Con il termine canale o mezzo, intendiamo, come anticipato, l’elemento attraverso cui il messaggio viene trasmesso. Nel settore turistico, come del resto nella maggior parte dei settori commerciali, i canali utilizzati sono di tipo tradizionale,

quali ad esempio comunicazioni telefoniche, cataloghi, giornali e riviste di settore, o di tipo digitale quali ad esempio siti internet e social media. 

Per fare un esempio vi proponiamo un breve testo che riporta la testimonianza di una viaggiatrice esperta: Carrie-Ann Lightley. Il brano, tratto dal blog di Carrie, è estremamente interessante perché elenca, in sequenza, sostanzialmente tutti i canali attraverso cui sono veicolate le informazioni su servizi e prodotti turistici e ne descrive le modalità di fruizione.

Questi in sintesi i canali proposti:

• Siti specializzati 
• Passaparola (opinioni di amici) 
• Siti delle strutture (con particolare attenzione al materiale fotografico)
• Tripadvisor
• Contatto telefonico con la struttura

“I use a combination of specialist accessible travel websites, TripAdvisor, Facebook groups and good old Google. I’ll start with a destination or two in mind, ask for recommendations from friends and on Facebook groups, see which hotels are noted as being accessible in that area, check the hotel’s actual website and/or a listing site that goes into detail on accessibility to make sure it broadly meets my requirements, and then cross-reference with TripAdvisor. From there I’ll build a shortlist, and contact the hotels directly to confirm accessibility in writing and photographs – this is very important as things can get lost in translation if you’re travelling internationally.

Then it’s about checking the nice-to-haves – is it close to the town/restaurants/beaches, do I like the look of the dining options, can I get a spa treatment?! Ok, I’m high maintenance. And then I repeat the process looking for transport options, things to do/places to visit, restaurants and most importantly cocktail bars. TripAdvisor’s forums and Facebook groups like the Accessible Travel Club are invaluable for this kind of local information. If all else fails, a simple Google searches like ‘wheelchair accessible hotel in…’ ‘mobility equipment hire in…’ ‘wheelchair accessible airport transfer in…’ usually yield some results. If the thought of spending hours doing your own research fills you with dread, there are websites and companies out there who can help.

If you’re travelling in the UK, AccessAble list loads of hotels and places to visit which have all been assessed in person (yes I work for them but honestly I don’t know of any other company that has quality, factual accessibility guides to so many venues – 125,000+!) For international travel, there are a few specialist tour operators who I’ve worked with over the years who really do know their stuff. You might pay a little bit more to book through them, but they’ll save you hours of time and give you the extra confidence that comes with knowing you’ve used an expert. Accessible Travel and Leisure, Enable Holidays, DisabledHolidays.com and Limitless Travel are all doing amazing things.”