TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessible Landing Pages

Rethinking Accessibility Campaign Uncovers Over 200 New Accessible Features

by

Image of the world with a woman in a wheelchair and a young girl with suitcases super-imposed on it with the words Rethinking Accessibility

Our Takeaway: A pilot program with five Destination A11Y Club partners uncovers over 200 new accessibility features that can be added to their websites.

In the quaint city of Sausalito, California, a company named TravelAbility has been tirelessly working to dismantle barriers and build bridges. Recognized as a vanguard in its field, TravelAbility is known for its commitment to creating a world where the thrill of travel is accessible to all, irrespective of physical limitations or disabilities. The company has recently unveiled a pioneering initiative aptly named “Rethinking Accessibility,” a project that is as ambitious as it is necessary. This project is designed to illuminate the world of travel with the glow of inclusivity, a move that could potentially rewrite the narrative around travel for people with disabilities.

Jake Steinman, the Founder of TravelAbility, asserted, “While the ADA provides some baseline for physical infrastructure such as ramps and grab bars in bathrooms, there’s no ADA for information.” In a world where information is power, the absence of accessible information can be a formidable barrier. The “Rethinking Accessibility” initiative is TravelAbility’s bold answer to this challenge.

Read more.

Destination Landing Page of the Month

by

Photo by Jason Quigley City of Tualatin

Travel Oregon

An oasis of accessibility in the Pacific Northwest featuring unspeakable natural beauty in a state with an unparalleled commitment to accessibility.

In each issue we feature a different destination partner from the “Destinations with Accessibility” section of our website.

Rethinking Accessibility Project Honors Global Accessibility Awareness Day

by

TravelAbility is delighted to announce, “Rethinking Accessibility,” a pilot project to uncover and showcase accessibility information on the websites of participating destinations that are proactively trying to make travel easier for people with disabilities by highlighting what CAN be done instead of what CAN’T be done. This initiative will culminate on May 18, Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

“While the ADA provides some baseline for physical infrastructure such as ramps and grab bars in bathrooms, there’s no ADA for information,” remarked Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility.  The following members of our Destination Ally Club partners opted into the pilot program designed to uncover a variety of accessibility features that will make them more inclusive to people with disabilities and seniors.

A total of 201 surveys were completed revealing new and interesting accessibility features that will be added to their websites, all of which have a landing page dedicated to accessible content. 

Here are just a few examples of unique features from the survey results and links to their accessible content pages.

In Fairfax County, VA: While the Mount Vernon home of George Washington has inaccessible stairs leading to the second floor, they provide iPads that connect to the tour guide leading the tour upstairs.

In Mesa, AZ: Emotional support goats are available at a yoga studio located inside an addiction rehab facility.

In Kissimmee, FL: Local theme park offers wheelchair-accessible Zip Lines descending above alligator habitats.

In Tampa, FL: Visit a children’s museum that holds monthly sensory-friendly events for families and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum.

In Lancaster, PA: the Dutch Wonders theme park offers 35 rides that are fully accessible.

These landing pages will be aggregated as part of Travelability’s  “Destinations with Accessibility” project, which currently contains accessibility content for 143 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean islands.

Outcomes for the “Rethinking Accessibility” project will become part of a series of case studies that will be featured at TravelAbility’s Emerging Markets Summit, August 18-20, 2023, in Savannah.  “According to the World Health Organization, 15% of the population lives with some form of disability,” commented Steinman. “Travel is the toy department of life, and everyone should be able to enjoy it.”

Contact: TravelAbility: Jake@travelability.net

New Study Shows Accessible Websites Enhance SEO by 12%

by

the letters SEO on a blue background

Many have asked the question: Does website accessibility positively impact SEO?  To date, there have been no conclusive answers. To see what impact, if any, accessibility has on SEO, the team at AccessibilityChecker.org, which developed an accessibility audit tool, conducted the study. They checked organic traffic to a series of websites before and after the sites were remediated for accessibility. The upshot:

“We found that, on average, the websites in the sample group had a 12% increase in organic search results most likely to be attributed to the change in the website layout following the accessibility remediation.”

Our Takeaway:  Back in 2010, Google announced that websites that were not mobile-friendly would receive reduced organic traffic, which created the concept of responsive design in which the website is coded for both desktop and mobile at the outset. We hope this study will do the same for website accessibility as businesses have a business case to justify the expense. Read More.

Travelability.net Now Includes 140+ Accessible Landing Pages (Including 11 Caribbean Islands) To “Destinations with Accessibility” Microsite

by

TravelAbility’s “Destinations with Accessibility” initiative continues to expand the search for accessible destinations and the inclusion of their landing pages on its microsite. The team is excited to announce the addition of 11 popular Caribbean islands allowing travelers with disabilities to find things they can do in 140+ destinations all on one site.

About Destinations with Accessibility: While the ADA provides a baseline for physical infrastructure for people with disabilities there is no ADA for information.  Our research team found that it took an average of 3.5 minutes to drill down on travel websites to find content about the accessibility features of the destination. By aggregating this information all in one place the team has made travel planning for people with disabilities that much easier. Visit the Destinations with Accessibility microsite.