TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

Athlete with Down Syndrome Finishes Iron Man Competition

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Chris Nikic in Ironman uniform.

21-year-old Chris Nikic recently set a Guinness World Record, becoming the first person with Down Syndrome to finish the Iron Man Competition in its 42-year history. The triathlon requires athletes to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a 26.2-mile marathon. Nikic completed the tasks in 16 hours, 46 minutes and 9 seconds.

Chris’s dad told the BBC that “this race was more than just a finish line and celebration of victory” for his son. He continued, “Ironman has served as his platform to become one step closer to his goal of living a life of inclusion, normalcy, and leadership. It’s about being an example to other kids and families that face similar barriers, proving no dream or goal is too high… If Chris can do an Ironman, he can do anything.”

To read more about Chris Nikic’s world record race from the Good News Network, click here.

Indian Café Reopens Following an “Accessibility Makeover”

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Coffee beans, ground coffee and a completed drink.

The Downtown Café, a popular dining establishment in Patna, Bihar, India, is set to reopen following an “accessibility makeover.” Café owner Astik Kumar was encouraged to make the improvements after he witnessed a physically disabled family member struggle to get inside.

Among the accessibility features installed were an accessible toilet, a ramp to enter the building and wheelchairs available to customers who need them. Braille menu cards have also been printed for visually impaired customers, and there are plans to invest further in making the space more accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

On speaking about his goals, Asik said that “my aim is to make The Downtown Cafe inclusive in every sense of the word.” He said he would like to see smaller cities like Patna adopt greater sensitivity to the needs of disabled people, like that exhibited in larger cities such as Delhi and Mumbai

To read more about the café’s incredible transformation, click here.

New Product: A weather-proof, foldable electric wheelchair will debut at LaunchPad

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Folding electric wheelchair with a slate-colored metal frame.

The TravelAbility Summit’s LaunchPad event shines a light on new products that can make a difference in the accessible travel market. A new product, the FOLD & GO MagSHOCK wheelchair, will debut at LaunchPad later this year.

The portable wheelchair features a magnesium frame and is 100% weather-proof, meaning its users will have the freedom to operate the mobility device in rain, sleet or snow. Despite its compact size, the chair is powerful, capable of handling rough terrain and hills with a slope of up to 25 degrees.

To learn more about this new wheelchair, click here.

The Top 10 Most Accessible Ad Campaigns of 2020

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Blank billboard in the sky.

In 2020, the disability community celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In recognition of that milestone, many brands placed renewed focus on accessibility in marketing to reach disabled customers, a group that accounts for nearly 1 in 4 Americans.

In building a list of 10 accessible and inclusive ad campaigns that debuted in 2020, Adweek spoke to TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board member Josh Loebner.

Among the campaigns listed were Microsoft’s Surface tablet commercial, which features a family using American Sign Language, and a Visit Florida commercial, which contained footage of a person using a beach wheelchair.

In speaking about the Visit Florida campaign, Loebner said “it shows that people with a disability just like any other minority group, are part of that the fabric of our culture.” He continued, “People with disabilities are not segmented and siloed. They’re included with their family, recreating on the beaches in Florida in this commercial spot.”

OUR TAKE: The inclusion of disabled people into mass market advertising campaigns is a critical component of an inclusive and welcoming society, but it is also an important business strategy. Campaigns featuring disabled talent appeal to the disability community, which has now become too large a part of the U.S. population to ignore.

To see the rest of the 10 inclusive advertising campaigns of 2020, click here.

Department of Transportation Commits $41 Million to Improving Accessible Transport

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Aerial view of massive highway interchange in Los Angeles.

Earlier this month, then-U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced an award of more than $41 million to 15 teams in 15 states who participated in two accessible transportation design challenges.

One challenge focused on the development of “large-scale, replicable deployments that generate increased mobility options across multiple modes of transportation to address the challenges of planning and executing complete trips” for disabled people. A second challenge focused on autonomous vehicle systems, which could soon be used to help disabled people take to America’s roadways.

The TravelAbility team congratulates Advisory Board member Eric Lipp of Open Doors Organization for his group’s participation in the Buffalo, New York project, which focuses on complete trip deployment in the city.

To learn more about the DOT’s investments in accessible transportation, click here.