TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Mobility

Top 10 Signs That Accessibility Is Going Mainstream

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Fashion brands including Tommy Hilfiger, shown above, are expanding their accessible clothing lines. [photo of a young boy and girl in sportswear holding hands and running courtesy Tommy Hilfiger.]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of U.S. residents with a disability is estimated at close to a quarter of the nation’s population, with that figure doubling among those aged 65 and older. “Travelers with a disability represent an underserved but growing segment of the population that has been neglected by the mainstream tour and travel industry,” says Steinman. “The travel industry has a huge opportunity and responsibility to help make travel more accessible—and the time to act is now. In fact, a recent study by the Harris Organization in partnership with Open Doors Organization estimates the size of the disability travel market at $17 billion dollars a year. We invite travel professionals to register now for TravelAbility Summit, here. To help define the market opportunity, this is our first of a series of TravelAbility Summit Insights. Here’s why we see accessibility as an ascending trend:

  1. Requests for wheelchairs at airports grew 30% from 2016 to 2017 and have averaged 17% each year since 2015, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 
  2. According to AARP research, over the next 20 years, 75 million Baby Boomers will be aging into disability. This demographic has amassed the largest accumulation of wealth in history—and have the time and desire to travel.
  3. Mattel will debut a doll with a prosthetic leg and another with a wheelchair for Christmas. 
  4. A Travel Weekly survey found that travel agents in one European country alone experienced a 50% increase in inquiries about accessible travel experiences.
  5. The Brussels Airport has hired six people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to work as X-ray screeners. The Brussels program, part of a pilot project, is reporting positive results.
  6. Over 20,000 travel agents in the U.S .have undergone a one-hour basic autism awareness/response training sessions through IBCCES. Another 5,000 travel agents have been trained by Special Needs Group on accessible wheelchair travel.
  7. The TravelAbility research team has identified over 50 technologies, apps, and products that make everything from traversing mountains to navigating museums more accessible.
  8. Since launching its adaptive clothing line in 2018, the Tommy Hilfiger brand has expanded the collection from children’s clothing to a full adult line.
  9. The Skift Global Forum, the leading trend-forecasting conference in the travel industry, included its first accessible travel presentation, “Accessibility: What’s It Worth,” making the business case for accessible travel.
  10.  Trick or Treat! Target is introducing a line of adaptive costumes for Halloween this year. 

Don’t Miss Out on Expert Advice at TravelAbility Summit! Meet A Few of Our Superstar Speakers

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Meet two of our superstar speakers—and watch for more updates on our speaker’s page. There’s really a lot of talent and expertise in our lineup. Start here:  

Eric Lipp is the founder and executive director of the Open Doors Organization (ODO), which commissioned groundbreaking research on accessible travel identifying the untapped market at 17.3 billion dollars in 2015. He started ODO after personally experiencing the restrictions that people with disabilities face in everyday life. (Eric was diagnosed with Von Hippel Lindau disease at age 30, which resulted in a tumor growth on his spinal cord, ultimately limiting his mobility.) In 2014, Open Doors launched Open Taxis, a centralized taxi dispatch for wheelchair accessible vehicles in Chicago with over 350 vehicles. Passengers can either call Open Taxis for service or use its smartphone app that includes key features such as estimated wait time and an estimated fare quote.

Marc Garcia is president and CEO of Visit Mesa. Under Marc’s leadership Visit Mesa has become the country’s first-ever destination marketing organization designated as a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, Marc has raised the bar in the city of Mesa by requesting partner businesses in the hospitality community follow their lead to undergo autism training. Guest-facing staff at Mesa businesses are actively being approached and will complete autism sensitivity and awareness training within the next six months. Prior to joining Visit Mesa, Marc was vice president of Visitor Marketing & Community Development for the Greater Phoenix Visitors & Convention Bureau.

photo of Suzanne Boda courtesy American Airlines PR;  photo of Marc Garcia courtesy IP Photography

You can find out more about all of the speakers on our site, here. 

REGISTER NOW for the two-day event in San Francisco this November! REGISTER NOW

 

 

 

Two Companies Disrupting the Wheelchair Rental Market for Good

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woman looks at art in museum while sitting in a mobility device by Whill/ScootaroundPeople that rely on mobility devices will no longer have to stress about having to travel with a wheelchair because they will be able to rent a personal EV (through an app) at the airport and/or final destination, thanks to the merger of two cutting-edge companies. WHILL – makers of the cutting-edge Model Ci and Model A Intelligent Personal Electric Vehicles (EVs), which won the CES Innovation Award at the Computer Electronics Show in 2018, and Scootaround a leading wheelchair and scooter rentals solutions company servicing 2500 locations in North America. Together, they will be the first to provide a worldwide Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) model. “This will improve the current travel landscape for mobility device users by increasing their freedom and independence,” says Justin Gagnon, vice president of sales and marketing for WHILL/Scootaround. Gagnon offered TravelAbility Insider some interesting insights about the market:

  • Currently, the company is piloting six trials worldwide, two of which, Dallas and Winnipeg, are in North America. In Winnipeg, Delta Airline agents offer disabled passengers who are awaiting connections the opportunity to test drive a WHILL Ci so they can maneuver around the airport independently.
  • WHILL wheelchairs appeal to cruise line companies as they are smaller, sleeker and designed to maneuver around small spaces, which means they may also be used in non-ADA staterooms.

Our take: Vertical integration comes to the airport wheelchair rental market as the demand for motorized wheelchair rentals rises significantly. This disruption will not only require less staff but will also give travelers who need mobility options more independence.

photo courtesy WHILL/Scootaround

Handicap Accessible vs. Wheelchair Accessible: Do You Know the Difference?

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Entire family with Dad in front sitting in wheelchair

All accessibility is not equal, although there is some crossover, according to an informative post on thrivingwithparalysis.com. The author clarifies the differences according to her personal experience as a caregiver. This piece covers all the details from ‘the dreaded aisle seat, the perfect table for a wheelchair user and more.  

OUR TAKE: There’s no better expert than a traveler with a disability or their caregiver. This blog, with all of its details, couldn’t possibly be written with such detailed and trustworthy advice had in not been done by a caregiver whose got a lot of real-life knowledge to share. Destinations, attractions, and hotels would be wise to take caregiver through a tour of a place and do some on the spot usability testing.  It’s the little things that can make a huge difference in a traveler’s experience.

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7 Wow-Worthy Destinations Where Using A Wheelchair Isn’t a Hassle

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centuries old trees in a park with green grassThe Getty Museum offers wheelchairs for free. The San Diego Zoo provides special parking, restrooms and access to shows. New Orleans’ oldest parks have plenty of paved paths to get around.  And of course, there’s always The White House. 

OUR TAKE: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Accessibility shouldn’t be a second thought—it should be top of mind and easy to find on your website, in advertising when visiting. Yes, the destination is the real gem, but if 1 in 5 people with a disability can’t access all it has to offer, it loses some of its sheen. See all of MSN.com’s picks in their slideshow.
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