Making Travel Accessible for the Disabled
Airports, hotels and parks are catering to people with disabilities
Jan 22, 2009
That's because the travel industry has made great strides to provide accessible technologies in airports, hotels and theme parks. These innovations have mostly taken place thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires accommodations for the disabled in public places.
Take airports: Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports are exceptionally innovative. In September 2007, O'Hare began offering public videophones that let deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers place calls in sign language with the help of a 24-hour, free video relay service. At the push of a button, a human sign-language interpreter comes up on the screen to help the customer place the call and communicate their message. These multilingual, touchscreen videophones also provide tourist and transportation information and read airport announcements. Midway began offering the videophones in early 2008, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport now provides a similar service. "If the travel industry doesn't adapt, its customers will be literally stuck at home," says Eric Lipp, founder of Open Doors, an organization that promotes accessible travel. The cost of each videophone to the airport: $8,500, but they're free to use by anyone in the airport.
Walt Disney World, quite possibly the epitome of fun, "goes above and beyond what the ADA requires in its theme parks," says Stephen Ashley, author of Walt Disney World with Disabilities. Deaf and hearing-impaired park-goers can follow the thrills at Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Hollywood Studios in Orlando with a PDA-sized closed-captioning device that's free to use with a $100 refundable deposit. The sleeker, lighter 2008 version of the narration device now has descriptive audio for visually impaired guests. Disney also offers several wheelchair-accessible rides.
Those looking for a more mature experience can enjoy many national parks and zoos with the GPS Ranger, a handheld that uses GPS coordinates to trigger an audio and video commentary of the immediate area. The GPS Ranger is truly a multitasking gadget. Since March 2008, deaf users have been able to watch a sign-language video interpretation of a park or zoo tour on the device's four-inch screen. Those with mild or moderate hearing loss can watch with subtitles. Real-time audio descriptions aid visitors with vision impairments, and for wheelchair users, an interactive GPS map provides the location of accessible ramps, parking, and restrooms. The GPS Ranger can be rented at two dozen zoos and parks, including the Dallas Zoo, Zion National Park in Utah, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It costs about $15 to rent for the day.
Craig Grimes, who runs the Accessible Barcelona and Accessible Nicaragua tour companies, encourages independent and adventuresome travel for disabled people. He has researched accessible hotels, tourist attractions and museums throughout the two regions to ensure the highest level of comfort possible during a stay. He warns though, that the tours won't appeal to everyone, and that not all aspects of the tour will be available to people with disabilities. "Some things just aren't available in Nicaragua and some activities will simply be too hard for some people," he said.
But for those with wanderlust who also happen to have a disability, rest assured that there are more options than ever for taking that dream trip.
