ing of that kind of information would provide employment for handicapped individuals, and they could be trained as information specialists in the travel industry. And so it would generate some jobs for some handicapped people, as well. One of the reasons it really needs to be a computerized data base is because accessibility guides become outdated as soon as they are published. I don't know of one that remains accurate when it is published, and that is a really sad thing to have to say. It is my opinion also—and I want to make two final points in these oral remarks-and that is that the deregulation of the airline industry has really hurt handicapped travelers. The interline agreement on handicapped travel going out of force with the demise of the CAB really does hurt handicapped travelers and ought to be looked at very carefully in terms of possible amendments to the Air Travel Security Act or other legislation. I think that the deregulation, in general, of the FAA regulations throws out the window some of the advisory opinions which we worked so long to get from the FAA. The final point, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, is that I think handicapped people in this country don't want discounts from the travel industry-charity, but they want to be able to get on an airplane and sit in the seat and fly, or get on a bus and take a tour. And a lot of good things have happened. There have been a lot of good things, and those good things, like the 767, with an onboard wheelchair, or bus companies being more interested in handicapped business, or the Smithsonian program which I used to work on-those things are good things, but those come about because there is no discount, because people want to provide service and not charity. So I would advocate that the Congress, in passing laws that affect such items as the Federal Railroad Administration and others, not give discounts to the handicapped traveler. Even though handicapped travelers can indeed be a low income group, it is better to give the industry a financial incentive to provide good service than a financial requirement to give out charity. The travel industry ought not get into the welfare business, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank you for giving me an opportunity to testify before you today, and I would be glad to answer any questions. Thank you. [The statement of Mr. Snider follows:] SATH Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped INTERNATIONAL HEAD OFFICE: suite 1110, 26 Court St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11242 Tal (212) 856 6453 Telex 125868 TRAVMKTINT NYKI : Testimony of Dr. Harold Snider at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Commerce, SUBJECT: Improving travel and tourism opportunities for handicapped persons. Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, ladies and gentlemen; I am Dr. Harold Snider, the immediate past-president of the Society for the The Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped is a non-profit, Over the last eight years, S.A.T.H. has been able to carefully analyze both the market potential and the possible problems which face handicapped travellers. We would like to briefly outline several of our concerns and suggestions: 1. We believe that insufficient research has been done to quantify the potential handicapped travel market. We know how many handicapped Americans there are, but we don't know how often they currently travel or what their potential propensity to travel would be if opportunities were improved. We do know that handicapped Americans are in general either unemployed or underemployed and that when they work their per capita income is often less than that of able-bodied workers. In order to justify future expenditures by the travel industry, we believe that urgent research is needed which will identify the handicapped travel market more clearly. For instance, we have no knowledge of how many handicapped Americans may hold and use credit cards for travel and leisure. To date, the credit card industry has been most unresponsive in meeting the needs of handicapped travellers. We strongly recommend the establishment of co-operative research projects between travel industry crganizations and appropriate federal agencies, such as the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services and National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. 2. The single greatest problem facing the handicapped traveller is the lack of information about airports, hotels, sightseeing attractions and destinations. There is no single up-to-date source which can be consulted by the handicapped traveller or their family which will give information about services and architectural accessibility. Access guides to many cities have been published in the last few years. But they are out of date almost as soon as they are published. With sufficient funding from the private sector and the Federal Government, it would be possible to establish and update a computerized data base with a toll-free number. This data base could serve both the individual handicapped traveller as well as travel agents and tour operators making arrangements for handicapped travellers. Since it is theoretically possible for computers to talk to each other, it is possible that airline reservation services could tap this data base when making reservations for a handicapped traveller. Establishment of a national data base of travel information for the handicapped would also make it possible to promote tourism to the United States by handicapped persons from overseas, who could easily obtain information in advance of their trip. At present, the travel industry itself cannot identify or quantify the number, availability and location of accessible motel and hotel rooms, aircraft accessibility, and other kinds of important information essential to the handicapped traveller. An interesting By-product of the establishment of such a data base of travel information for the handicapped is that the gathering of information, data entry into the computer and giving the information over the phone could be done by handicapped employees, thus providing trained information specialists for the travel industry Who are handicapped. 3. The single greatest problem facing the handicapped traveller while travelling is the ignorance, prejudice and general lack of understanding of the needs of the handicapped traveller by personnel in the travel and tourism industry. This lack of adequate training results in harmful and unneccessary discrimination against the handicapped traveller. Since 1975, the number of court cases involving discrimination against handicapped travellers has multiplied many times. These cases have been harmful to the image of the travel industry, but they have been necessary because of the lack of adequate federal regulations and enforcement, as well as the lack of voluntary industry-wide standards. S.A.T.H. strongly advocates the establishment of a committee representing the travel industry, the handicapped community, federal regulatory agencies and the Congress, which could attempt to develop voluntary standards of service for handicapped travellers and standards for training of personnel in the travel industry. In the future, appropriate legislation to prevent discrimination against handicapped travellers may be necessary, but a good faith effort, through voluntary standards, should be given a chance to work. With the deregulation of the airline industry by Congress, thereby doing away with many federal regulations and the inter-line agreement about handicapped passengers, both the airlines and handicapped travellers are faced with a void which must be filled by either industry standards, other regulations, or legislation. Finally, the travel industry has come a long way in making its facilities, vehicles and aircraft more available and accessible to handicapped travellers. There are thousands of accessible hotel rooms in the United States. The Boeing 767 aircraft is accessible to wheelchair passengers. Blind passengers can keep their canes with them while flying and bus companies are doing a better job of marketing their product to the handicapped traveller. Tour companies and travel agents accross the country are beginning to find that the handicapped travel market is commercially lucrative. Organizations of handicapped persons are holding large conventions with thousands of members travelling from every state. Major sightseeing attractions are opening their doors to the handicapped traveller. More and more handicapped Americans are learning through experience that they can enjoy the independence of travelling along with their family and friends. The joy on the face of the blind child touching a piece of moon rock in the Smithsonian cannot be measured, and that experience cannot take place without travel. The travel industry has come a long way, but still has a long way to go in meeting the needs and the potential of the handicapped market. We believe that handicapped travellers want service and not charity from the travel industry. We also believe that because of the economics of providing good service, the travel industry can ill-afford to give charity. Therefore, the Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped opposes special discounts for the handicapped traveller. We believe that sufficient competition and discounted travel already exist within the industry. Furthermore, we believe that discounted travel for the handicapped can only lead to continued segregation and discrimination against the handicapped traveller. We urge the Congress not to pass laws which force the travel industry to give charity to the handicapped. Although there is great sympathy for the handicapped and there is a tendency to give discounts to low-income groups, we believe that most handicapped Americans would rather be treated with dignity and equality by the travel industry. Mr. Chaiman, we request that the preceeding statement be made a permanent part of the record of this hearing. Again, we would like to thank you and this committee for the opportunity to present testimony to you about travel for the handicapped. Mr. FLORIO. Mr. Gashel. STATEMENT OF JAMES GASHEL Mr. GASHEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is James Gashel, director of governmental affairs for the National Federation of the Blind. We are a nationwide membership organization of blind people; State affiliates in every State. So we come to this hearing from a consumer base with direct personal and constant experience in dealing with the travel industry and the tourism industry, and these are the views I would like to express today. I begin first with a general statement which is that I doubt whether there is any member of this subcommittee or anybody in the Congress as a whole that would seriously question the proposition that our Nation's travel and tourism policies should emphasize the right of all persons, blind and sighted alike, disabled or not, to have freedom of movement throughout our country and to be served by all the common carriers and places of public accommodation. That is a good beginning point, but we have a long way to go to get to the beginning. First, let me express a note of caution or concern. Some who will testify at these hearings will come to tell of difficulties that they have because of architecturally designed inaccessibility, and that does exist, and these are very real problems. But it is a widespread myth that all classes or subgroups of people who we call the handicapped have that sort of trouble with the built environment. That notion is false. But, worse than that, the controversy swirling around issues such as the cost of accessibility draws attention from the all-pervasive social and psychological barriers which exist. These barriers, too, Mr. Chairman, can be removed, and they must be removed along with the tearing down of the architectural barriers. Attacking the barriers of public ignorance and misconceptions which we face requires teaching new attitudes to replace old stereotypes, but it must be backed by a framework of laws and strong leadership to enforce them. Congress and the executive branch of Government can do the latter. We, the blind, and the handicapped must do the former. But both tasks must begin now. Although, as I said before, I suppose we would not find very many who would contest the fact that everyone, regardless of disability, should be able to have the freedom of independent movement in our country. We still lack today a comprehensive, consistent and clear Federal mandate or law to that effect. The laws which do exist are like a patchwork quilt-protection varies from one jurisdiction to another. Nearly half the States enacted over the past several years a model law which we developed I called the Model White Cane Act. The results at the State level with that law have been good, but the protection is still spotty. Federal involvement is minimal or nonexistent. Take the failure of the aviation industry and the Federal regulators to truly ban discrimination. Beginning about 10 years ago, the FAA started, under considerable pressure, to consider the failure of some air carriers at that time to transport handicapped people. We |