Booking holidays for disabled people ‘major barrier’ to foreign travel 

Booking travel for disabled people is a major barrier for more than two thirds of families with someone who has accessibility requirements, new research suggests.

The 67% figure emerged in a study of 1,000 people with an accessibility need themselves or within their family, which found that almost half (42%) have avoided travelling abroad over the past year due to accessibility concerns across airports, airlines and hotels.

A key theme emerging from the data compiled by UK accessibility tech firm Transreport was the consensus that booking travel for people with accessibility requirements “remains challenging”. 

Additionally, over half (52%) of respondents said that finding hotels with adequate accessibility provisions was also a challenge when trying to book a holiday. 

This underlines the need for a “single source of truth” when it comes to accessibility information, to provide a more seamless booking experience, according to the company.

Of those surveyed, 58% said the main reason for not going on an overseas holiday this summer was because rooms with accessibility provisions remain too expensive, with 52% saying they cannot rely on transport links at their destination.

This has led to an emotional strain on disabled people and their families when planning their summer holidays, with more than half (52%) of respondents saying that travelling abroad is simply too stressful.

The study found that disabled passengers and their families do not feel adequately supported, with 40% of those surveyed having avoided flying over the past year.

More than half (56%) agreed that airlines are not well-equipped to support disabled passengers, while a further 58% agreed that international airports are not equipped to do so. 

Long delays at the airport remain a significant problem for people and/or families with accessibility requirements, with 51% citing this as their main concern when travelling abroad.

Transreport said it previously found that 48% of disabled passengers had to wait for over 30 minutes for assistance when disembarking from an aircraft, and almost one in five (17%) said they often wait for more than an hour. 

Over half of respondents (52%) said that finding accommodation with adequate accessibility is too difficult and 54% do not believe that hotels are properly equipped.

Transport chief executive Jay Shen said: “These findings underline the real-world challenges people with access needs experience when travelling. 

“As the summer holidays begin, we need to remember that these challenges begin for many before they even leave home. 

“This includes additional planning and admin to ensure that assistance and accommodations are in place.

“Action across the board is needed to drive lasting, meaningful change and ensure that everyone is able to travel safely and confidently no matter their destination.”