Accessibility Information: A Low Hanging Fruit to Reap Purple Tourism

In September 2022, The Valued 500, surveyed 3,500 disabled travelers across the UK, USA, Japan, China, and Australia to understand what features make cities and destinations accessible.

The survey found that information about accessibility is a key feature across and highly desired by people with disabilities and senior population. People with disabilities seek detailed information on accessibility measures to plan their trips and avoid disappointments. Safety and familiarity is the second most important factor and travelers desire for cultural difference sensitivities, explicit signage and reduced language barriers. 

Amsterdam, Las Vegas, London, New York, Orlando, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo were voted the most accessible cities in the world.

London stands out in providing accessibility information about every aspect of travel. The city’s VisitLondon page lists out top accessible attractions, accessible hotels, public transport and other ancillary services. 

New York City emerged as another high scorer in terms of providing detailed accessibility information about the city.

Information on accessibility is therefore a crucial area that motivates or deters tourists with permanent or temporary disability to choose a destination. Establishing the importance of availability of accessibility information, is imperative for key stakeholders in the tourism value chain to inculcate the same as a best practice.

Indian Hotel Chains Fall Short in Providing Accessibility Information

We have analyzed the leading hotel chains in India on the availability of accessibility information. This assessment is on the availability of accessibility features of the hotel property and accommodations and should not be confused with digital accessibility or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Table: Status of Accessibility Information on Major Hotel Chains in India

Source: The Capital P Lab

IHG Hotels and Resorts Raises the Bar

In terms of providing accessibility information IHG Hotel Groups have provided detailed information. The website of Holiday Inn Express Hitech City, Hyderabad, lists out the detailed accessibility features across accommodations, parking and hotel property.

The accessibility details are easily available on the Homepage and Rooms pages. Rooms page also provides a search filter for accessibility.

The website also provides information on the number of accessible rooms in the property.

Table: Overview of the Accessibility Information provided on Holiday Inn Express Hitec City, Hyderabad website

Data Source: Holiday Inn Express Hitec City, Hyderabad

Small Investment, Big Returns

Providing accessibility information about accommodations, parking and property is a small retrofit. Hotel chains just have to add information about their existing accessibility features on their homepages and booking pages. This goes a long way in tapping into the purple tourism kitty and brand building.

Of the hotels we assessed, The Lalit and Lemon Tree Hotels did stand out in an odd way. Both the groups are highly committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The Lalit has provided in information about its DEI initiatives # Pure Love on its website. Lemon Tree Hotels has a detailed video about its inclusion of people with physical and mental disabilities in its workforce.  However, both the groups have no information about the accessibility of its property and accommodations. We believe that if hotel groups encourage better participation in the workforce, they will have accessible properties. On-ground audits can paint a clearer picture, however, no statement on accessibility creates ambiguity and discourages any traveler with permanent or temporary disability to plan a trip.

The level of accessibility any hotel property provides or the number of accessible rooms it has is for an altogether different discussion. The point that is being made here is for hotel chains to take the initiative of proactively providing accessibility in a detailed non-ambiguous manner.

Once adopted and advocated by leading hotel chains, the practice of providing accessibility information shall trickle down in the hotel industry and eventually become an industry standard.