TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Disability Advocates

A Fresh Voice Joins TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board

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Sid Marcos woking at camera wearing sweater and black hat (profile photo)TravelAbility Summit is pleased to welcome Sid Marcos, a business developer from San Diego, California, to the TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board. She is a founding member of the National Startup League and director of Commonwealth, an incubator for social entrepreneurs. She is the former director of development for Outlandish Travel and produced accessible destination guides around fun themes such as pub tours. Currently, she is writing about urbanism, design, and innovation on her personal blog. Here’s a video of Marcos, filmed a while back to explain the concept behind Outlandish Travel.  CLICK HERE

OUR TAKE: Marcos isn’t your average travel writer or vlogger. She tells it like it is. And what is it exactly? Very helpful, 100% wheelchair accessible guides to cities across the country. We were taken with her straightforward approach and the excellent points she made showing how there was a huge gap in the travel market for city guides and more. What makes her even more interesting? She travels with her Great Dane in a Smart Car. 

 

More Please! A Restaurant with Great Food and an Even Better Back-story  

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Locals rave about it, and people travel from far and wide to enjoy Universo Santi Cardiz, which is located in a resort city on the Southern Coast of Spain, according to a recent piece (originally in The Guardian.) We’re recommending it for both its business savvy in staffing (every employee at the restaurant has some kind of disability) and their haute cuisine (word on the street is that they are being looked at by Michelin and may earn a star sometime soon.)

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OUR TAKE: We need more restaurant owners state-side who think like Antonio Vila, who was a major force in opening up Universo Santi. He is also the president of a nonprofit that focuses on helping people with disabilities find rewarding jobs. At last count, the restaurant had 20 employees all of whom identify as having a disability. This story begs the question Why aren’t more restaurants doing this? At TravelAbility, we’re working to learn what the biggest hurdles to providing are, and then moving them aside with the help of you—both the travel and the disability community. 

Universal Orlando’s Autism Superhero Saves a Family’s Vacation

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A scene with many people along a street that is packed with shops and a fire breathing dragon at Universal Orlando studios

Vacationer Lenore Koppelman and her son were extremely excited to take a spin on the Spiderman ride at Universal Orlando. But when it temporarily broke down during their visit—Ralph did too. An Orlando resort staffer (who saw Ralph was upset) also had a not-so-typical response: She lay down on the ground next to him and began to try to comfort him, according to USA TODAY.
If you’re wondering: What are the chances that a resort staffer would feel comfortable doing this?  You will be pleasantly surprised. Part of a growing trend, Universal Orlando’s staff is Autism Certified by IBCCES. In short, that means they have been trained to solve problems and make accommodations for families traveling with a child with autism or other special needs. This type of training is a game changer for the travel industry and neuro-diverse families who want the best experience for their family on vacation. A fellow mom who saw Koppelman’s Facebook post about the day said it best when she wrote in the page comments

“Thank you for sharing. This means so much to me, a mom of an awesome autist. #UniversalStudios, Can you teach me how to train the world to accept our children like your staff does? I, too, thank you for making this child’s day special.”

OUR TAKE: There will several renowned panelists devoted to talking about the topic of making travel easier for families with children that have special needs at the upcoming TravelAbility Summit.

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Two Disability Advocates Reveal (Almost) All on Hilarious Vlog

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Hannah holds out her ring with a big smile Shane is next to her

Shane Burkaw and his now fiancé Hannah are no ordinary couple, which is why the story of their life, travels and recent engagement has captured the attention of 407,000 subscribers on YouTube. The non-profit Burkaw founded with his cousin, Sarah is called Laughing at My Nightmare and its mission is to spread a message of positivity while providing equipment grants to those living with muscular dystrophy. You can see more about their recent 5K race on their Instagram.

 

The couple, who vlog under the title Squirmy & Grubs, will be speaking at the TravelAbility Summit in San Francisco and Burcaw will be part of an Accessible Itinerary Design Team being formed through the Summit.

OUR TAKE: Talking about being an inter-abled couple isn’t easy, but these two make it look like it is, informing a new generation of people with disabilities who are doing things their own way—and often with a sense of humor. Save some time to watch their engagement video…and more, because once you start watching you won’t be able to stop. (We also recommend the one where they take viewers questions about having kids.)

 

Race day photo credit: Jeremy Cohen

 

 

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.

 

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