The Intersection of Travel and Disability
You can hang any old backpack on a wheelchair handle. But what if you asked top designers to build a better backpack for use with a wheelchair? What would it look like? That’s what Jansport did with its new Adaptive Collection. Read More
TravelAbility TakeAway: It’s wonderful to see a leading backpack maker dedicate a collection for the adaptive market.
In the US, the ADA mandates hotels to provide travelers with specific information about their accessible features. In lieu of a comparable law in the UK, one prominent hotel chain is producing its own detailed accessibility guides to meet the needs of a growing market.
TUI, in partnership with AccessAble, has just released guides for 200 hotels in locations including Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Two hundred more are in the works.
“Tui takes more than six million UK holidaymakers away each year and accessible holiday bookings have grown by 56% since 2022,” said Sue Bradley, Tui UK and Ireland director of customer experience. “We want to make travel easy and enjoyable for all our customers, but we know when it comes to planning, it can be a stressful experience for some.” Read more.
TravelAbility TakeAway: AccessABLE consulted with more than 1,000 disability groups to develop the guides, which are both comprehensive and easy to navigate. Check out the guide for the Hotel Rio Park in Spain.
As we reported in last month’s Insider, Travel Oregon has awarded $3.6 million in competitive grants to DMOs, attractions, and cities for inclusion and accessibility projects. Of that total, more than $1 million will go to Oregon Coast organizations.
The scope and diversity of the funded projects is vast. Travelers with disabilities will gain both new and improved access to a wide range of natural, recreational, and historic sites. The grants will also fund accessibility studies by Wheel the World in two regions along the coast. Read more.
TravelAbility TakeAway: If you want to see the impact that all of you are making through your participation in TravelAbility, take a trip to Oregon. Travel Oregon, which sent more than 30 staff members to the Savannah summit, is putting into practice ideas and partnerships they’ve developed through active engagement with the network. It’s inspiring to see an ambitious program implemented state-wide.
As we reported in last month’s Insider, Destinations International has named TravelAbility as its official accessibility advisor, providing guidance on how to make destinations more welcoming for people with disabilities. In turn, Destinations International will market TravelAbility’s Accessibility Playbook to its 700+ DMOS.
“The Playbook is like accessibility in a box and contains everything we’ve learned over the past five years that can help destinations and travel businesses improve their accessibility and inclusion initiatives for travelers with disabilities,” said Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of TravelAbility. “It includes more than 100 videos, PowerPoint decks, and contacts for a range of vendors in the accessibility space.”
TravelAbility will also advise Destinations International on prospective speakers and assistive technology entrepreneurs who can showcase their solutions for improving accessibility in the travel industry at their InnovateAble pitch event.
TravelAbility has already started planning its involvement in DI’s events for 2024, including several US meetings this spring and summer:
Marketing & Communications Summit
February 27-29, 2024 | Salt Lake City, UT
CEO Summit
April 2-4, 2024 | Boston, MA
Convention Sales & Services Summit
April 8-9, 2024 | Washington, D.C.
Showcase
April 10, 2024 | Washington, D.C.
Visitor Services Summit
July 16, 2024 | Tampa, FL
Annual Convention
July 16-18, 2024 | Tampa, FL
TravelAbility TakeAway: “Both partners have hit the ground running and we’re finding multiple opportunities for collaboration and crossover,” said Jake Steinman, TravelAbility founder and CEO. “It’s an exciting time. Sleep is overrated!”
Sponsors Alpine Electric Bikes and Capital Bike teamed up with RAD to put on the free Adaptive Bike Fest in September, which featured everything from hand cycles to guided bike rides to bike and wheelchair tune-ups.
Organizers said the event was aimed at showing how accessible getting outside and having fun can be, even for those with limited mobility, and providing an opportunity to try out the often hard-to-find accessible equipment without cost. Read more.
TravelAbility Takeaway: Great idea for an event that celebrates new mobile options and emphasizes the fun side of being outdoors on a set of wheels.
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