TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessibility

Advancing Accessibility through the TravelAbility Community

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Our Takeaway: Here’s what’s new with members of the TravelAbility Community.

DESTINATION A11Y CLUB MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

Visit Lauderdale’s accessibility commitment wins disability conferences, trade shows and events.

Inclusive Dining Mesa includes an itinerary for people with dietary restrictions.

Palm Beach County Tourism Launches New Accessibility Plan in partnership with TravelAbilty, Wheel the World and IBCCES.

Interested in Becoming a Certified Senior TravelZ Companion?  Click here for more information.

Welcome to the Destination A11Y Club Class of 2023-24

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Our Takeaway: The TravelAbility Foundation would like to extend a warm welcome to our eight new destination partners for 2023-2024 season who join our existing partners committing to help one another to improve accessibility beyond the ADA. 

Welcome to our new DAC partners.

  • Visit Oakland, CA
  • Visit Lansing, MI
  • Discover The Palm Beaches
  • Visit Alexandria, Virginia
  • Visit Charlottesville/Albemarle County, VA
  • Visit Myrtle Beach, SC
  • Destination British Columbia
  • Visit Lexington, KY

Thank you to our charter partners, all of whom have renewed.

  • Visit Lauderdale, FL
  • Travel Oregon
  • Visit Florida
  • Visit Mesa, AZ
  • Visit Tampa Bay, FL
  • Experience Kissimmee, FL
  • Visit Fairfax, VA
  • Visit Lane County, OR
  • Discover Lancaster, PA

All Destination A11Y Club membership funds will be used to fund the activities of the TravelAbility Foundation. For more information on becoming a member contact tricia@travelability.net.

It’s Hell on Wheels When an Accessible Hotel Reservation Isn’t Honored

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Our Takeaway: While this is only one person’s account, accessible reservations are not honored countless times a day leaving disabled travelers stranded with few options.  Non-existent training and a lack of awareness about the meticulous effort that wheelchair users expend to find a hotel room that fits their specific needs only to be turned away upon arrival is one reason why so few people with disabilities travel.

After nine hours driving across the southwest in my packed minivan, I could almost feel the hotel mattress by the time I rolled into the lobby of the Phoenix Hampton Inn. My achy shoulders and rumbling stomach subsided, knowing that after a week and almost 2,000 miles of driving, it was time for my Arizona vacation to begin. Five days in the sun, six baseball games and no responsibilities — I’d been looking forward to my first post-pandemic trip since I booked everything almost four months earlier.

I handed the receptionist my ID and credit card to confirm the reservation and watched her face change as she stared at her computer screen. I could feel my stomach and shoulders starting to groan again. Something was wrong. Read More.

Belgium Destination Launches Plate-like Brochures for Deaf and Blind Visitors

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Our Takeaway: This groundbreaking technology enables blind or deaf visitors to access videos with professional level audio descriptions and sign language interpreters that can be accessed by hovering the phone over a QR code on each page. Attendees at The Emerging Markets Summit in Savannah will be able to feel and touch the actual English language versions of these books as well as the meet the developer, Alain Cloet founder of Picture Live, in person.  

The city of Ghent has launched a hardbound tourist itinerary book for hearing and visually impaired visitors, as reported by Belgian news outlet VRT. The campaign includes special booklets which contain tactile pictures of seven attractions in the historic center of Ghent, along with an audio description that people can listen to via their cell phones. There is also a version with sign language.

“It is a booklet with plates of seven Ghent sights you can touch,” Alain Cloet, who came up with the idea, told VRT. “Tactile plates are photos covered with a tactile layer. The tactile plates include an audio description that people can listen to using their mobile phones. There is also a version using sign language. A video will appear on your mobile with a sign language interpreter explaining the sight.”

The walks include a QR code to activate audio description and a link to videos in Flemish Sign Language. On the smartphone, visitors can listen to a description or watch a movie in Flemish Sign Language. The designers will continue to develop and refine the product so that it becomes even more accessible and user-friendly. Read More.

INNOVATEABLE Pitch Fest Showcases 11 Cutting Edge Adaptive Innovations for Travel

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Our Takeaway: For the past four years TravelAbility has hosted LaunchPad, a pitch event curating the best innovations that can help the industry make travel easier for disabled travelers. This year’s event has been rebranded as the InnovateAble Showcase and will be held via Zoom on July 26th from 10AM to 1PM PST to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the ADA.

“We are excited to bring together some of the brightest minds in assistive technology to showcase their latest innovations,” said Jake Steinman, Founder of TravelAbility. “This is a B2B event and an opportunity to feature entrepreneurs with innovations that can be introduced through the destination channels to their industry partners.”

This year’s pitch event will be held via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact us at: info@travelability.net.

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Your name and email will never be sold to 3rd parties.