Agoda.com report shows that region needs to improve facilities for disabled guests
Hotels in Asian countries are among the least accessible for guests with reduced mobility, a new study has found.
The report, compiled by Agoda.com, found that only 11% of hotels in Indonesia, 9% in Vietnam and 8% in Thailand, Cambodia and Nepal, provide adequate facilities for guests with disabilities. In Laos, the number is just 1%.
No countries in the East Asia region made the global top 10. Singapore was the highest ranking country in the region, in 18th place with 40% of its hotels on Agoda.com offering facilities for guests with reduced mobility.
Five of the bottom 10 countries are in the East Asia region.
Topping the table was the US, which offered disabled access at 77% of its hotels. The UAE, Ireland and Portugal (all 55%) also ranked highly, while New Zealand (54%) was the highest ranked country in Oceania.
Agoda noted that many factors influence whether hotels will have accessible facilities, including local laws and regulations, the type of visitors who come to the destination, and the age of hotels. The UAE for example, has a larger number of newly-built hotels which are more likely to have such facilities. In the capital, Abu Dhabi, 90% of the hotels are able to accommodate guests with reduced mobility.
Pilgrimage destinations also tended to have higher accessibility rates, according to the study. In Fatima, Portugal, Huelva province in Spain, and Lourdes, France, more than 60% of hotels reported that they had facilities for disabled guests.
The report was based on the information supplied to Agoda.com by the hotels themselves, and the only included countries with more than 100 hotels listed on the OTA.
Source: http://www.traveldailymedia.com/