TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

Top 10 Innovations to be Showcased at TravelAbility’s Emerging Markets Summit LaunchPad Pitchfest

by

illustration of a red rocket launching and the words travel ability launchpad: boosting innovation in travel and accessibility

The 3rd Annual TravelAbility LAUNCHPAD PITCHFEST will feature unique cutting edge innovations  specifically curated for destination marketing organizations, which can serve as the point of entry to introduce their hotels, attractions, restaurants and museums to solutions that make their destination more accessible.

Here are the top 10 innovators:

WHILLApp-driven/Self-driving electric wheelchair.
The ALinkerA non-motorized “walking bike” that serves as an alternative to wheelchair or walkers.
Black Restaurant WeeksA turnkey solution to showcase  black-owned and culinary businesses in different destinations
Revolve Air WheelA carbon-fiber wheelchair that folds into a case that can be stored in carry on bins—rentable via airport concession.
The Talking Menu“The Talking Menu” is activated via QR code from their phone so blind diners can listen to the menu.
Champion Autism NetworkAn online autism training system especially useful for travel suppliers.
Hidden Disabilities LanyardA Sunflower lanyard for travelers requiring special assistance at airports, hotels and attractions.
GOMO TravelProvide trained travel companions (retired nurses, travel providers) for seniors suffering from dementia or other cognitive disorders.
BirdStand-up electric scooter now renting electric wheelchairs as well as wheelchair attachments that can electrify standard wheelchairs.
Access NowAn innovative new routing technology for assessing the accessibility of outdoor trails.

The LaunchPad will be held June 5th at the Orlando Hilton Hotel from 2:30-5:30 pm EDT. Companies will be presenting live and by Zoom.

REGISTER NOW: www.travelability.net

Nature Beckons! Wheelchair Accessible Camping Trips This Summer

by

Camping tent against a beautiful blue starlit sky.

Kristin, who was born with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, shares the details of some of her adventures on her blog, World on Wheels. Recently, she wrote about the opportunity camping offers to disabled travelers, and how she’s managed to figure it out.

She writes, “I love to travel internationally, but I also enjoy exploring my own country. I mean, there are so many beautiful places in the U.S., who wouldn’t want to see them?”

Hear, hear!

To see the Great Outdoors, Kristin says that “the main way to travel domestically is by camping. It allows you to not only see specific destinations, but also some amazing sights along the way.”

To read Kristin’s guide to camping for the disabled, check out the World on Wheels blog.

TravelAbility’s EMERGING MARKETS SUMMIT UPDATE: Four New Sessions Added

by

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

TravelAbility’s Emerging Markets Summit will take place June 5-7, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. This expanded summit will embrace Sustainability and DE&I, two emerging markets that will drive tourism growth over the next decade.

The following four sessions have just been added to the agenda:

Mark Jones headshot.

How My Life as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Helped Inform My Role at Disney

In honor of CODA winning the Academy Award for best picture this year, we have our very own CODA, Mark Jones, Manager, Accessibility and Services for Guests with Disabilities, Walt Disney Resorts, who will speak about his own life as a CODA and the benefits that experience has offered to his work at Walt Disney World.

Ron Petit headshot.

Smooth Sailing!

How Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises, one of their subsidiary brands, are addressing inclusion using distinctly unique approaches. For example, Celebrity has hired world renown photographers, including Annie Lebowitz, for an advertising series that includes people with disabilities on vacationing called “All-Inclusive Photo Project (AIPP).

Presenter: Ron Petit, Director of Accessibility, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

Jim Heeres headshot.

What Happened When a Hotel Manager Spent the Day in a Wheelchair?

Accompanied by a wheelchair-using travel agent, this executive experienced his property in a different light and found new ways to implement small accessibility tweaks that greatly improved the experience for guests with disabilities.

Presenter: Jim Heeres, Assistant General Manager, The Alfond Inn

DE&I in Storytelling & Destination Marketing

Destination marketing includes telling the stories about your destination to diverse audiences, but it also includes telling the many stories of your destination, often stories that aren’t told. This session will look at the ways to expand your storytelling lens to create content for diverse audiences with different needs, but also stories that are more representative of your destination and/or travel product.

This session will discuss: 

  • The diversity content creators 
  • Content creation for diverse audiences and what they need  
  • Guidelines for written content and photography 
  • Examples of work in this space 

Registration for TravelAbility’s Emerging Markets Summit is now open. To reserve your spot, visit the TravelAbility website.

How Visit Mesa’s Accessibility Outreach Became the Catalyst for Culture Change

by

Visit Mesa logo.

TravelAbility recently sat down with Alison Brooks, Director of Destination Experience & Advocacy at Visit Mesa, to discover more about Mesa as the first autism-friendly city in the U.S. The advancement in disability inclusion that Allison has brought to Visit Mesa and the community is serves are an example for other CVBs to follow.

Alison Brooks headshot.

Many families with autism are hesitant to travel. How comfortable do you think they would be in Mesa and why?

Alison: Families should feel very comfortable to come to our city. Autism was the starting point for everything that we’ve been doing. Visit Mesa, along with 60 local businesses and over 4000 people are autism certified, so families with an autistic member will feel welcomed here, safe, and comfortable. When planning a visit, people can go to our website and access all the information they might need: how do I get from here to there, or what places are autism certified, etc. Our virtual tours allow people to get that feeling of a place, to know before they go.

What are the some of the on-demand resources available in Mesa? 

Alison: The hidden disability sunflower program uses a bright green lanyard, which people can get at major hotels and attractions. It identifies the wearer as having a hidden disability, and might need extra time, patience, or care. We also have aira, which is a visual interpreter app for people with low vision or blindness. The app helps them if they have questions as they move about the city; they can get live help and answers through it. We just signed a contract with Able Eyes. Many local businesses have a sticker with a QR code on their exterior, when scanned, people can access a virtual tour of that business. We offer those videos on our website too. Also, any certified autism centers (CAC’s) have sensory guides, which indicate if the place will be loud, or have a lot of lights or other stimuli.

That’s a lot of robust assets. How did that all come about and how did you get approvals to do that with your stakeholders?

Alison: Well, it’s not just the right thing to do to make sure that people feel welcomed, but it’s a good business decision. Everyone wants to travel and explore but some people need a bit of extra assistance. I also want to note that our tagline is city limitless. Mesa is a big city, but there’s a lot to do just outside of our borders, so we also market outer destinations—lakes, beautiful trails, and all of these cool things to do. We want you to feel limitless here. People with disabilities should be able to do all those same things. It should be a level playing field as much as we can make it. 

How did you uncover all these accessible features from your different attractions? And how do you promote this great supply of accessibility to families with autism? 

Alison: We reached out and found that a lot was already in place, especially with attractions like museums, so it was easy to gather that info, with a bit of time and some pushing. It’s been great that all of those we’ve partnered with promote us on their platforms. We also work with influencers—some of them have very dedicated followings. 

You’ve sort of become America’s most accessible city, and you’ve changed the culture through this process. Plus, you wove accessibility into Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), which is kind of where it belongs, because it’s all about being inclusive for everyone. Why is this important to Mesa?

Alison: DE&I is a hot topic. Everybody wants to travel, be included, and feel welcomed. So, when we asked a partner to become autism certified, we highlighted that it would help demonstrate their commitment to being inclusive and support our mission of “City Limitless.”

That culture change happened through your training of all these 4000 people around autism and the awareness you’ve created. And the byproduct is that you’ve changed the culture of the destination. How does that feel?

Alison: It feels incredible. The pride coming from residents is almost overwhelming. I’m sure people were thinking about inclusivity before we began, but it’s nice to be the catalyst for that. I think about the memories that are being created. I couldn’t tell you what gift I gave my kids for their last birthdays. But I can tell you about every vacation we took together, the feelings we had, and all those memories we created. To be able to facilitate that for someone else—someone who may have thought they couldn’t travel—that’s everything.

The Five Worst Mistakes Hotels Make When Working with Disabled Guests

by

Two twin beds in a hotel room.

In an article shared by Hotel Management, Elliott Mest identified 5 mistakes hotels often make when working with disabled guests.

He writes, “The lion’s share of hotel operators mean well, but no good deed goes unpunished if it results in embarrassment or comes off insulting.”

Key to serving the disability community is an understanding of guest expectations and respecting boundaries that should be general norms for behavior.

To read more about what hotels can do to create a welcoming environment for disabled people, see the full list of five mistakes hotels can avoid making if they want to properly serve disabled travelers in the Hotel Management article.