Travellers with disabilities are a group long overdue for the attention they deserve from the travel and tourism industry. Smart travel providers are making the commitment to improving accessibility, but we still have room to grow.
After all, the number of travellers with disabilities is growing – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 27 per cent of US adults have a disability – and they’re spending significant amounts of money on travel. Knowing the importance of doing better to meet their diverse needs leads to our next question: what comes next?
Who are travellers with disabilities?
Approximately 61 million adult Americans have a disability. Of those, nearly 13 per cent have cognitive challenges, which includes difficulty concentrating, remembering things, and making decisions. More than 12 per cent experience mobility challenges such as difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Another six per cent report hearing impairments, and almost five per cent have vision impairments. People with disabilities are also more likely to have obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Given that this list captures only a portion of disabilities, and that many individuals may have more than one, this catch-all term includes a wide range of challenges and impairments. Additionally, within each of those categories, severity can range from minimal to moderate, and the accommodations an individual needs because of their disability can, therefore, vary as well.
Baby boomers, because of their age, may live with impairments at higher rates than younger demographics, but they also have some of the highest purchasing power among the generations. The Federal Reserve estimates that baby boomers held 51 per cent of the US’s household wealth, approximately $70 trillion, in 2022. And on top of that, baby boomers remain active and desirous of spending some of their expendable income on travel.
0 Comments