Why We Postponed TravelAbility Summit

We have some sad news. Despite the six months of promotion and awareness, registrations for TravelAbility 2020 have been alarmingly slow. Our team spent the past week phoning last year’s attendees and our Advisory Board members—our most enthusiastic supporter base— to find out if they were planning to register for this year’s conference. The results were not exactly surprising, given the state of the travel industry.

Here’s what we heard: Because there is no real end in sight to Covid-19 and with travel happening in fits and starts, their budgets – or what’s left of them – are being placed on hold until there is a clear end in sight. Some destinations have been barred from spending money unless it generates revenues in the short term, and one advisory board member told me that they need approval for even a $20 expenditure. The industry is in survival mode.

When faced with challenges and obstacles, many in the disability community are resilient, adaptable and resolute. I’ve seen those characteristics first-hand in my listening tours across the country, one-on-one conversations and at the amazing inaugural conference we had in 2019. We understand the current realities, but also appreciate the chance to continue conversations and commitments throughout the coming year. 

Although we’re postponing the Summit until the fall of 2021, we will continue to work on advancing accessibility in following ways:

• Launching our newly redesigned website as an information hub and repository for accessible travel information
• The Explorable podcast, launched last month in collaboration with Design Sensory, will feature many of the innovative companies and speakers in upcoming episodes.
• TravelAbility Insider, the Summit’s companion online newsletter will be published bi-monthly.
• Monthly or bi-monthly webinars featuring some of the most inspiring presenters we recruited for TravelAbility 2020
• The Landing Page Initiative: Helping the travel industry advance accessibility by adding accessible landing pages to their websites..

As a result of the postponement, we will miss the opportunity to gather and create new allies. So many people left last year’s TravelAbility Summit inspired to promote accessibility and inclusion!

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming webinars. 

Coming Soon: The TravelAbility Landing Page Tracker. If you are destination, hotel or attraction with a dedicated accessible web page and would like to become part of the Landing Page Project, please contact me at jake@travelabilitysummit.com