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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 27 September 2016

Neha Arora, the plucky 32-year-old, who started Planet Abled, the first travel company for people with special needs, says the condescending attitude of society is more nerve-wracking than physical infrastructural challenges when she is touring with the disabled around the country.

Planet Abled is probably the first travel company in India that caters to people with special needs. What inspired you to set up it up?

My personal travel experiences as a daughter of parents with disabilities led to the inception of Planet Abled. My father is blind and mother is orthopaedically challenged, but we all are fond of travelling. We would face lot of issues in terms of accessibility and kind of leisure activities when we travelled. There came a time when my parents asked us to go without them as they thought it was a hassle for us to travel with them. I thought if, we are facing this issue, others might also be feeling the same.

The moment this struck, each day at the job became difficult, despite the fact that you had to take care of the bills which the cushy job helped. So yes, the calling in life was more prominent and in November, I just took the plunge and left the job at Adobe.

And Planet Abled came to life after nearly two years of ground work, focusing on the travel and leisure needs of people with disabilities.

The very idea being – Travel is not a privilege, its basic human right. Why a person with disability would be deprived of the same when Everything is for Everyone.

What is the vision of your company?

To make people with different disabilities travel and experience the world with as much ease and flexibility and convenience as a person without a disability can. Bringing a paradigm shift in the way people travel by converting people with disabilities into avid travellers and creating a platform for inclusive tourism alongside.

Giving people with disabilities, an avenue to visit places freely and confidently, leaving behind social inhibitions and apprehensions about their capabilities.

Planet Abled wants to open doors for people with disabilities to travel the way they want. If they are alone and want to travel with a group, if they want to travel solo, if they want to travel with their family/kids/parents/partner/friends or if they want to go on a honeymoon after their wedding, the possibilities are endless.

How do you plan out trips for the people with special needs? Is it tailor made for the individual or are there group tours?

So, for every disability, the tour had to be planned in a way that they are able to completely absorb the things and have a nice experience.

Like for wheelchair users, the route and accessible toilets have to be taken care of, for deaf and mute, sign language interpreters need to be arranged who are in sync with the moderator/guide /expert of the tour. For the visually impaired, we make sure they are able to understand each and everything using their other abilities. The volunteers are empathetic and trained to assist the travelers.

The way this is different from a normal tour is that, on a regular tour we just see things, we don’t absorb or experience things deeply. Here, since each tour is customized for people with different disabilities, it creates a totally different experience for everyone involved, be it participants or volunteers assisting them.

We conduct all sorts of tours including group tours and customized tours as well.

What are some of the barriers you come across while planning a trip?

Most of the places in our country are not very disabled friendly. Though things are changing gradually with new buildings trying to make their premises accessible for people with disabilities but it is still a long way to go. The old heritage buildings have accessibility issues and there are no accessible toilets available at most places which is perhaps the biggest challenge. At times there are no ramps available, there are no braille signage at monuments. Like we have been trying to conduct a group holiday with people of different disabilities together but we face a challenge in finding multiple accessible rooms in one hotel.

Another barrier that exists is the societal barrier. When we go our people give us gawking looks and pass lewd remarks as of some group of aliens have come over who have no right to enjoy. This is more dis-heartening than the physical infrastructure barriers we face.

Every place is different and has its own set of challenges. We just go by the mantra of making it possible, no matter what.

How do you manage to take care of medical needs of the individual?

For local tours we ask travellers at the time of registration as to what disability they have and what kind of support would be required by them. This helps us in making appropriate arrangements for each person.

Similarly for holidays we ask them for their medical history and to carry all their prescribed medicines before they join us for the tour. We ask them to conduct tests in case there is an on-going ailment. Once we find them medically fit to travel only then we proceed. Plus, there is always a doctor 10 minutes away along with trained support staff to handle any unforeseen situations.

How many people have availed of your services till now?

Around 80 people have travelled with us either in group tours or custom tours

Which has been your most challenging trip?

Well to pin point on one would be tough since each trip is a first of its kind and has its unique set of challenges. With each trip we raise our bar and overcome higher level of challenges.
To pin point, apparently the most challenging one so far is the upcoming holiday tour of the Golden Triangle.

A first of its kind in the world, where a group of travellers with different disabilities would travel together to the most popular travel circuit of India.

Which are the 5 friendliest/comfortable places for people with special needs to visit? And why?

I would say friendliest and comfortable would be separate. Areas of Punjab, Uttrakhand and Maharashtra would be the most friendly but not all places there are very comfortable to visit when we talk of accessibility.

The capital city of Delhi & places like Agra and Jaipur are comfortable to visit in terms of accessibility but would not be very friendly when it comes to reactions of people towards a disabled traveller.

How much do costs increase because of special facilities required?

Depending upon the type of disability special arrangements have to be made for each trip to create a wholesome experience. Also a lot of effort and time goes into planning and implementing the tour as utmost care is taken for each and every detail. This increases the cost of tour substantially from the rack rates available for regular tours available.

How equipped is India in terms of amenities and infrastructure to cater to travel desires of people with disabilities?

India has a long way to go in terms of accessible travel for people with disabilities. We have just taken the first step towards it. Things are definitely changing for the better but the pace is real slow. Even the places which are claimed to be accessible are not audited post implementation. And once you visit the place you realize that the accessible washroom at a heritage building is locked or the approach is permanently blocked. Or there are no handle bars inside an accessible toilet, which completely defeats the purpose of its existence.

The new malls and buildings which are coming up are more or less accessible owing to increased exposure, but when it comes towards travelling to old heritage buildings and monuments, local bazaars and famous old eating outlets, things are not very inviting.

Here Planet Abled makes it a point to create arrangements to make the places accessible. Because we can’t wait for things to be perfect to let people with disabilities travel. We gotta travel in present times and we would make sure it happens.

More so than the physical infrastructure, I feel, we as an Indian society are not equipped to accept the idea of a disabled person travelling. Owing to our over protective family environment, this sometimes works against the possibilities that exist for a person with disability to lead a normal happy life. With education and exposure things are changing but still, it is just the first step. A long journey lies ahead and we are ready for it.

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