TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessible Landing Pages

TravelAbility and Miles Partnership to Develop Herd Accessibility Initiative

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Miles Partnership logo

TravelAbility is proud to announce that Miles Partnership, one the pre-eminent strategic marketing agencies and web design firms in the travel industry, will become a partner for the “Herd Accessibility” initiative where the goal is to aggregate destination landing pages containing links to accessible attractions, museums and hotels on www.travelability.net so that disabled travelers—as well as locals—will have the information they need on a single website. 

Miles Partnership is a strategic marketing agency focused solely on travel and tourism. Their team works with more than 100 clients around the country and globally, including DMOs, resorts, restaurants, state parks, airports and other travel industry businesses. 

“We’re honored to be collaborating with Miles on one of the most important projects that has come out of the first TravelAbility Summit in 2019: Filling the void of information about what is accessible,” commented Jake Steinman, Founder of TravelAbility.

“At Miles, I lead a dedicated team of digital accessibility specialists. We work to design and code digital spaces that are informed by the experience of users of assistive technology like a screen reader and/or a keyboard or mouse alternative,” noted Erin Fossum, Interactive Producer, Miles.

“In addition to being one of the most creative and innovated marketers in the travel industry,” said Steinman, “Miles creates, designs and builds destination websites and will be able to develop accessibility content that will be useable technically to people with a wide range of disabilities from the ground up.”

“We believe when we craft our products using the perspectives of users with disabilities, the result can be pleasurable and experiential — not just baseline accessible. “This partnership between TravelAbility and Miles Partnership will help further both of our work in providing a better experience for travelers with disabilities and their companions,” said Fossum. “Together, we will work to develop and distribute research and best-practice resources for creating a more accessible web presence with the goal of achieving Herd Accessibility through the TravelAbility Accessible Destinations landing page initiative. Be on the lookout for our digital accessibility and landing page workshops later this year.”

Accessible Landing Page of the Month: Travel Oregon

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Travel Oregon logo.

Travel Oregon has released a new accessible travel landing page to introduce the state to disabled visitors. The page features information on disability-friendly attractions, including accessible trails and Oregon parks with ADA facilities.

Visitors to the landing page can watch an episode of Travel Oregon’s “Grant’s Getaways” dedicated to accessible travel, which explores the challenges and opportunities through the eyes of a wheelchair user who lives and works in the state.

What we Loved about this Landing Page: It highlights many of Oregon’s most incredible outdoor adventures and provides information on how those can also be enjoyed by visitors with different types of disabilities.  

What Could be Added: Accessible Resources: Accessible airport transfer options, medical equipment repair/rentals and a pop-up box that allows visitors (and locals) to add other accessible suppliers that may not be included. 

To check out this featured landing page, visit the Travel Oregon website. Also be sure to check-out the Oregon destination page on the TravelAbility website.

FEATURED LANDING PAGE OF THE MONTH: Tampa Bay, Florida

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Visit Tampa Bay has released a new accessible travel landing page to introduce the Gulf Coast city to disabled visitors. The page features information on accessible attractions, including theme parks like Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, museums including the Museum of Science and Industry and the Tampa Bay History Center, and thrilling activities like indoor skydiving at iFly World.

Visitors to the landing page can join power wheelchair user Jamie Santillo, who owns a locally based accessible travel agency, Adventures By Jamie, as she goes indoor sky diving and experiences many of the must-see attractions and points of interest in and around Tampa Bay.

What we Loved about this Landing Page: It captured the essence of the destination focusing on accessible family activities for visitors of different disabilities. 

What Could be Added: Accessible Resources: Accessible airport transfer options, medical equipment repair/rentals and a pop-up box that allows visitors (and locals) to add other accessible suppliers that may not be included. 

To check out this featured landing page, see the Visit Tampa Bay website.

I Love (Accessible) New York! A Model of What a State Landing Page for Disabled Travelers Should Be

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New York City skyline seen from pedestrian walkway on bridge.

Expanding access to accessible travel information and resources is one of the TravelAbility Summit’s key objectives, and many destinations are already providing excellent content through their websites’ accessible travel landing pages.

I Love NY’s Accessible New York page is one such example, with a sortable database of accessible activities and businesses throughout the state. Whether a person is traveling to the Adirondacks or the Greater Niagara Falls Region, the database contains a list of accessible attractions and provides basic information about the accessibility of various features, including accessible entrances, bathrooms, and more.

The page also includes trip ideas for visitors who are autistic or have developmental disabilities, people who are blind or have low vision, and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

OUR TAKE: I Love NY, working with the consulting division of Open Doors Organization, has done the important work of creating a page to welcome disabled travelers to New York. The database contains space for many more accessible activities, and we look forward to seeing this resource expanded to include many more of the great things to do in the State of New York!

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