According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in six people live with a disability, many of whom face frequent difficulties when travelling abroad.
Consequently, data from GOV UK shows that those with a disability travel 75 percent less frequently than those without, and 25 percent of those that do report challenges when it comes to air travel.
Yet flying abroad doesn’t always have to cause aggravation, even for those who suffer from a disability, including the elderly.
Travel agency Iglu Cruise have looked into the matter and researched the European cities that are the most inclusive and disability-friendly.
By gathering data from TripAdvisor and Wheelmap, the study investigated the number of accessible hotels, restaurants, leisure activities and tourist attractions per 100,000 people of the population for each city, to determine which cities were the most accessible.
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At the top of the list is Lisbon, a gorgeous European city which boasts sun, sea, sand and accessible activities, according to the study.
There are around 374 accessible hotels in the Portuguese capital, per 100,000 of the population, as well as 206.7 restaurants, 7.3 tourist attractions and 3.9 leisure activities.
Rome comes in at second, with an equally impressive number of accessible hotels (292) and restaurants (156), whilst Paris – despite overcoming its bedbug issue – ranks third on the list.
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The Icelandic and Irish capital cities, Reykjavik and Dublin, round out the top five, whilst Amsterdam, Athens and Prague make the top ten.
Accessibility certainly isn’t one of London’s strongest points, ranking in 23rd place out of 44 European capital cities.
Minsk, Moscow, Copenhagen, Sofia and Bucharest, meanwhile, rank at the bottom of the pile for accessible travel.
See the full list of European cities with the most accessible travel below:
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Lisbon, Portugal
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Rome, Italy
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Paris, France
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Reykjavik, Iceland
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Dublin, Ireland
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Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Athens, Greece
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Prague, Czechia
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Bern, Switzerland
Dave Mills, Global Supply Director from Iglu Cruise said: “Everyone should be able to explore the world, no matter if you are living with a disability or not.
“While having a disability can sometimes cause challenges for those looking to travel, we all must make conscious efforts to make travel more accessible for everyone.
“For those living with a disability who may wish to travel more frequently, there are plenty of options available and destinations to be discovered that are fully inclusive.
“Cruising is an excellent option as most onboard facilities cater for a range of disabilities, whilst guests can also travel to multiple destinations in one trip with ease.”
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