Travellers with a Disability – Episode 191 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

June 9, 2020 By Amanda Kendle Leave a Comment

I have so many privileges in the ways I get to travel, and yet another one is that I do not travel with a disability. But especially because of my dear friend Julie Jones, featured in this episode, I’ve long kept it in mind that many people do travel with a disability, or with a family member or friend who has a disability, and that many parts of the world are not very accommodating for this.

Accessible tourism is increasingly important, though, and it’s now something I actually look out for when I’m in a new destination. And I want to keep drawing attention to this need, too, and that’s why I’ve put together this episode – enjoy!

Show notes: Episode 191 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Travellers with a Disability

As I’ve learnt by listening over the years to one of our guests, one in five travellers have a disability. That’s a high percentage and I guess that means there’s a good number of my listeners who travel with a disability, or have a family member or friend in their travelling group with a disability. This is important stuff!

In Episode 191 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three people on this subject. First up, I have a great chat with Seana Smith who describes the development of her son and his travels over the years. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three, but is now an adult, and Seana tells me how his experience with travel has changed. Let’s just say there’s a heavy metal festival involved!

Next I speak with Suzanne Kamata, who has travelled many times with her now adult daughter, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy and a love of France (and travelling in general).

Finally, I wanted to get Julie Jones back on to speak about a magazine she’s started since we last chatted on the podcast several years ago, called Travel Without Limits. It’s Australia’s first disability-specific travel magazine and it’s awesome!

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