LanzAbility’s visit to the Spanish Embassy in London
Wanderlust Travel Magazine Event @ Spanish Embassy, London
In December 2023, our holiday guest Hayley became the first power wheelchair user to experience the Luna Tour at Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote. Her story was published in six local and national British newspapers, creating a lot of awareness for Lanzarote and LanzAbility.
A few weeks later, I received an email from Laura Field, Special Features Assistant Editor at Wanderlust Travel Magazine. She had heard about us in the press and invited us to write a 1,000-word article on accessible travel in Spain with a special mention of Lanzarote.
A Feature in Wanderlust Travel Magazine
Admittedly, the name of the magazine rang a bell, but it wasn’t until I forwarded the email to Laura, our PR manager and copywriter, that I realised how big an opportunity this really was. “Wanderlust Travel Magazine is really well known, David!” Laura told me excitedly. “Let’s do it!”
For those of you who, like me, are not too familiar with it, Wanderlust is the UK's longest-running travel magazine and the largest, with "More than 30 years of taking the road less travelled”. So, I said yes to both Lauras.
‘Spain for All’ Campaign
The "Spain for All" campaign, launched by the Spanish Tourist Office (UK), aims to make Spain's tourism sector more accessible and inclusive. It highlights Spain's dedication to welcoming all visitors by improving infrastructure and services for those with disabilities. In support of the campaign, Wanderlust created ‘The Wanderlust Sustainable Travel Guide to Spain’, which was released in May 2024. You can find LanzAbility’s feature ‘Accessibility in Spain: a journey to inclusive travel’ on pages 162-165.
The story continues…
Following the publication of our article, a very special invitation arrived in my email inbox:
Since I had several holiday guests coming over, I couldn’t leave the island to attend personally. Fortunately, I was able to convince my team member Ayo, who lives close to London, to represent LanzAbility at the event.
Why talk about sustainable travel in Spain?
Did you know that in 2023, Spain welcomed 85.1 million foreign visitors? Lanzarote alone receives over 3 million tourists per year, with an additional 500,000 visitors arriving via cruise ships. While it’s wonderful to see so many people enjoying their time on our little island, it’s important to make sure it’s sustainable. This means that it doesn’t harm Lanzarote’s unique nature or local economy.
Sustainable travel is accessible travel
While Manuel Butler, UK director of the Spanish Tourist Office, and other sustainability advocates explored strategies for conserving ecosystems, preserving heritage, combating climate change, and fostering social responsibility, LanzAbility made a very important contribution to the Wanderlust panel discussion. Sustainable travel is accessible travel.
If we’re going to move forward and create a sustainable travel future in Spain, environmental initiatives must cater to the needs of all travellers, including those with disabilities. This means that accessible infrastructure should also prioritise eco-friendliness, and vice versa.
We look forward to seeing travel in Spain and especially in Lanzarote becoming both more sustainable and accessible and, as the islanders would say, “poner nuestro granito de arena” (Engl. do our bit) with our adapted holiday experiences for people with disabilities.
