TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Eliana Satkin

The World is Shifting: Paralympic Media Reflects the Drastic Change Taking Place in Disability Perceptions

by

By Jake Steinman

Take a look at how these Paralympic promotional videos reflect the evolution of the way the disability community prefers to be perceived.

This video aimed to challenge stereotypes and showcase Paralympians as extraordinary individuals. It featured athletes with disabilities performing remarkable feats of skill, strength, and courage.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics trailer reflects the disability community’s desire to be perceived as resilient, empowered, and diverse as it showcases Paralympians from various ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, and sports.

This video uses a film noir approach by toggling between romantic stereotypes and the intensity of competition to show the brutal reality of what these athletes had to endure.

Overall, the narrative of disabled athletes is shifting from weakness to empowerment, strength and independence.

Jake Steinman

Accessibility Champion: Kevin Wright, VP Global Marketing, Travel Oregon

by

An inclusive soccer stadium showed Kevin the difference he could make through Travel Oregon.

Note: This interview is part of an ongoing series featuring interviews with 24 Champions of Accessibility for 2024 selected and celebrated by TravelAbility.

Q: When did you begin focusing on accessibility in your destination and what was the impetus for wanting to make your destination more accessible? 

A: A few summers ago, I brought my family and some out of town guests to a Portland Timbers game. We forgot headphones for one of the younger children in our group who has sensory issues. After back-to-back goals, this youngster became overwhelmed, so we decided to leave the stadium. On the way out of the stadium we stopped by guest services. Much to our delight, the staff was trained to support visitors with sensory issues and were quick to hand us a sensory kit that allowed us to stay and enjoy the rest of the game – which included food, beverages, and trips to the Timbers store for merchandise. 

Travel Oregon’s vision is to be a welcoming destination for all. Experiencing travel with family members that have mobility and cognitive issues gave me insight into what destinations can do to improve accessibility in ways that have major impacts for visitors. Supporting and enabling accessibility and inclusivity presents an incredible moral and economic opportunity for the tourism industry.     

Supporting and enabling accessibility and inclusivity presents an incredible moral and economic opportunity for the tourism industry.     

Kevin Wright

Q: What are your main responsibilities and tasks in your organization? 

A: As the Vice President of Brand Stewardship, my responsibilities include building market

awareness for Oregon through the management of Oregon’s brand and ensuring Travel Oregon’s work reflects the honest, abundant, and imaginative spirit that makes Oregon unique. I have the privilege to work with some of the brightest minds in the tourism industry.  

Q: Aside from budget, what are the most difficult obstacles or barriers that you face regarding the advancement of accessibility in your destination? 

A: The paradox of opportunity. There are so many opportunities for destinations to enhance

accessibility for the traveler that it can be hard to determine where to start or how best to deploy limited resources for the greatest impact. It’s a constant balance between the desire to be nimble and jump on opportunities with the need to have a strategic approach that can be scaled statewide for broader impact.   

Q: What initiatives have you undertaken to improve accessibility in your destination, and which are you most proud of? 

A: While it never feels like enough, it does feel good to take a step back and look at

what we have accomplished. Travel Oregon recently added sensory kits to our State Welcome Centers, which includes staff training, and we are also currently installing hearing loops. Travel Oregon recently awarded $3.6 million to 56 recipients through the agency’s Competitive Grants Program to fund projects across the state that will improve accessibility and inclusivity for underserved and under-resourced communities, such as people with disabilities, BIPOC, Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and LBGTQIA+. So much of this work is happening at the local level, which fuels our content team with new accessibility stories to share with visitors. We continue to improve the information we share on our accessibility hub on TravelOregon.com. Hosting influencers with disabilities has also been a powerful tool to tell authentic stories. The feedback we receive from their visits is invaluable.  

Two colleagues I like to follow and collaborate with in the Destination Management Organization (DMO) space are Alison Brooks from Visit Mesa and Kathleen Harvey from Destination British Columbia.

Kevin Wright

Q: Who do you follow? Name an organization/company/individual you look to for ideas or inspiration.

A: I feel fortunate to be on the TravelAbility Board. I am continually learning and bringing

ideas back to our teams from the collective expertise and generosity of these passionate individuals. Two colleagues I like to follow and collaborate with in the Destination Management Organization (DMO) space are Alison Brooks from Visit Mesa and Kathleen Harvey from Destination British Columbia. Kathleen was instrumental in the development of the Travelability Playbook and Alison is doing so much for Visit Mesa on so many fronts. It is inspiring to try and keep up. 

Q: What are your plans around accessibility in 2024? 

A: I am excited about how accessibility shows up in Travel Oregon’s 2023-2025 strategic plan. In 2024, I see our organization doubling down on the work we have started, continuing to test and try opportunities that arise and seeing the fruits of the $3.6 million we invested through our grants program as we continue down the path of making Oregon a welcoming destination to all.

Accessibility Champion: Ron Pettit, Director, Disability Inclusion & ADA Compliance

by

With Ron leading the way, Royal Caribbean Group is named as one of the “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion.”

Note: This interview is part of an ongoing series featuring interviews with 24 Champions of Accessibility for 2024 selected and celebrated by TravelAbility.

Q: When did you begin focusing on accessibility and what was the impetus for wanting to make cruising more accessible?

I began focusing on accessibility in 1997 when I took the role of Senior Specialist, Customer Service Policies & Policies at Northwest Airlines.  As part of my role, I developed, coordinated and implemented policies, procedures and training aimed at improved air travel experience for over 3.3 million Northwest customers with disabilities and compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act. Among my accomplishments, I introduced a Customer Advisory Board composed of several individuals representing different disabilities to solicit advice on how we could better serve this growing disability market. 

This was in addition to my “day job,” and the more I worked with the disability community, the more I acknowledged my own disability (being hard of hearing) as one of my diverse identities. I wanted to do more.  I love to travel and the idea of making travel accessible is incredibly rewarding.

Finally, the opportunity opened up to become a full-time Access Manager leading a team of six individuals and managing Royal Caribbean’s accessibility program. I’ve been there ever since, catching the wave to disability inclusion on the high seas!

Q2. What are your main responsibilities and tasks in your organization?

I am responsible for the Disability Inclusion and Accessibility program at Royal Caribbean Group and its family of cruise lines with a focus on our three global cruise brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. 

I have almost 50 people on my team who are dedicated to the disability market. Most of my team is in our Accessibility Contact Center, helping our guests and travel agent partners plan accessible cruise vacations and accessible shore excursions.

I have a small disability inclusion team who collaborate with our brands to develop and execute disability inclusion strategies and standards in the workplace and marketplace, including the areas of digital accessibility and supplier diversity.

Our goal is to be a global leader in providing innovative and accessible cruise vacations, making a lifetime of vacations possible.

Q3. Aside from budget, what are the most difficult obstacles or barriers that you face regarding the advancement of accessibility? 

Some of the most difficult obstacles or barriers are around education and awareness. There are always opportunities to do more in this area.  

Q4. What initiatives have you undertaken to improve accessibility, and which are you most proud of?

I am most proud of our Autism Friendly initiative which we introduced at Royal Caribbean International in 2014 and Celebrity Cruises in 2015. This initiative aims to reach the target market of 1.5 million individuals on the autism spectrum and their families in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 75 million globally. We introduced the first ever Autism Friendly movies and Social Story by a cruise line. As a result we received several awards for our Autism Friendly initiatives.

I am also proud of the fact that we introduced not only one, but three advisory boards at a cruise line – Disability, Autism, and Accessible Travel Advisors – including the disability community and travel advisors on how we can further improve and innovate the accessible cruise vacation experience.

Q5. Who do you follow? Name an organization/company/individual you look to for ideas or inspiration.

There are too many to list them all – but some names pop to the top of my mind – Eric Lipp, Cory Lee, Debra Kerper, Kristy Durso, Amy Garner, Jordana Izzo and everyone on our Accessibility Team and our Disability, Autism and Accessible Travel Agent Advisory Boards. New accessible travel agents Deneen Cooper and Cynthia Perez are recent connections that also come to mind.

I am proud that Royal Caribbean Group was named, once again, as one of the “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion,” and for the eighth year in a row by Disability:IN® and American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) after scoring a top score of 100% on the Disability Equality Index® (DEI®).

Ron Petit

Q6. What are your plans around accessibility in 2024? 

 We’ve had many accessibility accomplishments in 2024.

  • I am proud that Royal Caribbean Group was named, once again, as one of the “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion,” and for the eighth year in a row by Disability:IN® and American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) after scoring a top score of 100% on the Disability Equality Index® (DEI®).  This is the fifth year we have scored 100%.  Among hospitality and travel companies, we are the only cruise company on the DEI.
  • Icon of the Seas, launched January 2024 which has four accessible suites:
    • A two-story Accessible Icon Loft Suite, our first Star Class suite with Genie Service.
    • An Accessible Surfside Family Suite offering a separate kids’ room
    • Two Accessible Sky Junior Suites.
  • Icon of the Seas also introduced a new category of accessible balcony staterooms – 11 Accessible Infinite Balcony Staterooms that provide level access from the stateroom to the balcony.
  • Expansion of our Accessibility Team with 15 agents in our Contact Center to help with increasing calls and emails from our guests with disabilities and travel advisors.
  • Utopia of the Seas, launched in July 2024, has four accessible suites, continuing the increase of accessible suites from Wonder of the Seas in 2022.  Earlier Oasis class ships only had three accessible suites.
  • Continued to work with Accessible Travel Solutions to expand our line-up of accessible shore excursions around the world including the Caribbean and Europe.

Congratulations to Arin Arnold Davis at Visit Lex!

by

What does it mean to be the first ever Director of Destination Stewardship and Community Engagement?

Arin is excited for her new role as Director of Destination Stewardship and Community Engagement, and the TravelAbility community is excited to see the positive impact of this new role.

In this new position, Arin will develop and execute the destination stewardship strategy, building upon resident quality of life and visitor experiences with specific focus on accessibility, sustainability, and social belonging. She will continue to manage the Lex for Good program that highlights accessibility, sustainability, and social belonging in Lexington. Her goal is to make Lexington an even better place to live and visit.

Letter from the Olympic Games in Paris

by

By John Morris

A bittersweet feeling filled my heart as the familiar sound of The Star-Spangled Banner reached my ears and the flag of the United States of America was raised inside the Parc des Princes, the iconic football stadium in Paris, where the U.S. women’s soccer team had just claimed Olympic Gold. Bittersweet as it marked the end of my two week Olympic journey, one that had taken me first to the South of France in Nice and Marseille, and then to the magical City of Lights that is the French capital.

I had made a relatively last minute decision to attend the Olympic Games, booking airfare and purchasing tickets only two months in advance of the Opening Ceremony. While many of the top events like Gymnastics and Swimming had been sold out for more than a year, I was still able to secure tickets to incredible contests like basketball, soccer, tennis and water polo. The trip was special in that it allowed me to get a firsthand look at the city’s preparation for the games, including its investments in accessible design and infrastructure, while also connecting with WheelchairTravel.org readers and disabled sports fans who call Paris home or who had traveled from around the world.

As the United States prepares to host three major international sporting events over the next decade — the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, and 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics — the lessons learned in Paris, about what worked and did not work, must guide our planning to make these events accessible. The United States of America is presented with both a challenge and an opportunity, to put on the most accessible and inclusive international sporting events ever held, and it is an opportunity that I hope we will not let go to waste.

In this reflection, I would like to look at three key areas where accessibility mattered — in some cases, Olympic and Paralympic organizers excelled, and in other cases there is opportunity for improvement.

Ticketing

One area where the Paris Olympics and Paralympics truly excelled was in the sales of tickets, where a robust ticketing website allowed disabled fans to buy and resell accessible seats easily. Given the nature and design of the many existing venues used in these games, accessible seats were not available in all price bands, but the committee made the decision to make accessible seats available for purchase even at the lowest price points. These decisions ensured equity in pricing, and many wheelchair accessible tickets were available for just €15 at the Paralympic Games and €24 at the Olympic Games.

Transportation

Transportation was a key challenge for Olympic and Paralympic organizers in Paris. The Paris Metro, one of the oldest mass transit systems in the world, is largely off-limits to wheelchair users, with only one of sixteen lines being wheelchair accessible. While the city’s failure to modernize its metro system is worthy of disdain, significant investments were made in accessible above-ground transportation. The city brought online more than 1,000 wheelchair accessible taxis, which were widely available, and invested in modern, low-floor city buses with wheelchair ramps. The city’s single fully accessible metro line, Line 14, was extended in both directions in advance of the games, providing access to key competition sites. I used Line 14 daily, and frequently saw many other wheelchair users doing the same.

To help fill some of the gaps and to promote transportation equity, Olympic organizers invested in wheelchair accessible shuttles to transport disabled fans from major train stations to competition venues at an affordable rate of €4 each way. While the shuttle service was not as robust as I would have liked, it did prove useful to me and other fans that I encountered.

The city claimed that rideshare operator Uber had added a significant number of wheelchair accessible vehicles to its fleet, but I was unable to secure an accessible Uber ride myself, nor were any of the wheelchair users I spoke to during the Olympic Games. The accessibility of rideshare continues to be a key challenge impacting accessibility in cities of all sizes around the globe.

Fan Experience

Key to the enjoyment of any event, be it an athletic competition or a music concert, is the attention to detail concerning the fan experience. At the Paris Olympics, many things were done correctly: dedicated entrances were provided for disabled ticket-holders, abundant staff and volunteers were onsite to provide assistance, and a variety of accessible seats were available to provide excellent sightlines.

On the whole, I had a better fan experience in Paris than I might typically have at sporting events in the United States, but some WheelchairTravel.org readers have shared frustrations. 

Three complaints have caught my attention: 

  • one, that many accessible seats were placed in direct sunlight; 
  • two, that “accessible” seats for semi-ambulatory fans were not accessible in some venues, requiring those fans to ascend or descend multiple stairs (in one reported case, some 70 stairs); 
  • and third, that the view for some wheelchair users was blocked by nondisabled fans who were standing during key moments of competition. 

One key reflection shared in my newsletter (https://wheelchairtravel.substack.com/p/wheelchair-travel-newsletter-jet) is that organizers must take a broader view of accessibility when planning for events that attract a diverse, global audience. Accessibility cannot be focused only on wheelchair users — greater attention must be paid to semi-ambulatory fans, and those with a much wider range of disabilities that extend beyond physical or mobility challenges.

Organizers will say that the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics are the most accessible in history, but opportunities for improvement remain. The world once again looks to the United States to set an example and, as 2026, 2028 and 2034 approach, it is critical that host cities seize the opportunity to ensure that disabled fans are included, and that they create World Cup, Olympic and Paralympic experiences that not only bring people together, but deliver a lasting benefit to the people who call these cities home.