Travel industry 'failing to cater for disabled'

New research suggests that travel companies are failing to cater properly for the needs of disabled travellers.

The study, carried out by Tourism for All, a British-based charity that specialises in travel for the disabled, found that 85 per cent of respondents did not believe travel agents understand the needs of disabled travellers, and 78 per cent did not feel they were catered for by high street agents. The survey also found that 35 per cent would not consider booking with a mainstream travel agent.

There are approximately 10 million adults and 750,000 children in the UK who suffer from some form of disability. It is estimated that a quarter of these regularly travel abroad.

This week Expedia, the online travel agent, launched new search tools designed to help disabled travellers find accessible accommodation. The move follows a court case in the US last year that resulted in Expedia being instructed to add content and search features to its websites that would allow people with disabilities to reserve rooms. The service however is currently only available on the US website.

Leonard Cheshire, a British charity that supports disabled people, has given warning that many airports still fail to meet the needs of disabled passengers, despite EU laws introduced in 2008 that make it the responsibility of airports to provide assistance to disabled travellers. The Civil Aviation Authority is close to completing its own report on how these laws have been implemented.