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Survey highlights plight of disabled travellers
Over half of people with disabilities find travelling considerably more difficult or near impossible, according to a new survey conducted by Oliver’s Travels.
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The villa holiday specialist polled 1,000 people with disabilities to gain insight into the greatest challenged hey face when travelling.
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The research found that one of the key issues is feeling uncomfortable around other holidaymakers, which is a concern for over one third of respondents.
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Other key difficulties include airports, airline and other transport not being adapted, while 25% cited a lack of accessible booking options.
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The research also found the need for accessible travel options can leave travellers with disabilities out of pocket, with 40% saying accessible travel is always more expensive or they have, on occasion, had to pay more for the necessary support and adaptations to meet their needs.
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But on the positive side, 44% of respondents say that have seen a small improvement in accessible options in the last five years, and expect to see further improvement in the next five years.
Oliver Bell, co-founder and owner of Oliver’s Travels, said: "It was incredibly important for us to gain further insight into accessible travel and the key barriers facing travellers with disabilities.
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"The results of our survey have been invaluable to us in identifying the areas in which we need to improve our accessible travel provisions, and we hope our findings will encourage a step in the right direction for the travel industry as a whole."
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Since conducting the research, Oliver’s Travels has been making key developments to its website to ensure online resources and booking options are accessible for all.
The team has also conducted research into travel tools and resources to help support travellers with disabilities while on holiday and is continuing to review further measures.
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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