the UK population has a disability, representation – especially in marketing campaigns – is still in its early stages. 

He suggested the reason was because the narrative around travel and disability has always been "inherently negative", bringing to mind bad experiences passengers can have while travelling, such as broken wheelchairs.

Hyams’ remarks were echoed by model, influencer and advocate Monique Dior Jarrett – who said the industry did currently "not have enough" representation of disability within its marketing.

Also speaking on the panel, Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises’ outgoing vice-president and managing director EMEA, told delegates: "We don’t truly understand how you feel but we can try by listening to you and learning."

The cruise line made the headlines last year when it launched the All Inclusive Photo Project, featuring images shot by Annie Leibovitz, to improve the visibility of a variety of under-represented groups within travel marketing.

“We don’t truly understand how you feel but we can try by listening to you and learning,” Rzymowska said.

According to all panellists, if companies want to become as welcoming as possible, they need to start with small but tangible steps.

This includes tweaking language to be more inclusive, or engaging with the communities they want to target in an authentic way.

“For me it’s about tangible action and making sure you start somewhere and you do it tomorrow,” added Hyams.