Accessible Travel Phrasebook

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Lonely Planet has released its first ever travel phrasebook for travellers with disabilities thanks to Martin Heng and many other volunteer translators who helped contribute to the book. Accessible Travel Phrasebook is available online and can be downloaded for free via mobile devices, laptops and tablets.

Lonely Planet has released its first ever travel phrasebook for travellers with disabilities thanks to Accessible Travel Manager, Martin Heng and many other volunteer translators who helped contribute to the book.

The Accessible Travel Phrasebook is available online and can be downloaded for free via mobile devices, laptops and tablets.

The tiny useful pocketbook comes with phrases in 35 languages, from Arabic to Chinese. It includes 100 disability-specific words and phrases, easy-to-follow pronunciation guides, vocabulary on topics ranging from hotels to transportation and many more unique features.

“All travellers will get more out of their trip by being able to speak a few words of the local language, but for people with disabilities, it’s often vital to be able to explain your particular needs,” Heng said in a statement.  

“Since standard phrasebooks are unlikely to contain the language you use to talk about disability needs, we decided to gather together some disability-specific words and phrases and translate them into as many different languages as we practically could. There are still plenty of barriers to travel for people with a disability—language doesn’t have to be yet another.”

Heng said he hoped the new phrasebook would help encourage disabled people to travel more.

“We want to help people with access needs to get out into the world and experience the benefits that travel has to offer,” he said. “If this Accessible Travel Phrasebook encourages just a few more people with disabilities to get on the road, we will have taken one more step toward making the benefits of travel accessible to all.”

Contents (Languages and page numbers)

ARABIC 12 BAHASA INDONESIA 22 BAHASA MALAY 33 BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE 43 BURMESE 53 CROATIAN 66 DANISH 76 DUTCH 86 FARSI 96 FRENCH 108 GERMAN 120 GREEK 130 HEBREW 140 HINDI 150 ITALIAN 162 JAPANESE 172 KHMER 182 KOREAN 194 LATIN AMERICAN SPANISH 206 MANDARIN 216 NEPALI 227 POLISH 239  PORTUGUESE (EUROPEAN) 249 ROMANIAN 260 RUSSIAN 270 SERBIAN 280 SINHALESE 290 SLOVENIAN 303 SPANISH 313 SWAHILI 323 TAGALOG 334 TAMIL 344 THAI 356 UKRAINIAN 367 VIETNAMESE 377.


Photo of Martin HengMartin Heng was appointed as Honorary Board Member of ENAT in 2018.