TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessibility

Travel Agent Survey Shows 50% Increase in Requests for Accessible Travel Products

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8 travel experts four in mobility scooters and four not in a group photo outside After a VisitScotland travel trade survey revealed that just over half of travel agents in Scotland reported an increase in requests for accessible travel products, they organized a FAM trip. It was the first-ever inclusive FAM tour to be organized there, according to Travel Trade Daily. European delegates spent three days visiting attractions such as the newly opened Clydeside Distillery, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Loch Katrine Experience, Stirling Castle, Royal Yacht Britannia and Beach Wheelchairs North Berwick. The story also explains that all of the attractions visited provide detailed information around their accessibility and make a conscious effort to ensure visitors with access requirements are able to have a good experience. READ MORE

OUR TAKE: Accessibility and inclusivity are clearly gaining a wider understanding, particularly among travel providers. Special Needs Group has trained over 5000 travel agents, mostly about mobile traveler needs. IBCCES has over 20,000 travel agents that have taken their program online. For reference, we’ve pulled together a (growing) list of Specialized Travel Providers on TravelAbilitySummit.com.   

photo courtesy VisitScotland 

 

5 Accessibility Ideas Totally Worth Stealing

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a blind sea otter lifts his head while swimming in water at an aquariumTravelAbility Insider recently interviewed Lynn Walsh, accessibility and inclusion manager at John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  Her tips for staff training, best practices, and cross-pollinating ideas can be used for nearly any attraction or destination. Here they are:

  1. Be honest with visitors. If you’re “working on it”—whether it’s a ramp or a website change—let people know. Otherwise, the disability community is likely to assume that accessibility is not on your radar or that you are not interested in hearing their ideas. And don’t forget to let people know the resources and accommodations you do have—that accessible restroom may not be a big deal to you, but it’s huge to those who need it!
  2. Train your staff—all of your staff. From those who interact with guests on a daily basis, to those who are writing the grants or cleaning the facility—accessibility and inclusion are a part of everyone’s job. Training will provide the knowledge and confidence needed for all staff to work within their sphere of influence to create an accessible and inclusive environment for all.
  3. See your destination or attraction through someone else’s eyes. Find local User/Experts who are willing to share their feedback and ideas. Lynn has engaged numerous people from the disability community on various projects at the aquarium to learn from their expertise. Work with those who you’re creating the experience for – don’t assume to know what people with disabilities want or need.
  4. No need to reinvent the wheel. Engage with peers – share ideas and resources. Is there an Access Network in your location? Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Chicago’s cultural spaces to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. CCAC provides free professional development opportunities and other resources to cultural administrators in the Chicagoland area. Look for an Access Network in your area.
  5. Look for opportunities everywhere. Recently one of Shedd’s marine mammal trainers was inspired by Cruz, a totally blind sea lion that calls Shedd home. Cruz responds to audible and tactile cues, which made the trainer wonder if Cruz would respond to voices heard through an iPad. To our delight, Cruz does respond to the iPad cues – which means we can now take the sea lion experience on the road to those who can’t physically come to the aquarium due to illness or disability. And yes, that’s a photo of Cruz in the water at Shedd Aquarium.

 

OUR TAKE: Major museums and cultural institutions are substantially ahead of many other non-theme park attractions on accessibility as they have been conditioned to be responsive to the needs of their local disability communities and by doing so they are already prepared for tourists who are disabled.   Many, such as Shedd Aquarium, have “accessibility” or”diversity” directors, staff positions destined for future growth. Even tourism suppliers without a staff person dedicated to accessibility can deploy any or all of these practical and low-cost ideas on an ad hoc basis to level up their appeal to the disability their own disability community and tourists as well. 

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.

 READ MORE

 

 

Tokyo We Have a 2020 Paralympics Problem: All Your Hotels Have Only One Accessible Room

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Paralympic high jump athlete going over the barThe August date for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan is nearing—and it’s reportedly looking like a hot mess. One problem, according to organizers and staff, is a lack of accessible hotel rooms. And it gets worse from there. According to The Guardian, British Paralympic officials looking for hotels near their training camp in Yokohama got a cold shoulder and reportedly seemed uninterested in hosting world-renowned athletes. Other hotels have reportedly demanded they be paid to make the rooms accessible for athletes in wheelchairs.

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Which UK Airports Will Be 2020 All-Stars? (Plus: Free Accessible UK Itinerary)

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silhouette of a boy walking through airport very serene photoWhen a civil aviation report shows that 10% of airports in the UK don’t have a high quality of accessibility what exactly does that mean? For starters, a quarter of airport businesses could not accommodate those in wheelchairs, and a third of companies were unable to accommodate for those with cognitive impairments like autism. Even what may seem to be minor hassles—long wait times for assistance or untrained desk staff—are major factors in a disabled travelers experience. As revisions to systems are made, airports that were looking pretty dismal are rising all-stars. Edinburgh’s ‘Very Good’ rating was particularly impressive given that just two years ago its accessibility was considered ‘Poor’. Another all-star was Liverpool. READ MORE

BONUS! If you want a great experience touring London, here’s an Accessible London itinerary from TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board Member Cory Lee. Thanks, Cory, your expertise is always appreciated.