DESTINATIONS MYTH-BUSTING ACCESSIBLE TOURISM
accommodate guests, integrating grab rails or large button telephones (with Braille embossing) that are available for use by everyone. Bespoke Hotels has introduced
its first access awards this year, celebrating innovative design in this field. Chairman Robin Sheppard says: “We felt the hospitality industry was ticking the box on statutory requirements, instead of enhancing the guest experience, particularly when it came to disabled hotel rooms that were often over-medicalised and clinical – Disability Discrimination Act- compliant, yet utterly devoid of joy. We felt more could be done to lead the charge, challenging hotels to address this issue and tackle it head on.” Among the top hotels for guests who need an adapted room, Prestige Holidays recommends Jardines de Nivaria in Tenerife, Princesa Yaiza in Lanzarote, Grand Hotel Residencia in Gran Canaria and the Westin Dragonara in Malta. "The main thing to remember when
you get any enquiry that involves disability is it’s still a holiday booking – you need to ask all the usual questions,” says Philip Scott, managing director of specialist operator Can be
Done. “The next point is to ascertain clients’ needs in terms of hotels, and if they need to rent any special equipment. We can advise on suitable options even while the client is sitting with the agent, but they should bear in mind that a hotel has a limited number of accessible rooms and we need to guarantee availability, so it can take 24 to 48 hours to get confirmation of a booking.”
◗ ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS ARE OUT OF THE QUESTION… Plenty of disabled people require only minimal adaptations or specialist equipment to take part in activities ranging from self-drives through to horse riding or skiing. And let’s face it, the strength and stamina it takes to get yourself around in a wheelchair makes many a disabled person fitter than average, so it would be short-sighted to overlook the activity market. Klaus Lohmann, UK & Ireland
director of the German National Tourist Office (GNTO), says: “We launched our ‘Feeling Fearless’ campaign to show that activity holidays are definitely not out of the question for disabled people. The activities offered through established partners in Germany
represent a wide choice, depending on how fearless people want to be. We understand for some, simply going to another country takes enormous courage, but if anyone wants to go white-water rafting or even skiing, Germany is open to all.”
◗ ONLY BIG CITIES ARE ACCESSIBLE… While it’s true that big, well-developed cities tend to have the best in accessibility, it doesn’t always follow that towns or villages in more remote places are ‘inaccessible’. Resort destinations are often well set up for disabled people, and design features that might take into account people with mobility impairments – such as wide doorways or lifts and ramps – are as much a relief for parents pushing buggies or holidaymakers wheeling suitcases as they are for those with disabilities. Where there is a specific need, a specific solution is often already in place. Beaches, woodlands and more modern attractions have taken great efforts to make destinations accessible, not least to make sure that they are suitable for the elderly or family markets.
Science Museum, London
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travelweekly.co.uk 24 November 2016
PICTURES: VISITENGLAND/VISITBRITAIN/PAWEL LIBERA; GNTO/RUPPINER LAND TOURISM ASSOCIATION
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