In a move to make tourism more inclusive and accessible, Enable Travel – India’s first Accessible Holiday initiative was launched to cater to the travel aspirations of people with disabilities. A ground-breaking initiative in the area of accessible tourism, Enable Travel aims to provide tours and carefully crafted leisure outings for people with disabilities across mobility (wheelchairs), hearing, speech and vision impairment.
The revolutionary initiative was unveiled by Debolin Sen, Head, Enable Travel, Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings, along with Enable Travel’s panel of experts Rustom Irani (wheelchair), Divyanshu Ganatra (vision), Shama Noorani (wheelchair), Group Captain (Retd) Prabal Malaker (wheelchair), and Alim Chandani (hearing), thus making Enable Travel a product “made by the disabled for the disabled”. Enable Travel is powered by Cox and Kings Ltd.
Sen said, “Enable Travel is a long-term commitment to make travel easy and hassle free in India and to empower each and every individual to celebrate their love for travel. Through this initiative we are trying to address various barriers like inaccessible travel information, lack of transportation and disable friendly hotel rooms that prevent people from travelling. Each of the itineraries catering to inbound and domestic tourists has been thoughtfully curated, ensuring the long-held dream of a seamless travel experience isn’t hampered. As part of its service offering, Enable Travel will introduce quality transportation in the form of wheelchair accessible vehicles, aids and accessories like ramps and an assortment of specialised wheelchairs for those who are wheelchair bound. Support services also include investments in specially trained manpower such as caregivers, sign language interpreters, expert guides and escorts making all areas of travel accessible.”
Anand said, “We believe that people with disabilities have absolute right to live a life of equal opportunities, choice and freedom. They have the same desire to travel but the lack of an accessible environment reduces their ability or desire to travel outside. Many tourists with disabilities within and outside India are keen on exploring different travel experiences the country has to offer. It is important to tap this largely underserved segment of travellers by providing quality assistance and services that focus on individual needs. Enabling barrier-free travel for people with disabilities will contribute to a significant increase in inbound and domestic tourism.”
He added, “In a country where everyday commute is still a struggle, making tourism accessible to people with disabilities has been challenging. Enable Travel endeavours to make tourism accessible to all and encourages people to turn their travel dreams into reality.”
