FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eric Lipp
Open Doors Organization
773 388-8839
DISABILITY TRAVEL GENERATES $17.3 BILLION IN ANNUAL SPENDING
New Nationwide Research from Open Doors Organization as ADA
“This new data,” says ODO Director Eric Lipp, “shows that
the disability travel market has a greater impact than ever on the industry and
the broader economy. In the past two
years alone, more than 26 million adults with disabilities traveled for
pleasure and/or business, taking 73 million trips.” The study also shines a light on factors
still holding back the market. Twenty-five
years after the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, many barriers
to access still remain in air travel, hotels and restaurants, although these
have decreased significantly since the previous study in 2005.
The 2015 ODO study quantifies how much adults with disabilities
spend on just their own travel—$17.3 billion annually, up from $13.6 billion in
2002. Since these individuals typically
travel with one or more other adults, the economic impact is actually double,
or $34.6 billion.
Like the 2005 ODO study, the new research shows businesses
in the travel industry the extent and types of barriers the majority of
travelers with disabilities still experience.
Among adults with disabilities who have traveled by air, 72% said they
encountered major obstacles with airlines and 65% with airports, down from 84%
and 82% in 2005, respectively. At hotels
and restaurants, the percent reporting obstacles—physical barriers, problems
with customer service or communication barriers—has significantly decreased as
well.
The 53-page report provides detailed findings not just on
general travel patterns, frequency of travel and spending, but also gives
specifics on cruise travel; ground transportation including ride share services;
use of the Internet, mobile devices and assistive equipment; and the most
popular destinations nationally and internationally.
Reflecting back on ODO’s earlier research and where the
disability travel market is today, Eric Lipp notes, “When we carried out our
first nationwide study in 2002, the goal was to wake up the travel industry to
the importance of this mostly underserved market segment and give them hard
numbers on which to base investment decisions.
Now 13 years later, our economic impact is no longer a secret,
especially in air travel. At large airports
like Miami and
Minneapolis St. Paul, airlines now must provide more than 1 million wheelchair
assists per year. And as the Baby
Boomers continue to age, you can be sure our market will keep growing for years
to come.”
The survey was conducted online in January and February 2015
among a national sample of 1,291 adults with disabilities aged 18 or over. Disability was defined as having blindness,
deafness or a condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical
activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying. Individuals
who also have cognitive disabilities were included as respondents as well. To insure comparability with the
2002 and 2005 studies, Mandala Research used Harris Interactive (now Harris, A
Nielsen Company), who had conducted the earlier research, to carry out the
online poll.
Copies of the 2015 Market Study are available for sale
through the Open Doors Organization website (opendoorsnfp.org) or by calling
773 388-8839 or e-mailing info@opendoorsnfp.org.
The Open Doors Organization is a non-profit organization
founded for the purpose of teaching businesses how to succeed in the disability
market and make their goods and services accessible to people with disabilities.
Mandala Research, LLC, who partnered with ODO on this study, offers a
diverse range of travel market research products and services—along with expert
analysis—to Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government
agencies.
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1 comment:
Disable persons are the main part of our society. We must care for their rights. We metro airport cabs are offering special discounted rates for disable persons.
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