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Amuse Travel, a Travel Agency for the Disabled

The disabled experience many physical limitations in movement compared to the able-bodied. One of them is in the area of travel. Amuse Travel believes that the disabled and the able-bodied alike should be able to travel without discrimination, which is why they are developing specialized travel packages for the disabled.

A travel agency for the disabled, Amuse Travel was created in October 2016, and has just passed its second anniversary since its foundation. More than 1,000 disabled people have traveled domestically and internationally using Amuse Travel over the past two years. Amuse Travel is also working on a business to attract foreign disabled tourists to Korea. Over 100 foreigners now have visited Korea through Amuse Travel. Initially, Amuse Travel earned about KRW 10 million, but now its revenue amount has grown to about KRW 400 million won. Amuse Travel CEO Oh Seo-yeon said that there are growing number of customers seeking out Amuse Travel, and satisfaction is also rising.

Oh Seo-yeon said that she became interested in the human rights of the disabled while working as a volunteer overseas in 2008. One disabled person that she met back then said, “I think it would be so relaxing to travel,” and so Ms. Oh came up with the idea of creating a travel agency targeting the disabled. Ms. Oh said, “I knew I couldn’t create a better infrastructure for the disabled – I can’t just go everywhere and install elevators, for example – but I believed that I could help people travel.” After participating in the Idea Fusion Factory, a program for preliminary startup entrepreneurs that is sponsored by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), Ms. Oh became confident about her idea for a travel agency for the disabled. She moved into the venture complex made by KOCCA in October 2016 and jumped into the world of startups.

Travel by the disabled is no different than for the able-bodied

Even though CEO Oh said that she couldn’t build social infrastructures, after Amuse Travel was created, restrooms for the disabled were built in a building that previously did not have such restrooms. Ms. Oh said, “There was no restroom for the disabled before Amuse Travel moved into this building, but now there is.” With more people visiting Amuse Travel in wheelchairs, a ramp was also made at the building entrance for easier access by wheelchair. Oh said, “This is exactly the role that I hoped Amuse Travel would play.”

The same applies for tourism destinations. Amuse Travel claims that there are no differences in the tour activities pursued by the disabled and the able-bodied. Disabled tourists want to go to the same places as the able-bodied, and some intentionally choose places that many able-bodied people visit. In Seoul, many look to go to Namsan (Mt.) or take a cruise on the Han River. There also travel packages to Japan and Europe offered by Amuse Travel. Oh believes improvements in infrastructure can only be made after we become more familiar with the existence of the disabled. “I have no intention to make a course only for the disabled.” Here, Amuse Travel’s position is solid.

One of Amuse Travel’s strengths is in planning tours based on the location of restrooms for the disabled and reserving restaurants that are easily accessible by wheelchair. While it is possible to ride a cable car up a mountain, customers who cannot get to the peak in a wheelchair are offered a view of the summit through videos. There are also travel packages based on ‘senses’ so that visually impaired customers can enjoy traveling using their other senses, such as hearing and smell.

We asked CEO Oh what she considered to be the hardest thing in doing this business. After a long while, she said that the most difficult thing was the wall between the disabled and the able-bodied. “It seems like they don’t know each other (yet).” She went on to add, “It would be great if we could just concentrate on business, but there are many times where interests conflict.” This made me think about society’s perceptions of the disabled.

The goal: Independent travel for the disabled

Amuse Travel, which is now in its third year, is dreaming another dream. It wans to shift from tourism market focusing on travel packages to allowing the disabled to travel independently. Though it is still in its early development stage, is working on navigation services for wheelchairs by collecting road-view data. Its goal is to summarize paths that can be taken by wheelchairs and restaurants that are accessible so that the disabled can also travel independently. There will be a continuous increase in demand among the disabled to travel independently, so Ms. Oh believes that it would be foolish to only offer travel packages. While a transportation solution for the disabled that is being built using machine-learning still has an accuracy level of only 30%, Amuse Travel is working on increasing accuracy to further advance the service. Oh said, “Amuse Travel is not yet perfect. We are still in our development stage.” She added, “It hurts the most when people say that I’m making money off the disabled when the services are not even completely constructed.” She emphasized, “At this stage, it is impossible to create services that will allow the disabled to travel all across the country.” Asked if she had any closing comments, CEO Oh said, “We spend a lot more money on development than what we make.” She added, “Amuse Travel is actively growing, so I hope that many people will support us.” Will Amuse Travel be able to overcome the ‘Death Valley’ of startups that tends to begin after the third year of business and continue its growth? I hope that this small startup, whose each and every step is meaningful, survives.

Article by OhmyNews Reporter Yoo Ji-young (alreadyblues@gmail.com)