A couple of years ago, I went to Barcelona. As a wheelchair user who travels a lot, I am depressingly used to things being pretty hard work. In many countries access is patchy at best (most wheelchair users therefore end up going back to the same places again and again).
But Barcelona was a breath of fresh air. Despite being a mediaeval European city, it has overcome many of the considerable access problems it had: curb cuts abound and many places on the ground floor are spacious enough to get around. Even many of the city’s metro stations are accessible, with lifts and special boarding spots for wheelchair users.
It helps that the weather is pretty good because so many bars and restaurants have outside tables. Attitudes towards wheelchair users are also refreshing (I think it may have something to do with all those disabled people generated years ago by the Spanish Civil War. People seem to be accustomed to having large numbers of people with mobility problems in society).
Overcoming a lot of the access problems must be down to the Olympics. From what I can see, Sydney is similarly good on access. Let’s hope for long-term improvements in London.
What was so striking about being in Barcelona was the sheer number of wheelchair users. It’s a fair bet that this was because word has got around amongst the wheelchair-using community.
So, this is a valuable group. Not only do wheelchair users go back again and again, but they also tell all their friends in wheelchairs about their good experiences.
Added to this, they are a particularly valuable group because for every wheelchair-using tourist there will also be a partner or companion. Also, some will have families.
Attracting this segment of our society makes business sense and business people need to be made more aware of this.
