Why wheelchair accessibility matters for your business
A wheelchair icon sign on the entrance door at the Museum of the Canals in Amsterdam.
Beyond just being the right thing to do, there are several reasons why wheelchair accessibility matters for your business:
Making your business wheelchair-friendly creates an inclusive and accessible environment for (future) employees and customers with reduced mobility. Mobility challenges can affect anyone at any time —- so you, or someone close to you, may even benefit from the accessibility as well.
Having accessibility features makes your business attractive to a larger group of potential customers, creating opportunities for both wheelchair users and their extended friends and family to enjoy the product(s) and service(s) your business offers.
Creating an accessible experience will further contribute to customer loyalty. If your accessibility is good, people will recommend your business and come back to buy your product again.
Finally, being wheelchair-friendly demonstrates your business’ commitment to accessibility and inclusivity.
A personal note
From my own experience as a wheelchair user, I know the tremendous positive impact wheelchair-friendly establishments have had on my daily life. Accessible restaurants, hotels, museums, and shops created opportunities for me (and friends and family members with me) to continue seeing and doing the things I enjoy. Aside from making me feel welcome, accessible businesses meant I could focus on the moment —- a trip to the Rijksmuseum, lunch at MOJO Japanese Kitchen, a Maggie Rogers concert at Paradiso —- rather than being confronted with my disability. By highlighting accessible places in Amsterdam and encouraging businesses to become more accessible, I hope to create many more of those carefree moments for my readers.
Examples of wheelchair-friendly businesses in Amsterdam
Free Downloadable PDFs
Feeling inspired? For more information on how to make your business wheelchair accessible, check out the Free Downloadable PDFs. Examples include:
