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Abta event to focus non-visible disabilities

Selling to customers with non-visible disabilities will be one of the focuses at Abta’s Accessible Travel and Tourism Seminar in May.

Clare Jenkinson, senior destinations and sustainability manager at Abta, said: “We are encouraging members to broaden their perceptions of disabilities, especially those that aren’t visible, such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s or autism, and think about every stage of the holiday from booking to accommodation.”

Travel Weekly has partnered with Abta for the event which will include personal accounts from those who have a disability; insights from operators and hotels about what they are doing to make their products more accessible; and tips on how members can make a business case for accessible travel.

There are almost 14 million disabled people in the UK, which means up to one in five customers are likely to have accessibility requirements.

“With an ageing population and increase in disabilities in the over-50s, this looks set to increase further,” Jenkinson added.

Speakers confirmed so far include: Raymond Veal, chief executive, Tourism for All; Chris Veitch, government disability champion for tourism; Marina Snellenberg, Tui’s people with reduced mobility and accessibility manager; and Tom Bartlett, commercial operations manager at Gatwick.

When: May 8
Where: Abta, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ
Cost: Abta member/partner rate – £229 plus VAT, Non-member rate – £349 plus VAT

Book on the Abta website

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