TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Denise Brodey

TravelAbility Summit Welcomes Head of NYC Tourism Bureau to Advisory Board

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Headshot of Fred Dixon wearing a white shirt and grey suit jacket standing outside

Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company has been named to TravelAbility Summit’s Advisory Board. Dixon has taken on the daunting task of making New York City, and it’s five boroughs, as accessible as possible; hiring consultants and taking steps that go far beyond the basics. To learn more about Dixon and his accomplishments, including transportation apps that help make NYC more accessible to visitors.

OUR TAKE: We are pleased that our Summit Advisory Board members now fully reflect a cross-section of the travel industry and disability community thought leaders who will help us develop content most helpful to both groups.

 

Amen: Holy Land Goes Accessible!

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Photo of Jerusalem at Sun SetNow travelers to Jerusalem will be able to download an app, Accessible JLM, that outlines the most accessible routes around the city to plan their travel in real time, according to CNN. Maps posted around the city also help travelers with accessibility. As Dana Gazit, Israel’s accessible tourism brand manager told CNN: “Accessibility is about a lot more than wheelchair ramps: “If you’re just a person who has a hard time walking, you also need benches and a handrail.”

OUR TAKE: If the old city of Jerusalem, with over 478 years of protected historical infrastructure, found a way to become accessible, destinations everywhere should take note. Aside from becoming a symbolic example of accessibility, the destination is visited by a growing number of tourists with reduced mobility.

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How DMO’s and Hotels Can Help Conferences Become More Accessible

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Wheelchair user Sylvia Longmire using a lift to attend a social gathering at a recent TedX conference.Sylvia Longmire, president of Spin the Globe, refers to herself as an accessible travel agent, blogger, disabled veteran and MS’er. She is also one of the most influential—and opinionated—voices reviewing destinations, cruise lines, hotels and attractions from a wheelchair user’s point of view. She doesn’t hold back. In a recent blog piece, she discussed the challenges of attending conferences and conventions.  

Our Take: Please, share this post with Meeting Planners, an integral part of our industry, who can use her suggestions to make their events more inclusive. Longmire’s spot-on advice can help raise awareness and improve accessibility conditions. We’re looking forward to what she writes next.

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New IATA Resolution Addresses 30% Rise in Wheelchair Requests

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Requests for wheelchair assistance skyrocketed to 30% between 2016 and 2017, “putting a strain on the quality of the service provided, reports the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a recent press release. (The average increase in requests between 2010-2018 was 17%, according to Open Doors Organization.)

At their Annual General Meeting, IATA overwhelming passed a resolution that promises the organization will have two new priorities: First, to work with airports to ensure that wheelchair assistance is available to those who need it. Second, to dramatically lower the number of mobility devices (scooters and wheelchairs, for example) that are damaged or lost in transport.READ MORE

OUR TAKE: If they’re smart, they’ll be speaking with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who has made it her mission to see that airlines are accountable to the public for damage done to wheelchairs. Legislation sponsored by Duckworth now requires airlines to report wheelchair damage monthly. If the IATA resolution is any indication, Duckworth’s advocacy is already having a profound effect on the industry. TravelAbility Insider has been tracking the results in our Duckworth Damage Report.

All airlines ranked by the number of wheelchairs damaged in one month and YTD

As Hotels Become Sitting Ducks for Predatory Lawyers, What Can They Do?

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Close up shot of two people looking at a paper with their laptops open next to themHotels are common targets for lawsuits because of the depth of regulations that govern the industry, according to Hospitality.net. This piece suggests solutions including TravelTripper.com, a new monitoring system made specifically for hotels. They also do website audits regularly. Clients include small hotel groups, as well as at properties flagged by industry-leading brands such as Marriott, Equinox, Westin, Renaissance, Sheraton, and Le Meridien. 

OUR TAKE: While the disability community, long beaten down by a lack of enforcement may be understandably ambivalent and believe that litigation is the only way to force organizations to comply with the law, these click-by lawsuits are harming their image in the long run. More and more media outlets are running investigative reports portraying plaintiff attorneys (one has filed 2000 lawsuits and is under investigation himself for tax fraud) and their clients as greedy scam artists. TravelAbility Summit will hold a panel session that will include hotelier who’s been targeted for both website and physical property lawsuits. They will address what they learned and how they eventually complied.

 

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