Joni Huopana: a traveller.
Joni Huopana
Finlandia
www.jonihuopana.com

I think that an ideal solution would be that the person in charge of accessibility issues would be a disabled person himself. Of course, this is not easily possible. However, what can be done is giving information and having interaction with architects and interior designers.

I am Joni Huopana from Finland . I am a 29-year-old man with a rare neuromuscular disease, and I have used a ventilator and a powerchair since I was nine years old.

For all of my life I have been an active traveller in my home country. When I was a kid, I toured with a caravan with my parents. To date I enjoy travelling either by car, train or (especially) ferries, and I love to see new sights and places.

Every now and then I write some articles about tourism from an accessibility point of view. My dream and vision is to combine my love for travelling and work for accessibility.

I've seen a lot of both good and bad solutions regarding accessibility.

More often than not, a good accessibility solution does not require much effort. Much more than money, we need awareness. In other words, a ramp does not cost much - but the interaction between the disabled tourists and the destinations is vital.

This summer I tried to visit an observation tower. It seemed promising at the start - there was a ramp at the outside area. However, then there were a couple of steps at the entrance. Inside there was a lift. At the top floor, after getting out of the lift, there were ten steps of stairs.

Every powerchair user realizes that even one step is too much. A ramp or a lift is useless if you cannot get to it. Luckily, in my hometown with the tallest observation tower of the Nordic countries things are much better.

I consider myself a ferry enthusiast as I take a ferry trip or a cruise often. Also ferries have a lot of things worth noticing in terms of accessibility. For example, not all of the outside decks are accessible, as there is often a high threshold at the door. Also the number and size of lifts is important especially in the high seasons.

Perhaps the most fundamental issues I have noticed is that the disabled must and should be seen as an important customer group. On quite a number of ferries there are not enough cabins for the handicapped. Sometimes there is not more than one handicapped toilet on a 1500-passenger ship.

All of these details can be seen as a suggestion that paying attention to the needs of the disabled is not important to the company. I feel much more welcome on a ship with ramps and big lifts than a vessel lacking them.

I think that this example shows that it could be very useful if a disabled person was in charge of accessibility issues. The shortcomings always indicate that there is not adequate information, knowlodge or even awareness of accessibility.

The experience of a wheelchair user cannot be learn in schools. The walking architect might not be able to understand what is real accessibility. He might have never sat in a wheelchair. He might have never seen what it is like to get stuck in a cramped souvenir shop or being unable to go to out on the sundeck of a ship because of a threshold.

I think that an ideal solution would be that the person in charge of accessibility issues would be a disabled person himself. Of course, this is not easily possible. However, what can be done is giving information and having interaction with architects and interior designers.

In spite of the imperfections travelling is really great and fun. Travelling is very much worth the effort, even if you have to do some extra preparation work as a disabled tourist.

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