Since we launched Limitless Travel in 2017, it’s been our mission to make the world of travel accessible to everyone and anyone. As a disabled person myself, I’ve experienced first-hand the difficulties of travelling with a disability – and how rarely the travel industry used to consider disabled tourists.
I have to say, though, that over the past few years, strides have been made. The travel industry is finally starting to sit up and take notice of the importance of offering accessible trips, as well as the significant opportunity it presents to them in terms of revenue.
On an industry-wide level, this year, we’ve seen TTG feature an Accessible Holidays Provider of the Year category at The Travel Industry Awards, as well as put on the TTG Fairer Travel Diversity Forum, which delved into the importance of accessible travel.
We’ve also seen Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Awards, which challenged the advertising industry to tackle the ongoing lack of authentic representation of disabled people in TV advertising.
What’s more, the rise of social media influencers – particularly those who champion accessible travel – is creating a good deal more awareness about the issues facing disabled travellers.
However, it is these influencers and disabled people within the industry who are having to use their influence to drive change rather than the industry taking the initiative to adapt.
And there’s still so much more to be done. Airlines, in particular, are extremely slow to adapt and provide the required special assistance. We’re constantly hearing how disabled passengers are treated as second rate, often forgotten by airlines – sometimes with tragic consequences as we saw this summer at Gatwick.
If done properly, air travel can be a seamless and rewarding experience for all, but there’s still a long way to go.
’Significant shift’
We started offering cruises in 2022, and these can make for an ideal, accessible holiday. And now, thanks to recent policy changes, cruise is now a viable solo travel option for disabled travellers.
However, we are still seeing cruise lines block disabled people from travelling for different reasons, such as not wishing to accept their equipment. Faced with issues like these, we’ve had to lobby cruise lines hard to change their policies, something an independent disabled traveller simply wouldn’t be able to do themselves.
I’m confident, though, that over the next five years, we’ll see yet more change – a significant shift in provision of accessible travel, especially in air travel.
And at Limitless, we’re proud to be at the forefront of driving this change.
Angus Drummond is founder and chief executive of accessible travel specialist Limitless Travel.
