MAKING THE EFFORT TO TRAVEL.

Darren Hillock
Get Around Guide
www.getaroundguide.blogspot.com

One of the best ways to help bring about the needed awareness is for those of us that need accessibility to ask for it and in fact expect it.

"I've never been to Spain ..." as that old song goes.

But I have been to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA . In fact, that's where my awareness of accessibility as it relates to tourism began.

It was the first time we tried to travel with our son and his wheelchair. My wife, Karen, went in to register at the motel in LaCrosse. We'd specified, when making the reservation, that we needed a first-floor room. But that's not what they had for us.

It was just a two-story motel; no need for an elevator for most people. But for us, the second floor with only stairs for access was as good as putting us on the roof.

When Karen returned to the car, and told me about the mix-up, I remember that we considered carrying Marcus and his chair up the stairs. Then we realized that was impractical, to say the least. We sighed, and she went back in and insisted on a first-floor room, like our reservation called for. And she got it.

So started our education in travelling with someone with physical disabilities.

Since then we've learned plenty. Like sometimes you get lucky with accessibility. But if you want to have the best chance of having your travel experience be pleasant, you need to do some planning. This hit us in small doses as we started travelling with a wheelchair user. We did get lucky a few times. But we found ourselves doing more and more research to try to improve our luck.

We spend a lot of time on the Web when planning a trip. We've closely examined the Web sites of attractions, motels and restaurants looking for accessibility details. We've squinted at photos to see if a hotel's pool area has stairs and sent off email far and wide to ask about accessibility specifics. We've frequented message boards to do virtual reconnaissance on a destination's accessibility, sometimes with fabulous success. When you mention that you're looking for accessibility information, many people are very helpful.

Accounting for accessibility really has become part of trip planning for us -- probably the biggest part when we go somewhere new.

That's where publications and Web sites like this one come in. They can offer a person who realizes they need to do this type of research a place to go, much like any traveller might buy a guidebook. But guides that feature useful accessibility info are few and far between and really limited to a very small percentage of the total destinations when all possibilities are considered.

In the US , great strides have been made since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. But there is plenty to still be done.  One would hope that the evolving marketplace will do much of the work. There are almost 200 million people with disabilities worldwide. You've seen the stats about the aging Baby Boomers. If you run a tourism destination -- or any business affected by accessibility (which of course is all businesses) -- can you really afford to turn away millions of potential customers because no one thought of working around stairs or narrow doorways?

But, how to help bring about the needed awareness? I have to think one of the best ways is for those of us that need accessibility to ask for it and in fact expect it. Where such access and accommodations are in place, use them -- and go back. Where barriers that have kept you from enjoying a destination are needlessly in place, let the people in charge know. I'm not necessarily talking about picketing, boycotts or lawsuits here either, though those all might have their place at times. But a polite and passionate letter can send a message too. I honestly think many people just don't think accessibility yet. A few voices will make a great impact on any single business.

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