TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

21 Most Read Stories of 2021 from TravelAbility Insider

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Rendering of a hotel exterior.

As an in-a-nutshell summary, readers of TravelAbility Insider found a few different types of articles of interest. Number one was innovation as the item about the opening of The Schoolhouse Hotel, the first all-accessible room hotel, attracted nearly 11,000 readers.  A close second were stories about unexpected experiences available to people with disabilities by mainstream followed by service articles for travel suppliers that want to learn how they can be more accessible.  

Here are links to them all:

  1. World’s First All-Accessible Room Hotel to Open in West Virginia in 2022
  2. We Examined 122 DMO Websites in Search of Accessible Landing Pages: This is what we found.
  3. The Man Who Filed More Than 180 Disability Lawsuits
  4. Florida Nudist Colonies Have Real Skin in the Game When it Comes to Accessibility
  5. Disabled People Speak Out About Accessible Travel — Here’s What They Said (and what they’re looking for)
  6. What’s LEGOLAND Florida’s Blue Hero Pass All About?
  7. Turning the Tables: Tokyo Restaurant Simulates the Disabled Experience for Nondisabled Diners
  8. Elephant with Prosthetic Leg Can Travel Again
  9. Are Solar-Powered Wheelchairs Going To Be The Next Big Thing?
  10. The Top 10 Most Accessible Ad Campaigns of 2020
  11. An IKEA IDEA: “ThisAbles” Furniture Adaptors Available at a 3D Printer Near You
  12. LaunchPad: Curated Barrier-Breaking Ideas and Products Available Now or Coming Soon to the Phone in Your Hand
  13. Meet Houston Vandergriff: 48 States and 22 Countries with Down Syndrome
  14. Disarmed: How Christina Mallon Makes the Fashion Industry Work for Her
  15. Why Accessibility Will Be the Next Big Differentiator in Travel
  16. Part 3: Will Accessibility Be the Next Big Differentiator in Travel?
  17. The Future of Inaccessibility? Wheelchair Space Kitchen — A Parody Exhibit Opens in Denver
  18. Alaska Airlines Launches “Fly for All” App for Neurodivergent Passengers
  19. 27 California Hotels Sign Agreement to Improve Guest Room Accessibility
  20. Deaf Blogger Stranded for 5 Days in Snowstorm at Crater Lake National Park
  21. 21 Accessible Travel Predictions For 2021

TravelAbility Pivots to “Emerging Markets Summit” for 2022. Why?

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TravelAbility Emerging Markets Summit logo, tagline reads Accessibility, Sustainability and DE&I.

Our goal when we created Travelability Summit in 2019 was to create a travel industry conference to educate travel organizations about how they can prepare for the emerging market of baby boomers–40 percent of whom, according to Health Today, self-identify as having a disability after they turn 65. Presumably, by being accessible for the 12.5 million people with disabilities who travel today (2020 Open Doors/Harris Poll and AARP Baby Boomer Travel Report 2021), the industry would be ready when this number grows to over 35 million people over the next eight years.

Based on turnout at several travel industry conferences I’ve attended, one hurdle the industry needs to overcome is an underlying tentativeness when encountering people with disabilities.

I’ve personally led breakout sessions at various conferences that have attracted between 15-25 attendees—out of 600, which is quite frustrating to the organizers who have added accessibility breakouts to their events as an option. However, two weeks ago I spoke at the New Jersey Conference on Tourism, where the accessible session was titled “Emerging Markets,” which blew the attendance number to 123 out of 175!. Perhaps it’s the fear of saying the wrong thing, or the daunting prospect of being accessible for a range of disabilities, or that people in the industry consider accessibility a training issue more appropriate for someone else in their organization. This awkwardness is so prevalent that the D.C. Office of Disability Rights created this 3+ minute video using humor to diffuse discomfort.

While we have always viewed accessibility through the lens of growth, the conference has not been perceived that way due to our focus on awareness-raising rather than positioning the disability niche as an emerging market trend along with Sustainability and DE&I. Due to the baby boomer demographic (they control 58% of U.S. discretionary spending), accessibility is poised to be a more robust tourism driver than either of the other two. By bundling the three niches together into one event we will be introducing accessibility to people who are interested in the growth offered by this trifecta of growing market segments.

While accessible travel is our area of expertise, we will be reaching out to the most knowledgeable organizations in the tourism Sustainability and DE&I space for guidance in connecting us with experts who can help create the most relevant content and how that will drive tourism in the future. Stay tuned for more announcements about partnerships.

TravelAbility EMERGING MARKET SUMMIT will be held June 5-7, 2022 at the Hilton Orlando, co-located with IPW, eTourism Summit, and, coincidently, the 2022 Special Olympics.

In order to maximize engagement and networking, attendance will be limited to 150. 

Hallelujah! After a Decade of Construction, the Old City of Jerusalem’s Alleys and Hideaways Open to Wheelchair Users

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Wheelchair users as part of a tour group in Jerusalem.

The Centuries-old Old City of Jerusalem has received an accessibility overhaul, making it much more accessible to wheelchair users, baby carriages and other mobility devices.

“The Old City of Jerusalem has become one of the most accessible ancient cities in the world,” Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze’ev Elkin said, The Jerusalem Post reported. Achieving “accessibility for the six kilometers was very complex, and it enriches the experience of the tourists in the Old City.”

The project, a decade in the making, involved the flattening of steep descents, as well as the addition of handrails. Additional improvements are also being made to increase accessibility for those with limited vision, including with the new mobile app Step Hear.

OUR TAKE: UNESCO World Heritage Sites have long delayed accessibility improvements, but the Old City of Jerusalem is proving that accessibility can coexist with historic preservation. We can’t wait to check out Jerusalem!

To read more about these exciting developments, read the article from Israel Hayom.

How to Act Around Disabled People? Use Humor to Diffuse Awkwardness

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This short video from the Washington, D.C. Office of Disability Rights combines humor with simple insights on the best ways to respond when encountering people with different disabilities.

Christmas in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: An Accessible Family Tour

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Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is making a push for holiday travelers, and families are beginning to notice!

Jennifer Allen and her husband recently published a guide to seasonal and Christmas holiday activities in the region on their blog, Wonders Within Reach. The couple have previously traveled to Lancaster County with their children (one of whom uses a wheelchair), and provided great tips for family- and wheelchair-friendly activities.

For more information about their trip, and the top activities in Lancaster, check out Jennifer’s article on Wonders Within Reach.