TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Eliana Satkin

Accessibility Playbook: Welcoming the Aging Air Traveler

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Seven years in the making, the Travelability Accessibility Playbook, created in partnership with Destinations International, is an end-to-end toolkit to equip destination organizations on their accessibility journey, enabling them to better welcome and accommodate people with disabilities within their destination. The following snippet focuses on welcoming the aging traveler, an ever growing need as the Baby Boomer generation ages into disability.

Flying proves to be one of the greatest barriers to senior travel. Studies reveal that it’s not just the flight that’s the barrier, but the logistics of navigating getting to the airport, getting from parking through security, and navigating the long distances from security through the terminal to the gate. 

Port of Portland’s digital map, powered by GoodMaps, shows walking distances and

walk times. Users can select accessible routes that will account for vertical conveyances

and TSA precheck distances for more accurate timing. Click here to learn more.

Flying

OBSTACLESOLUTIONS
Difficulty getting through security (33%)Improved workforce: Provide special TSA lines and allow more time (60%)
Difficulty getting from parking to theairport (33%) or to the gate (32%)Greater access to wheelchairs/motorized carts (52%)
Difficulty understanding announcements(21% among the 65% with hearing loss)Provide designated assistance desks where travelers can check for updated information and receive personalized help
Difficulty waiting to board at the gate(15%)Offer check in assistance (43%)

“It’s hard for us to fly without precheck – it’s tiring to take off shoes and unpack bags. We’ve forgotten our suitcases after the hassle of putting our shoes back on.” -Jack and Elaine from Seniors with Latitude.

Click here to learn more or to purchase the full Playbook.

The Best & Worst Accessible Travel Stories of 2025 & What We Learned

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In this session at last year’s TravelAbility Summit, disabled travelers and caregivers shared real life dreams and nightmares from their journeys. Learn from more stories like these at this fall’s TravelAbility Summit in Tampa, Florida, November 9-11. This is where destinations, venues, and travel brands come together to advance accessibility in a practical, business-smart way. Over two days of case studies, workshops, and peer learning, industry leaders share proven strategies that improve the travel experience for people with disabilities—and, by extension, for families, multigenerational groups, and travelers with temporary or situational limitations. Meet the advisors, suppliers, and destination teams leading the way, and leave with a roadmap you can put to work immediately.

Register Today

Kristy summed it up nicely: Accessibility = exceptional hospitality. 

Kristy Durso

Session Overview

Five panelists seated on stage at the TravelAbility Summit holding microphones, including Kristy Durso, Jennifer Allen, Amy Tarpein, Jessica Jordan Ping, and Anthony Ferraro, with the TravelAbility branded step-and-repeat banner visible in the background.

Speakers 

  • Kristy Durso – Founder, Incredible Memories Travel / Ambassador, TravelAbility
  • Jennifer Allen – Founder, Wonders Within Reach / Insider Editor, TravelAbility
  • Amy Tarpein – CEO, Elijah’s Baby Bucket List 
  • Jessica Jordan Ping – Content creator & access consultant, The Rolling Explorer
  • Anthony Ferraro – Blind content creator, speaker & athlete, ASFVISION LLC 

The Worst Experiences 

  • Airports + transportation failures 
    • Broken elevators, no accessible taxis, inaccessible bathrooms being used as changing rooms, slow or rude mobility assistance, forced wheelchairs, condescending staff (“Why are you traveling alone?”).
  • “We know your limits better than you.” 
    • Jessica was denied a gondola ride because the staff decided she couldn’t make it down, despite letting everyone else board. 
  • “Accessible…except it isn’t” 
    • An attraction at the bottom of two flights of stairs. 
    • “Accessible rooms” on upper floors when the elevators were broken. 
    • Families are stuck when transit elevators don’t work. 
  • Emotional impact 
    • Guests feel humiliated, unsafe, or forced to beg for basic help. 
    • The takeaway: Lack of dignity is often worse than the physical barrier. 

The Best Experiences

  • Agency + joy 
    • Anthony, who is blind, safely got to drive a caron a salt flat — the kind of freedom he’d always wanted. 
  • Cruise excursions that listened 
    • Royal Caribbean coordinated with vendors so Jessica could kayak safely without damaging her prosthetic. 
  • Staff who try 
    • A mountain coaster team in Pigeon Forge figured out how to include Elijah. His joy was contagious, and by the end of the day the staff felt like family. 
  • A “normal” family trip 
    • Fully accessible Adirondack campground: ramped cabin, accessible fire pit, accessible bathroom, and level paths. No barriers. No drama. Just a normal vacation.

What Every Destination Should Do

✅ Treat disabled guests with dignity and respect 
✅ Assume competence — don’t decide their limits for them 
✅ If something breaks (elevator, lift, pool chair), fix it immediately or offer a backup 
✅ Publish real access info: measurements, steps, terrain, restrooms, transfer methods
✅ Staff training: speak to the traveler directly, ask before helping, and offer choices 
✅ Create service recovery plans for emergencies (quiet room, supplies, accessible ride) 

The Big Message

Kristy summed it up nicely: Accessibility = exceptional hospitality. 

Make it easy for people to belong, and their stories become marketing you can’t buy.

Rio Mobility’s Firefly is Expanding Accessible Adventure Travel for Wheelchair Users

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A person in a manual wheelchair uses the Rio Mobility Firefly, a red and black motorized front-wheel attachment, while gripping the handlebars against a neutral gray background.

For wheelchair users, joining a bike tour, cruising a boardwalk, or keeping up on a family outing can require far more planning,and far more compromise, than most destinations realize. Rio Mobility is changing that.

The company first caught the attention of the disability community with the Dragonfly, the industry’s first attachable handcycle. Lightweight, portable, and designed for everyday wheelchairs, it gave users a faster, easier way to navigate the world without replacing the chair they already relied on.

That innovation evolved into Rio Mobility’s flagship product: the Firefly.

The Rio Mobility Firefly, a bright green motorized front-wheel attachment, connected to a manual wheelchair against a white background.
The Firefly

Part power assist, part adventure vehicle, the Firefly attaches directly to a manual wheelchair, transforming it into a powered ride capable of traveling 12–13 miles per charge at speeds up to 12 mph. Five speed settings let riders choose the pace that works best for them, while an optional second battery can double the range for longer outings.

The Firefly creates a simple way for wheelchair users to participate in wheeled experiences that have traditionally been difficult to access, from bicycle tours and waterfront rides to scooter and Segway-style excursions.

Now the company is expanding the concept even further with the eDragonfly — a hybrid electric and manual handcycle that blends exercise with powered assistance.

The Rio Mobility eDragonfly, a hybrid electric and manual handcycle attachment, connected to a manual wheelchair against a white background.
The eDragonfly

The Firefly creates a simple way for wheelchair users to participate in wheeled experiences that have traditionally been difficult to access, from bicycle tours and waterfront rides to scooter and Segway-style excursions. For destinations and tour operators looking to expand inclusion, it’s a practical solution with immediate impact.

At $2,649, the Firefly sits in a price range that makes it more attainable than many adaptive recreation devices, while still opening the door to a dramatically different travel experience.

Rio Mobility’s focus is refreshingly straightforward: lightweight design, broad wheelchair compatibility, competitive pricing, and responsive customer support. In an industry where accessibility solutions are often bulky, expensive, or overcomplicated, that simplicity stands out.

Accessible Tech Product Comparison: Automatic Door Opener

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Looking for simple upgrades that can be made right now? Coming soon, the Plug-and-Play Accessibility Catalog will offer a vetted collection of innovative technologies and products that venues can easily integrate to solve specific accessibility challenges. 

To make your decision making process even simpler, we’re rolling out side by side product comparisons for some of our favorite innovations. 

Hero Door Opener

An automatic door opener is the best way to work with hotel firecodes to keep a door safe while making it usable to wheelchair users. 

This is what battling with an “accessible” hotel room door looks like:

Installing automatic doors may seem daunting, but the Hero Door Opener is an app-operated or push-button door opener installed in under 30 minutes with no rewiring available at a reasonable cost.

FeatureHero Door OpenerOpen SesameAssa Abloy / Norton 5800
Typical Price$1,750$2,395+$515 for pushbutton; full systems often $1,200–$7,000 installed
InstallationFast, portable, minimal toolsDIY-friendly, low‑voltageProfessional installation recommended
Activation MethodsApp, fob, wall button, SiriRemote, push pads, Alexa

Here’s what it looks like in use:

NYT Daily’s Podcast Uncovers Sites Unseen: The Blind Leading the Sighted

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Two travelers navigate a crowded street market; one person uses a white cane while another offers an elbow guide, with rickshaws, shoppers, and storefront signs in Hindi surrounding them.

On this episode of The New York Times’ “The Sunday Daily,”  Andy Isaacson talks with Host Michael Barbaro about a trip that forever changed the way he travels.

Andy Isaacson is a writer and photographer. His work for The Times has taken him to every corner of the world, and he has transmitted what he’s experienced through his images.

But recently, Isaacson took a trip unlike any he’d taken before. Not because of where he traveled, but because of how he traveled.

Paired with a set of unlikely travel companions, he put down his camera and experienced the word through touch, smell and sound.

↪Listen to the incredible story here

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