Many disabled people feel so stressed out when booking and going on holidays that they've stopped taking them altogether, new research has found.
For those without a disability, heading away on a trip can be stressful enough once busy airports, early trains and queues at Dover are taken into account.
Those same hurdles can be that much harder and even more anxiety-inducing for people with disabilities.
New research has revealed that 51% of people with disabilities find holidays stressful and a third find them frustrating to plan and book.
Difficulties during the booking process often include finding affordable and suitable accommodation, lack of information on websites about support available, staff’s lack of knowledge, and hidden fees.
The lack of help or facilities at the airport, and simply getting to the airport in the first place were among the concerns disabled people felt towards travelling.
Over 8 in 10 of disabled people stated they have experienced difficulties while travelling on holiday.
These negative experiences have impacted 65% of disabled people’s attitudes toward travelling, with 1 in 10 going as far as avoiding leisure travel, due to not being confident that their additional needs could be met.
Almost half of all disabled people surveyed stated that they had made a complaint relating to accessibility while on holiday - and for 43%, nothing was done as a result of the complaint they raised.
The research was conducted by Essex-based Ocean Holidays after it unveiled a service and resource hub dedicated to making holidays accessible for all, no matter the disability.
The company, which organises trips to Florida, says that customers can now book holidays knowing that every additional need they may have is taken care of - whether at the airport or in resort – by well trained staff at no extra cost.
The travel firm has information on its website about everything from accessible restaurants to wheelchair-friendly sightseeing options in Florida.
Harry Hastings, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Holidays, whose son Rudy has a rare genetic condition called MCAHS1, explained: "These findings underline the opportunity the travel industry has to make travel a better experience for the one in five individuals with disabilities in the UK.
"It’s great to see niche holiday operators serving the needs of so many but we also believe that it’s time that more mainstream travel companies step up with a more inclusive approach to supporting people with disabilities, and their families.
"As an industry, we have so much to do to vastly improve the holiday experience for people with disabilities.
"At Ocean Holidays, we are at the start of this journey, and we’ve taken steps to improve the experience across the board. We promise to do our best to provide people with disabilities the support they need to enjoy their dream holiday.”
