The Intersection of Travel and Disability
Advisory Board Member John Morris of Wheelchair Travel is always ahead of the news when it comes to accessible travel. His most recent find? An app that shows where wheelchair spots are available on local buses. While it’s still only in Europe, we see a groundswell of accessible technology solutions coming to the states soon.
OUR TAKE: Advancing accessible transportation— what better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act? Learn more, here.
When the Cerebral Palsy Foundation held a competition, a University of Virginia team crafted a solar-powered wheelchair prototype for the win. Read about it here. It is just one of the many ways that CPF builds awareness of medication, research, civil rights and opportunity during World Cerebral Palsy Day each year. There is still time to start planning an event for World CP Day in the U.S. on October 6, 2020. Learn more here.
OUR TAKE Thank you, Cerebral Palsy Foundation for continuing to support events that change the conversation around CP and disability. A whole different picture is emerging—about minds and bodies—as people with disabilities participate in hackathons, see films and participate in exercise programs, to name just a few. This year, leaning into student-driven virtual or socially distanced events in the community makes sense this fall, especially when many of American’s young leaders are sitting out the semester or sitting at home doing their work thanks to the pandemic. Learn more about World CP Day, here.
Malls and shopping centers are struggling for business. Parents are stressed out trying to maintain some sense of calm in their homes during the pandemic. Together Champions Autism Network, a South Carolina based advocacy group, created a Sensory-Friendly Shopping Days this August with Tanger Outlets Myrtle Beach. Both local residents and visitors found it refreshing. Read more here
OUR TAKE Use this ‘pause’ in business to learn more about sensory-friendly events and think of how to integrate simple sensory precautions at all of your events. The basic definition: fewer people and less buzz—loud music and fountains are off, people offering samples, crowded dressing, or bathrooms are all minimized. All of those things can feel like an assault on a child’s system, making shopping with them nearly impossible.
Start by getting to know some of the local organizations that work with people with disabilities and ask them what they’d like to see. If the event is small and manageable, it should be do-able in the current pandemic. Use this socially distanced, sensory-friendly day of shopping for parents of children with autism as a model in your area.
The New York Post reports on an Italian company, Avio Interiors, that’s already designed the latest in virus-proof comfortable airplane seating. While there are no wheelchairs seats yet, there are some serious upgrades including more space and plastic germ shields. (You have no idea how far a sneeze droplet can travel until you’ve ridden the New York City subway.)
OUR TAKE: If airlines are going to go back to cattle car mode to survive, adding plexiglass seat dividers to their existing protocols and create opposing-facing middle seats may at least one way to mitigate the risk of infection
Going all-virtual this year inspired our team to do even more to meet you where you are and help you avoid information overload. (You may even have some fun!). We’re emulating Netflix and calling this second annual gathering “Season 2”. Attendees will have the ability to choose the number of episodes they want to watch—or binge watch it all live November 9 to 13, 2020. (Season 1 was 2019). The themes this year is Advancing Accessibility and episodes will include “How We Did it.” How DMO’s, hotels, attractions, and airports are advancing accessibility by creating landing pages on their website with precisely the information people with a wide range of disabilities need. Other sessions include: Nothing Dirty Here: Products and Services for Pandemic-proofing, Pure Genius! Assistive Technology and more. You can find the agenda, here. And find coverage of the event, on Marketing News.
Of all the virtual events out there, why attend TravelAbility Week? Consumers and their travel expectations are changing 56 million potential travelers have a disability—and 2020 is the year to begin showing them they are important to you. “While the patchwork of closing has paused marketing campaign, we’re using this time to build the informational infrastructure that will be needed by
If we’re accessible for people who are disabled today, we’ll all be accessible for the 75 million Baby Boomers who will be aging into a disability tomorrow.
—Jake Steinman, Founder, TravelAbilitySummit.com
OUR TAKE A generation of Baby Boomers who refuse to accept age as a barrier will create a new category of products, disrupt the transportation industry, and more,” says Steinman. Find the agenda for new TravelAbility week, just posted here.
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