Seeing Europe from a wheelchair

Having broken her foot, the writer and her family had to plan for a disability-friendly trip around Germany and the Netherlands

- Ming E. Wong

THE NETHERLANDS About a week before my aunt and sister were due to join me and my husband on a trip to the Netherlands, I fell badly over a step and broke my left foot. The orthopaedic doctor put it in a cast, and issued me crutches and a wheelchair.

We had been looking forward to seeing the world-famous Keukenhof botanical garden, which blooms with tulips every year from March to May.

My aunt is 87, my sister is diabetic, the tulips would not wait and who knew how long my foot would take to recover? It would also involve costs and effort to cancel or rebook our flights, hotels and travel insurance.

Banking on the idea that there is no ideal time, and that people with less-than-fit bodies must get on with their lives, we decided to go ahead with the trip.

A wheelchair user notices others like her, and many of them are elderly. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific reports that the number of older people in Asia and the Pacific is likely to double from about 630 million in 2020 to 1.3 billion by 2050.

This means the tourism industry must increasingly consider the needs of the senior market. In developed economies, baby boomers will live longer, be more active and be more willing to travel than their parents. Many, at some point, will need help with mobility.

Wheelchair transport has become a major consideration for airlines. In the US, an Air Carrier Access Act defines the rights of disabled passengers and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel.