A charity dedicated to providing a directory of accessible travel services and holidays is looking for industry partners and funding following the trade’s plea for a one‑stop shop.
Enable My Trip founder Simon Miller responded after travel agents highlighted a lack of accessible travel information and advice in one place.
The charity is keen to secure funding – initially about £10,000 – from industry partners to speed up the process of creating a comprehensive hub of accessible information for agents and consumers.
Enable My Trip’s website already offers a free, independent ‘one-stop shop’ but would benefit from more information from travel suppliers, particularly cruise lines, to boost its range of content.
Miller said loading accessible travel product on to the site was a “massive” challenge for such a small charity. Funding would pay for Enable My Trip to contract staff to input this information.
“If we had £10,000, perhaps five partners giving us £2,000 each, it would get us off the blocks; we are not being greedy,” he said. “Our job is massive and we struggle to keep up with the amount of information we have available to share.”
The site also offers tips and advice for disabled travellers, and works with travel and disability bloggers.
Some agents, as well as consumers, already use the charity to find out about accessible excursions, accommodation, wheelchair van rentals, care services, equipment hire, holiday organisers and cruises, but Miller wants to raise awareness further.
“Most agents still do not know about us. We have so much knowledge to share with people. The message is: we are here, please use us!” said Miller, who is keen to work with agent associations such as Clia.
“I only have a few cruise ships listed on the site. I would like to be more involved with Clia because accessible cruising is big business.”
Miller, whose foster daughter has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, is well aware of the travel issues in the sector from personal experience, but said: “It’s always been my long-term aim to get the word out there in the travel industry to encourage people who have mobility challenges to see the worth of travel and not to think it is such a massive hurdle.
“I know families with disabled kids who do not go anywhere [because of that].”
More: Agents call for ‘one-stop shop’ for accessible travel information
Comment: Accessible travel is improving but some sectors are better than others
Agent Diary: Accessible travel might seem a lot to take on board, but the rewards are high