Travelers with mobility disabilities spend $58.2 billion per year on travel, but experience major challenges when it comes to securing accessible lodging and transportation, according to a new study by MMGY Global.
The Portrait of Travelers with Disabilities: Mobility and Accessibility — a survey of 2,700 Americans with mobility disabilities and their caregivers and companions — finds that 96% of travelers with mobility disabilities have faced an accommodation issue while traveling, while 86% have experienced airport challenges and 79% have experienced in-market transportation problems.
What Challenges Do Travelers With Disabilities Face?
Travelers with mobility issues travel nearly as much as those without issues, taking around 3.4 trips in the past 12 months and spending an average of $3,546 on leisure travel during that timeframe.
But travelers with disabilities are met with challenge after challenge, starting at the airport: Four out of 10 of these travelers have had their mobility aid lost or damaged by an airline, while six in 10 have experienced extended wait times for mobility assistance at the airport before or after a flight.
Hurdles follow them to their hotels, where more than half (54%) have been offered a room that did not match the room they booked. Most travelers with mobility issues (81%) have had to deal with inaccessible showers or tubs, while more than half (52%) have had to deal with beds that were too high for them to access.
How to Make Travel More Accessible for Those With Wheelchairs and Mobility Disabilities
However, travelers with mobility disabilities should have access to the same sort of travel experiences that those without mobility issues take for granted.
Identifying these issues is critical to ensuring travel is accessible to all.
When asked how travel destinations can better attract visitors with mobility disabilities, the majority of travelers cited the need for more information on accessibility to be available prior to visiting (84%) and the importance of expanding infrastructure and enhancing maintenance for areas such as sidewalks, ramps and mobile lifts (83%).
Travelers with mobility issues also say that destinations should promote accessible lodging options (81%), and that suppliers should provide multiple pictures of the exact room they are booking and virtual tours of the places to be visited to determine if there are any obstacles that could make it difficult or impossible to move around with their mobility device.
MMGY Global will donate all proceeds from sales of the report to the United Spinal Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with spinal cord injuries and disorders, including veterans.
"As a wheelchair user, I know firsthand the barriers our community must overcome when traveling, from damage to mobility equipment at the airport to encountering unexpected accessibility issues at hotels and other venues,” said Vincenzo Piscopo, president and CEO of United Spinal. “Identifying these issues is critical to ensuring travel is accessible to all.”
