TOURISM FAILING PEOPLE

TOURISM FAILING PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES

Dear Editor,

Tourism is missing out on millions or euros annually, because its failure to cater for the needs of the disabled according to a survey carried out by the University of Ulster,“School of Built Environment” This can affect about 70% of the population. If one takes into factor the population of Ireland alone, the disabled community together with their families, friends and relations would be affected it also found out that while some tourist offices might be accessible, there is a lack of information about where disabled tourism can visit, stay or eat. The survey also found that while staff, at tourist offices was helpful, less than half could offer useful advice. Disabled visitors are left to hope for the best, the survey warned, it added that not only is it bad for the tourism, it is bad for business.

Many critics in Westport including myself have called on the tourist trade here to wake up to the fact that disabled tourists are lucrative customers. Research indicates that there are over 55 million people with disability resident in the European Union (E.U.) alone. That figure pointed to the potential size of the market. For disabled tourists facing into a journey, fear of the unknown is often a key element. Not been aware of the accessibility status of places and venues can easily undermine the will to travel.

The life of a disabled person such as I is effectively controlled by that of the able-bodied world. But what is the right of a disabled person? Are we safe having our lives structured, or can we also be leaders of such vital legislation? For tourists with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairment, what has a town like Westport, having the title of“Tidiest Town in Ireland” to offer the disabled. What is the point in dressing up and nowhere to go? By this I mean are the pubs, hotels, toilets , hotels, swimming pool, cinemas, public library, post office, B/Bs, restaurants, takeaways, GAA pitches heritage centre, parking facilities for disabled drivers/passengers and the public toilets.

Are the streets of Westport safe enough for disabled, especially when we read in the papers that owing to the state of some, Councilors had threatened to carry out repairs with their own monies? This is despite commitments following the DISABILITY ACT 2005, which is over 3 years old.

Westport Tourist Office is the only Tourist Office in Co. Mayo open the whole year, yet it is totally unaccessible for people with disabilities.


Have a person with a disability tried to book a room with a level access shower? Not easy is it. You call a hotel with a wheelchair sign in the guide and the conversation goes something like this: Do you have accessible rooms. If the answer is yes, do they have level access showers, the answer will range from “What do you mean to? Well it does have a ledge” to “No, but we do have baths and the room is wheelchair friendly. If you are lucky enough to get a positive reply and there is a level access shower the next question you might ask is “Do they have a shower chair. Silence for a minute, then this leads to another “What do you mean”. How difficult is it to understand that people who can’t walk or stand needs something to sit on in a shower, preferably a shower chair. And how are you supposed to get into a bath when your legs can’t work. You will travel the length and breadth of this country looking for a hotel with both a level access shower and a shower wheelchair.

So I decided to contact Failte Ireland which administers what it calls the Validated Accessible Scheme (VAS). This scheme is designed to encourage hotels to be more accessible to people with disabilities. VAS has 4 categories ranging from category 1, which is for people with enough mobility to walk into a room, to category 4, where the guest requires assistance to shower, etc.
Failte Ireland informed me that 29 Irish hotels have registered with the scheme, with only 6 qualifying for category 4. The Irish Federation has a membership of approx. 800 hotels. This would mean that at most 3.6% of their hotels are in the scheme and only 0.75% is qualified for category 4 an abysmal performance by our failte (welcoming) industry.
Why is the performance not better? Well first of all it’s a commercial issue. If a hotel doesn’t need to spend what ever little extra it costs to build a wheelchair friendly room why should they bother. But hold it there - surely we have legislation which requires hotels to provide specific facilities for the disabled. Answer to that is yes and no.“Legalisation???

I seem to have stumbled across one of the great Irish secrets. We don’t have adequate hotel facilities for the disabled. We don’t have enforcement legislation inspection or validation scheme to ensure tourists are given correct information. Once again the disabled have to look after themselves. The shame of it is that this so called successful society of ours simply does not have an interest in catering for people with disabilities because there isn’t a quick buck in it.

Thomas Chambers
Disability Campaigner
“The Billy Ranch”
Knocknageeha
Newport
Co. Mayo