Felicity Long
Some years ago my mother and I took a Europe cruise together, and although she was spry and in shape, she fell on the first day while getting out of a taxi, and banged her knee.
Nothing was broken or sprained, but her knee was swollen and sore enough that simple things, like climbing stairs and taking long walks on cobblestone streets, became an issue. I remember looking for elevators with her while the rest of the group forged on, and often by the time we caught up, we had missed half of the explanation of whatever it was we were looking at.
Although this was a temporary and relatively minor problem for her, the trip gave me a glimpse of what it might be like for travelers with restricted mobility or other special needs. "Old World" charm -- emphasis on the "old" -- doesn't always adapt easily to that market.
That said, there have been notable improvements in available services for special needs travelers in recent years.
Special Needs Group (SNG), a provider of special needs equipment rentals, is expanding its services throughout Europe this year, into Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh and Monte Carlo.
The company makes equipment such as wheelchairs, scooters and oxygen, available at cruise ports and land-based venues by reservations, making the transition from place to place seamless.
SNG is continuing to expand its offerings partly because the market segment is growing, according to its CEO Andrew J. Garnett.
"More cruise lines are building more ships, which travel to more destinations, [and] many new river cruise ships are being built and travelers are expanding to more land destinations," he said in a statement. "It is our goal to make travel accessible to everyone."
The so-called "silver segment," otherwise known as baby boomers, are turning 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day, according to SNG figures, and presumably more of that population will face some special needs as they age. At the same time, multigenerational travel continues to grow, which means that this group is traveling with younger people.
The company works with travel agents who have been designated SNG Certified Accessible Travel Advocates, and the services are available in 38 countries so far.
Another noteworthy initiative in making travel more accessible is the development of the Irish Tourism Accessibility Standard, for which the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) received an award for innovation earlier this year.
The standard helps tourism providers ensure their products and services are more accessible to a wider variety of visitors, according to James Hubbard, senior design advisor at the National Disability Authority and chairperson of the NSAI Technical Committee, which developed the policy.
"When implemented, this standard benefits everyone, from the mum with a buggy, to an elderly person hard of hearing, and to those with severe disabilities," Hubbard said. "Research carried out on businesses that use the standard demonstrates that it does improve customer communications and increase sales."
The standards, which are voluntary, include a check-list of changes that hotels, attractions, transportation services, and event organizers can use to make their services open to as wide a market as possible.
Clewbay Hotel in county Mayo is among the first providers to implement the standard by making simple changes to its written menus, making them easier to read.
On a broader scale, the Eurewelcome label, awarded to tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants that accommodate visitors with reduced mobility or other special needs, is expanding throughout Luxembourg and regions of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Luxembourg alone offers 40 attractions that have been awarded the label, particularly impressive given that Luxembourg is tiny.
Of course, none of this will make Europe's cobblestone streets any smoother or its staircases less steep, but with the right equipment and an increased awareness on the part of providers, it sure helps.