Online Travel Players Boost Accessibility for Travelers With Disabilities
Photo Credit: Two students at the University of Washington, Navid Azodi (left) and Thomas Pryor (right), demonstrate their invention of a glove that transliterates sign language into speech. Tools like that can help people with disabilities travel better. There's been a wave of efforts in the past year-and-a-half to help people with mobility, hearing, and sight challenges travel more easily. University of Washington
Skift Take
People who want to select a non-smoking room are shown options at most booking sites. The industry needs to be just as helpful for travelers with specific needs for mobility, hearing, or visual challenges. Thankfully several online booking sites are trying to help.
Two big challenges face travelers who have sight, hearing, or mobility issues — a sizeable group that covers about one in ten people in many countries.
Some struggle to use travel websites and airport kiosks that require a mouse to click around for researching and booking travel.
What's more, a majority — which includes seniors with age-related impairments — often feel frustrated at major travel sites for not providing ample and updated information about the rare hotels and private rentals that provide services for travelers with challenges.
As a workaround, many people looking for accessible travel book offline, turning to travel agents, like Accessible Poland Tours, that specialize in accessible tourism services for people with special needs.
In the past 18 months, many online booking sites and technologists have been aiming to make internet-based travel resources more accessible.
Major Players Make Moves
Alternative lodging, such as short-term apartment rentals o
