We want disabled travellers!!

At Disabled Travel Guide (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk), we work hard to keep up to date with any news that affects disabled travellers.

Last week, the Philippines said it would court disabled tourists by offering discounts on fares, hotels, and leisure establishments to a potentially huge and under-served market segment..............US!

The government called on tourism businesses to apply a 20 percent discount, already guaranteed by law to disabled Filipinos, to all visitors with disabilities, that would cover accommodation, admission to amusement venues, and transportation for those with disabilities.

"The trend is not to have separate services for PWDs, but for full integration in our hospitality industry," the Filipino Tourism Secretary said.

"This entails making our products suitable for persons with particular needs so that they may enjoy travel equally with everyone else."

President Benigno Aquino has singled out tourism as a key driver of economic growth.

But the Philippines lags many of its Asian neighbours even though arrivals surged 16.68 percent to an all-time high 3.52 million visitors last year.

Lim had said poor facilities particularly in transportation and too few hotel beds, as well as bad press and isolated security problems, were key hurdles.

The statement quoted a Filipino expert as saying moving into "barrier-free" tourism would open up many of the tropical southeast Asian nation's main draws to the disabled who make up about 10 percent of the world's population.

It said the government was committed to reducing their transportation constraints by making toilets, bathrooms and doors easier to use for the wheelchair-bound, and putting up ramps, handrails, and non-skid floors.

Tourism Undersecretary Maria Victoria Jasmin said the government was offering incentives to tourism establishments that renovate their facilities to make them more friendly to the disabled.

"The time is right to commence more concerted action on this issue," she said in the statement.

Ticket to the Philippines anybody :)

If you have any personal experience of the Philippines, or any other destination, please tell us all about it at www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk

Up in the USAir

Welcome back to Access All Areas, the weekly blog for Disabled Travel Guide (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk).


This week, because I'm busy planning a trip to Las Vegas, San Francisco, and a coast to coast rail journey from California to New York, I've been reminding myself of different American laws and regulations that affect disabled visitors and travellers.
One issue that doesn't affect my own travel, but that I was sure would be of interest to some of our regular readers, are the laws pertaining to service animals when flying to, and within, the US.
It’s important to note, that the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) covers air travel on US-based airlines, as well as on foreign carriers on flights to and from the US. 

And so........with that in mind, here’s a quick ovrview about your rights and obligations under the 2008 revision of the ACAA — as they pertain to flying with a service animal.

• Under the ACAA, US airlines must allow service animals to accompany any qualified person with a disability on board the aircraft. This does not include service animals in training who are traveling with a non-disabled person; although some airlines may allow this exception.

• No advance notice is needed to travel with a service animal, unless the flight is expected to be longer than eight hours.

• People who travel with a service animal are entitled to bulkhead seating if they desire, however they are not required to sit in the bulkhead section.

• The service animal must not obstruct the aisle or any other area that is required by FAA safety rules to remain unobstructed. If the service animal cannot be accommodated at the original seat, the airline must allow the passenger to move to another seat where the animal can be accommodated.

• Airlines cannot charge damage fees, deposits or surcharges to people traveling with a service animal; unless those same fees apply to other passengers.

• Under the ACAA, US carriers are responsible for working with local airports to provide relief areas for service animals. Foreign carriers are only required to provide relief areas in terminal facilities for flights to or from the US.

• Airlines can require documentation that a service animal will not need to relieve itself on flights over eight hours, or that it can relieve itself in a way that will not create a health or sanitation issue.

• US airlines are not required to accept unusual or exotic service animals such as miniature horses, pigs or monkeys, if they determine that they are too large or heavy to be safely carried in the cabin, or if they would pose a direct threat to the safety of the other passengers.

• US airlines are never required to accept snakes, other reptiles, ferrets, rodents or spiders as service animals.

• Foreign air carriers are only required to accept dogs as service animals, and that only applies to flights to and from the US.

• US air carriers are required to carry an emotional support or psychiatric service animal if the passenger presents the required documentation. This includes a letter from a mental health professional stating that the passenger has a mental health-related disability. The letter must be less than one year old, and be from a mental health professional who is currently treating the passenger.

• You must give US airlines, 48 hours advance notice if you intend to travel with an emotional support animal.

• Foreign airlines are not required to carry emotional support animals.

• Last but certainly not least, remember that some countries impose strict quarantines on incoming animals, and many of these quarantines do not exclude service animals. Be sure to inquire in advance about any restrictions, so you have the required paperwork for importing an animal at your destination.

Have a great flight!!

Room at the Inn?

I was thinking about what to focus on in this weeks blog and..............between cups of coffee...........back to back episodes of Judge Judy..........and playing with Waggy Maggie (my 7 month old Tibetan Terrier - sooo cute :)...I'll be honest, I couldn't think of a focus.
Thankfully an interesting e mail landed in the inbox at Disabled Travel Guide that started me thinking.
The e mail was describing a new Spanish project that aims to provided accessible holiday accommodation along side a number of assisted living apartments, and a fully equipped hospital facility. All in the warmth of the beautiful Spanish sunshine.
Firstly, I should point out that this 'complex' has not yet been built, and is at the very early stages of development (no doubt when the facility is completed, the lovely staff at Disabled Travel Guide will do some detailed fact finding, and post the details on www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk).
Secondly, I should also point out that I'm not a great fan of specialised accommodation.  I'm well aware that there are some fabulous providers out there, but having lived with a condition since 1999, and relying on crutches and a wheelchair, I believe that there are some very simple solutions that allow those of us have basic     mobility issues or disabilities to enjoy mainstream accommodation alongside our 'able bodied' counterparts, rather than tucking us away neatly so that we aren't an inconvenience to anyone.
Personally, I think that consideration and equality should not be at the cost of inclusion.
The e mail about the development started me thinking about different forms of holiday accommodation; hotels, bed and breakfast, apartments, and house rentals.
I have some great experience of house rentals, and usually spend at least one or two weeks in a house or cottage every summer.  Many people offering these house rentals clearly advertise that their property is 'disabled friendly' or 'easy access'.  At the very least, details regarding downstairs bathrooms and ground floor bedrooms are readily available, even if the property is not specifically marketed as disabled friendly.
That's prety good I think; being able to find out quickly and easily whether a particular property is suitable.
A quick search will bring back the information that there are many many villas that are also advertised along with details about accessibility.
And so........to the point.
Most house rentals are owned by individuals who have one or two properties that they rent out privately or through a suitable agent.  The owners of overseas villas are often very similar, owning a holiday villa, enjoying 4 - 6 weeks themselves throughout the year, and renting the villa out for the remainder. These businesses are not always huge multi million pound enterprises, but they often provide a well considered amount of disabled related information.
In comparison, large hotel companies often forget that basic information about parking, access, ground floor rooms and bathing facilities are actually quite important to disabled, elderly or infirm guests.  Don't get me wrong, I'm as interested as the next person in the beautifully manicured gardens, the approximate distance to the 'just around the corner' historic attraction, or the soft furnishings provided by the trendy TV designer but come on guys............I want to know I can get in the building first!!
Of course, it would cost a small fortune for the companies themselves to include an extra paragraph in their brochure, or to add a page to their website explaining accessibility and disabled suitable facilities (if you didn't already realise.........that was sarcasm!), and what with some larger companies turning over tens of millions of pounds in revenue, and paying industry professionals high end salaries to effectively market their hotel chains, it starts to feel like the only reason why the information isn't already openly available is because the people calling the shots, either don't WANT to provide the information, or simply can't be bothered.
Thankfully, a new scheme is encouraging all UK hotels to join up and make their disabled friendly information available.  The Blue Star Scheme (www.bluestarscheme.co:.uk) lists features such as level entry, lift facilities, and ground floor rooms, as well as providing links to a hotels own website, contact numbers, and Google map details.
The Blue Star Scheme can be accessed through the Disabled Travel Guide website (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk) and, as their site explains:
"Every hotel in the UK is eligible to join the scheme, so if there is a hotel near you that is not making their information available, please ask them why".
Until hotels and temporary accommodation providers are required to provide disability related information, leave your reviews and expert knowledge here to help other disabled travellers find the accommodation that meets their own needs and requirements.

Where is the TV?

I'm sitting here thinking about the travel shows I've seen over the years; the shows, the features, the equal representation of travellers with particular needs.  Oh wait!!  There seems to be a flaw in that thought doesn't there?
Why is it that I can't think of a single mainstream show that features travel from a disabled perspective, and isn't it about time that the supporting industries to hospitality and tourism (the media included) 'stepped up to the plate'?
If you listen really hard, you can hear television executives, planners and producers jumping up and down exclaiming that disabled travellers are a tiny minority, and after all, television shows cost thousands of pounds to develop and produce.  Isn't it fair enough that only the most desired and watched shows - with the largest target market - make it onto the small screen?
It's true that there is approximately 10-13% of the population that suffers from disability.  In the context of this blog I might go so far as to say ONLY 10-13%.  It's a good job that disabled people ONLY travel alone.  Oh wait!! That's right..........they don't!
Disabled people, just like everyone else, travel with husbands, wives, family, friends, partners, business contacts;  that starts to push the figure of 10% of people who suffer directly from a disability much higher, when you start to think of people who are affected by disability.
At Disabled Travel Guide (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk) reviews and information about worldwide destinations, hotels, and attractions are left by carers and companions as well as by disabled travellers themselves. Personally, I'm of the opinion that they might be interested about travel from a disabled perspective too.
My father is in his late Seventies, and over the last few years has enjoyed trips to Kos, Ireland, France, Spain.......(I could go on).  As I write he is aboard a Mediterranean cruise ship, no doubt experiencing excellent service, and an occasional Gin and Tonic.  He is not disabled.  He doesn't use a wheelchair, a walking frame or a crutch. However, nor does he wish to holiday somewhere that is accessible only to the experienced climber or the mountain goat!  He doesn't wish to book a room that is up seven flights of stairs. And he doesn't want to go on a winter wonderland vacation to Lapland if he has to walk there!!  You know........the more I think about it, a show that included a regular travel feature for people with specific concerns might have a wider appeal than you might think, and we haven't even begun to consider the issues of families with disabled children, medical tourism, or the fact that the aftermath of international conflicts includes an army of young servicemen who, through injury, are changing the face of disability.
I feel a facebook petition coming on!!
However, until there is consideration of disabled travellers within the commissioning and production of mainstream television, Disabled Travel Guide will attempt to provide the information that allows us all to 'access all areas', you can leave your own comments, reviews, and expert information here http://disabledtravelguide.co.uk/component/content/article/2.
  
Or follow Disabled Travel Guide on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disabled-Travel-Guide/134055463342542

What's In A Name?

Disabled, crippled, handicapped.  A ‘physically challenged’ traveller (yes, I hate the politically correct label as well) is sometimes faced with words that are often considered inappropriate in our own individual countries, but thought of as totally acceptable in the place we are visiting, sometimes even the most appropriate; but why do certain terms evoke our outrage? Do they really? And is it time to reclaim the words themselves?

I  was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999, since which time I have slowly descended through various levels of capacity and mobility, from walking with an obvious limp, to the occasional use of canes and sticks, elbow crutches, and the eventual dependence on a wheelchair.  At each stage along the way I’ve referred to myself in different ways: a ‘gimp’, a ‘wheelie’, or even, when talking to my wife, I have simply described myself as ‘broken’ (budding psychologists can interpret that one and send their concerns to me on a postcard).  Talking recently to a well recognised disabled actor, they commented on how many ‘power crips’ they knew personally, or had contact to (a ‘power crip’ being someone with a disability who had a public profile or a degree of influence either commercially, socially, or politically).  The fact that they used the word ‘crip’, neither offended me, nor particularly surprised me.  But how would I feel if the term was used by someone when I was on holiday, or if I was on a trip for Disabled Travel Guide (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk).

Anyone travelling within the United States, will quickly realise that the term handicapped is the word of choice when describing disabled services, parking facilities and the like.  Many of us consider this word to be one of the most insulting, having a basis in a period when someone with a disability was forced to beg for the charity of others (begging = ‘cap in hand’ = hand i capped).  Most people using the word however, have no idea where the origin of the word itself lies, and believe themselves to be using a term unlikely to cause insult or offence. I recently read a comment that described the term ‘handicapped’ somewhat differently: “If a ship is disabled it is helpless, open to the elements and at significant risk. A golfer has a handicap. They have a handicap so that with a little help, they can take on anyone in the world”.  I’m not a ship........and I don’t play golf!!  But it does make you think.

In Russia, there are two separate words for light blue and dark blue.  In the Russian language and culture, they think of these two things as different, while in Europe we are fully inclusive towards all sorts of blue, regardless of shade or tone (just because I’m light blue, it doesn’t make me any less of a colour!)

Those of us who are disabled (I apologise to anyone who would prefer an alternative word) have the opportunity to reclaim words that make many of us cringe.  I am ‘special’, just not special in a sickly saccharine, “please treat me with pity” sort of way. As someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or disability, I might be an ‘invalid’. I’m just not in valid.  And if I want to be a ‘spastic’, a ‘spaz’, a ‘crip’ or a ‘wheelie’ then I will be.

With increasing equality legislation in many countries, and a greater awareness generally, hotels and travel operators are required to consider the needs of disabled travellers. Some do so with a genuine desire to offer the best services to all, and some with the desire to provide the minimum amount of consideration required to keep them on the right side of the law.

At Disabled Travel Guide (www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk) reviews can be left for hotels, locations  and attractions, cruise companies, holiday destinations and music venues, anywhere in the world, all from a disabled perspective.  It doesn’t make any difference whether they refer to handicapped guests, disabled travellers, or invalids.  They might use nothing but well considered, politically correct references, but they might also pay nothing more than lip service to access and disabled friendly issues. At Disabled Travel Guide, you get your opportunity to share your experiences with others, to point out both the good and the bad, and to advise people of the terms that might be used in different places around the world. 

Musings on the International

There is a recent television advert for a popular bank (if such a thing exists) that stresses the importance of knowing and understanding local customs. The bank of course suggests that it is their expert knowledge that makes them such a perfect choice for business banking customers. 

As a disabled traveller, it’s certainly true that people from around the world treat those of us with wheels, crutches, frames, canes and other assorted “disabled” apparel differently.

A number of years ago I was in the Middle East (a destination of two halves for the disabled traveller, either fabulously easy to manage areas, or areas of real obstacles and difficulty.  Check out reviews for the Middle East at www.disabledtravelguide.co.uk).  I was enjoying a wheel around a local market with family members and, because the ground was somewhat uneven (understatement), I was relying on others to push me rather than make unrealistic requests on my arms. 

As we passed by tables of rugs, scarves and Arabic hubbly-bubbly pipes my brother in law said “oh wait here a minute, I just want to look at the table we just passed”.  As I sat taking in the view of the market, the comings and goings of the traders, and the haggling rituals that took place between locals and tourists, I felt my brother in law retake the handles of my wheelchair and again we set of down the market track. 

We passed a stall, then another, and another - scarves, rugs and souvenirs began to blur, we were travelling a little faster than usual.  I must digress for a second to explain that Simon is not the best wheelchair pilot in the world as his attempts to push me through a plate-glass window and an earlier, death defying effort, to take me (chair included) up a speeding escalator will attest to.

 Even with this history I was surprised at the high velocity, ninety degree turn we made into an area clearly reserved for boxes, packaging and general rubbish, but not half as surprised as I was when I turned around to find not Simon at the helm of my wheelchair expedition, but a random Kuwaiti gentleman complete with aviator glasses and cigarette. Not a word passed between us and to this day I’m not sure whether the look of disbelief that must have been on my face registered at all with him. 

The advert for the bank doesn’t mention the fact that in some parts of the world, people might feel it perfectly acceptable to wheel you, unrequested, into a small refuse area if they think that you and your wheelchair are an inconvenience to them getting past.  (I must stress that I Love the Middle East and visit the area regularly:)

In contrast I discovered on a trip to California that I should not sit in my chair close to a shop doorway or entrance to a mall. Coming from the north-east of England I would often take the opportunity to bask in the glory of the sun while my wife enjoyed some retail therapy (not something you get to do very often in Newcastle upon Tyne- plenty of shops, no sun). However, in sunny California I discovered that people were willing to cross roads and go out of their way to ask me if I needed help or assistance with the door and so I learned to park a little further away. 

Equally I’ve never met anybody quite like the Irish to ensure that regardless of steps, cobbles, narrow doorways and obstacles, if you want to get into a certain pub, they’ll make sure you get into the pub (after all, NOTHING should stand between a person and their desire for a pint of Guinness!).

At disabledtravelguide.co.uk reviews can be left for Hotels, Locations, Attractions, Holiday Destinations and Music Venues anywhere in the world, all from a disabled perspective. We don’t yet have a category to leave a review for the people we meet.........maybe just as well.

Sean Gorman is a writer, stand up comedian, and the creator of Disabled travelguide.co.uk