Business Travel Association Launches First-ever Inclusive Business Travel Guide for Travel Management Companies

Date posted: 4th June 2026

The Business Travel Association (BTA) has launched a new Inclusive Business Travel Guide exclusively for members, supported by Thomas Pocklington Trust. The guide is designed to help travel management companies (TMCs) improve confidence, knowledge and standards when supporting travellers with accessibility requirements –  the first of its kind produced for the TMC sector.

The initiative reflects the BTA’s ongoing commitment to help guide best practice within the sector, raise standards and offer tangible value to its members.

In the UK, around 16 million people live with a disability or long-term health condition, writes BTA. A significant proportion of them travel for work – and many face barriers that the right conversation at the point of booking could easily prevent.

In fact, 87% of disabled travellers say accessibility affects their ability to travel for work. What should be a simple journey can often become a logistical and emotional nightmare, with issues such as inconsistent step-free access and hotel facilities, missed announcements and alerts, and car rentals which are not appropriate for the travellers’ specific needs.

These are challenges that a confident and well-informed travel consultant is in a strong position to help resolve. The guide provides them with practical support when managing accessibility-related travel bookings. The guide features:

• Insights into assisting travellers across mobility, visual impairments, hearing loss, hidden disabilities and neurodivergent needs;
• Best practice for approaching accessibility-related bookings;
• Questions for consultants to initiate the discussion;
• A reference glossary of hidden disabilities

Recognising the importance of accessibility in both content and format, the BTA is launching two versions of the guide: a standard PDF and a Microsoft Word version – optimised for screen readers and allowing settings to be changed for easier reading.

The guide has been developed in collaboration with a specialist working group and is their first output. Moving forward, this group is developing more member tools and resources, while establishing a long-term plan to work with suppliers to improve the booking experience. The group brings together expertise from across the industry and accessibility community.

Thomas Pocklington Trust was a key contributor on this group sharing details of lived experience. The charity provided insights based on how to assist travellers who may need help with various elements including wayfinding, accessible documents, or a guide dog.

Bhavini Makwana, Policy and Campaigns Manager at the Thomas Pocklington Trust, said:

“At Thomas Pocklington Trust, we work with partners to improve transport accessibility, shaped by what matters most to blind and partially sighted people and grounded in lived experience. As a blind person, for me true accessibility means knowing my needs have already been considered, not having to repeatedly explain my access requirements, not feeling like an inconvenience, and being able to travel without unnecessary barriers. It means feeling safe and supported.”

Other contributions were made from Tiffany Casson from Inntel, Jo McNicol from BCD Travel and Mark Hipkiss from Navan.

Casson, who specialises in neurodiversity at Inntel, played a key role in shaping the guide’s neurodiversity content, while McNicol brought invaluable lived experience as a wheelchair user and frequent business traveller. Hipkiss brings practical and actionable advice from his experience as a Disability and Inclusion Trainer.

Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association says: “The business travel industry has long needed a resource like this to support all those travelling for business, no matter their specific requirements. We are incredibly proud to provide this guide, and we hope it empowers those with accessibility needs to travel with greater confidence and dignity, safe in the knowledge that our TMC members are fully equipped to support them at every stage in their journey.”