Empowering Accessible Travel
On tours organized by India-based iBestTravel, individuals with diverse disabilities and those without disabilities journey together, fostering an inclusive travel environment.
When Neha Arora founded the inclusive tour operator iBestTravel nearly five years ago, she was likely the least-experienced owner of a travel company. Apart from a handful of weekend getaways in her homeland, she had never ventured far beyond her hometown.
Growing up, Arora, now 37, observed her classmates in Agra embark on family vacations, returning with stories full of adventure. In contrast, her outings were limited to school picnics or visits to her grandparents in New Delhi. Family vacations never seemed feasible. Arora’s father is blind and her mother requires a wheelchair, making the logistical challenges of travel daunting.
From Frustration to Inspiration
When Arora’s first passport expired, it remained blank. After earning her engineering degree, she relocated to New Delhi and took a job in telecommunications. Eventually, she saved enough to take her family on a 10-day journey through South India in 2009, hoping that financial resources might help overcome the travel hurdles her parents faced. Unfortunately, she found this assumption misguided.
“You travel 2000 miles only to realize that the place is not accessible or does not deliver the kind of experience you were hoping for,” Arora stated.
After a particularly frustrating incident during the South India trip, where an accessibility dispute escalated, her parents decided against future travel. This prompted Arora to seek solutions. While certain travel companies aimed at individuals with disabilities existed, they generally focused on a single disability. Arora struggled to find a suitable option that would allow her to travel comfortably and safely with both of her parents.
“I began speaking with more individuals, and many were either not traveling or were facing similar obstacles,” she recounted. “I realized I needed to establish a travel company to facilitate travel.”
Accessibility as Inclusivity
According to the World Health Organization, over one billion individuals—approximately 15% of the global population—experience some form of disability, ranging from mobility and cognitive challenges to visual or hearing impairments. Furthermore, over 2 billion people, including family members and caregivers, are directly impacted by disability.
Despite these statistics, accessible tourism, which ensures everyone can enjoy travel services and facilities regardless of physical limitations, isn’t commonplace. Many individuals with disabilities encounter difficulties, stemming from insufficient information about accessible options, discrimination, or challenges in finding appropriate accommodations. A recent study revealed that even in nations with the highest adaptation rates, wheelchair access was only available in 30% of the hotels surveyed, while amenities like Braille, tactile posters, or audio guides were offered in only 5% or fewer instances.
Although Arora identified this gap early on, it wasn’t until 2016 that she felt prepared to leave her job and launch iBestTravel, aiming to make travel more accessible for individuals of all abilities. Initially, iBestTravel offered day trips in New Delhi, but now it has expanded its offerings to include accessible group tours and customized itineraries in over 40 destinations across Europe and Asia. What distinguishes iBestTravel is its inclusive approach. “We bring individuals with various disabilities and nondisabled individuals together,” Arora explained. “Consequently, disability becomes just a human attribute—it should not dictate how or where one travels.”
Considering adaptations for diverse disabilities can be challenging; however, Arora asserts that iBestTravel’s unique methodology facilitates unexpected outcomes. On one occasion, a blind man developed software to communicate directly with a deaf woman, bypassing the need for a third party. In another instance, a nondisabled traveler expressed that, although he had visited a location four times previously, this experience provided him with a newfound perspective. Arora notes that this is a common occurrence—taking longer routes for wheelchair accessibility or emphasizing tactile experiences because of a blind traveler in the group can highlight details that travelers might otherwise overlook.
Advancing Accessibility
Travelers in iBestTravel’s groups often maintain friendships beyond the trips. Arora mentioned, “Participants often recognize, ‘Oh, this individual is just like me; they merely have a disability.’” Many nondisabled travelers subsequently reach out to the company with inquiries regarding making their workplaces more accessible or hiring individuals with disabilities.
Anica Zeyen, a senior lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, discovered iBestTravel in 2019 while organizing a fieldwork trip to India. Recognizing it was her inaugural visit to the nation, she contacted the organization about participating in a day excursion.
“Using a typical travel company was not an option for me. As a blind individual, traditional sightseeing methods are often ineffective,” Zeyen explained, who frequently travels for work and leisure. “I require guides who can describe experiences for me, allow me to touch certain things, and assist in navigating unfamiliar areas.”
During a 12-hour exploration of Delhi with iBestTravel, Zeyen praised her guide for skillfully describing what she could not see without being condescending—a rarity, as she noted. He provided her with the option to either be led by the arm or walk alongside him with her cane. Additionally, they allowed her to touch certain monuments, and iBestTravel prepared 3-D models of objects she couldn’t physically experience to convey a sense of proportion and shape.
“At one moment near the spice market in Old Delhi, we climbed a narrow staircase to a rooftop to soak in the atmosphere,” Zeyen shared. “I appreciate that iBestTravel perceives me as just another traveler eager to explore the world, albeit with some necessary adjustments.”
Arora now possesses several passport stamps, the first acquired in 2018 during a trip to Vienna, Austria, to accept an honor from the United Nations for iBestTravel’s contributions. She has further broadened iBestTravel’s outreach, collaborating with governments, tourism boards, hotels, NGOs, and others, to offer insights into enhancing travel inclusivity and accessibility.
Future Prospects
Arora believes the industry has significantly improved since the inception of iBestTravel. In earlier days, when she approached hotels regarding accessibility concerns, many dismissed her, maintaining that individuals with disabilities do not travel. Presently, hotel chains are responsive to her outreach, acknowledging the importance of inclusivity.
A 2020 study indicated the disability travel market’s expansion. During 2018-19, over 27 million individuals with disabilities undertook 81 million trips, spending $58.7 billion on travel—a notable increase from $34.6 billion in 2015. The economic implications are likely more substantial, as individuals with disabilities often travel in groups.
iBestTravel is developing a platform to disseminate information about accessibility widely, enabling individuals to plan their own journeys without solely relying on travel operators, which can often incur high costs. Ultimately, Arora aspires for every travel company and destination to achieve accessibility, which may ironically render iBestTravel’s specialized services unnecessary.
“Ultimately — and this may sound ironic — there shouldn’t be a separate travel company catering specifically to disabled individuals,” Arora concluded. “The objective is to render the entire industry inclusive, which is precisely the vision of iBestTravel: to create an environment that is accessible and welcoming for all travelers.”
