TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Neurodiversity

TravelAbility to Host Emerging Markets Summit 2024 on Inclusive Travel in San Francisco

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 11, 2023 – TravelAbility, the leading organization for accessible and inclusive travel, announced today that it will host its Emerging Markets Summit on October 28-30, 2024 at the Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco. The summit will bring together travel industry professionals, disability advocates, and travelers with diverse needs to explore the latest trends and best practices in inclusive travel.

The Argonaut Hotel, located in the historic Fisherman’s Wharf, is one of the most accessible hotels in San Francisco, according to several travelers with disabilities who praise its facilities and its services. The hotel offers spacious rooms, roll-in showers, grab bars, lowered counters, and other amenities that cater to the needs of travelers with a range of abilities.

The summit will provide travel industry professionals with a big-picture view and concrete strategies for tapping the growing market of accessible travel. Topics include:

  • How to design and market inclusive travel products and services
  • How to reach and engage travelers with disabilities and other emerging markets
  • How to create accessible and inclusive destinations and experiences
  • How to leverage technology and innovation to enhance accessibility and inclusion
  • How the emerging markets of diversity, sustainability, and accessibility intersect one another.

The summit will also offer two exclusive concurrent sessions for attendees who want to deepen their knowledge and skills in inclusive travel. The first session is a two-day immersive accessibility training for travel professionals, led by TravelAbility Ambassador Kristy Durso, who has developed an in-depth accessibility certification program. The second session is a half-day workshop on the travel needs of senior travelers, in collaboration with AARP.

“We are excited to host this summit and share our vision of making travel accessible and inclusive for everyone,” said Jake Steinman, the founder and CEO of TravelAbility. “We invite all travel industry professionals to join us and learn from each other.”

This year’s summit in Savannah sold out. To register for the summit or learn more about TravelAbility, visit or follow TravelAbility on Facebook and LinkedIn.

TravelAbility is dedicated to making travel possible for everyone, regardless of their abilities. In its five-year history, the organization has established itself within the tourism industry as a leading innovator, advocate, and resource on accessible travel.

More Celebrities Are Coming Out about Their Hidden Disabilities

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Elon Musk turning to look at something off camera

Several celebrities are shining a light on hidden disabilities by sharing news of their diagnoses and experiences, particularly with autism. In a TED Talk, Tesla founder Elon Musk talked about being bullied as a child on the spectrum, but also about how the condition has helped him in his career.

“I found it rewarding to spend all night programming computers, just by myself,” he said. “Most people don’t enjoy typing strange symbols into a computer by themselves all night. They think that’s not fun. But I really liked it.”

Actor Wentworth Miller, star of the TV series Prison Break was diagnosed with autism during the pandemic. He has talked about the difficulties of getting diagnosed as an adult: “This fall marks 1 year since I received my informal autism diagnosis. Preceded by a self-diagnosis. Followed by a formal diagnosis,” he said. “It was a long, flawed process in need of updating. IMO. I’m a middle-aged man. Not a 5-year-old.” Read more.

Our TakeAway: When celebrities share their hidden disabilities, it can shine a spotlight on issues faced by millions of people. You may not like or admire Elon Musk but there’s no question he’s an influencer and sometimes a positive one.

Visit Lauderdale Expands Its Embrace of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower; Its Convention Center is First in North America to Adopt the Program

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Logo for US chapter of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower includes a close up of a sunflower and an American flag

Arriving at an unfamiliar convention center can be a confusing experience for anyone but particularly for travelers with disabilities, hidden or visible. The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center is employing a range of tools to make sure all travelers feel welcome from the moment they pass through the door. The new approach represents a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

The convention center is adding a variety of cues to indicate when someone needs special assistance at the facility. A permanent space will be dedicated to providing a person with a hidden disability or a traveling companion various Sunflower products, such as a lanyard, badge, wristband or pin.  And all convention center employees will be trained on how to spot and help someone with a hidden disability.

The initiative is just the latest chapter in Visit Lauderdale’s proactive moves to create a warm and inclusive welcome for every traveler.  The Sunflower, for example, has been incorporated into Visit Lauderdale’s accessible tourism marketing for the past two years and was subsequently adopted by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 

“Visit Lauderdale is committed to providing everyone a safe and supportive environment and has long championed inclusion and accessibility tourism by removing all barriers to a quality experience for everyone,” said Richard Gray, senior vice president of Inclusion and Accessibility at Visit Lauderdale. “We embraced the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program as soon as we learned of it and couldn’t be prouder that our newly renovated and expanded convention center is the very first on the continent to implement the program.” Read more.

 Our TakeAway: Credit Visit Lauderdale for the foresight to realize that their convention center will now not only be accessible for meetings and conventions, but also for the numerous local events and festivals that use the convention center.   Credit Sunflower creators for coming up with an image that is simultaneously subtle and powerful. The growth of the Sunflower is one of the accessible travel industry’s most promising trends.

Visit Florida partners with UK Travel Industry Mag to Offer Online Accessibility Training Seminar for Agents

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Information about the webinar on accessible travel, which includes a reference to a free on-demand viewing option

London-based TTG hosted its first webinar on accessible travel last month in association with Visit Florida. An on-demand recording of the webinar is available for free download. Speakers included:

  • Lynne Kirby, managing director, Enable Holidays
  • Monique Jarrett, model, influencer and diversity advocate
  • Richard Thompson, co-founder, Inclu Travel
  • Narelle McDougall, general manager, Amilla Maldives

The opening session featured a presentation by Visit Florida detailing what the Sunshine State is doing to make its tourism industry more accessible and inclusive. Read more.

Our TakeAway: Smart idea for Visit Florida to tap into the reach of TTG to share their insights and experience on the journey toward more inclusive travel. 

EMS 2023 Presentation of the Month: Visit Tampa Bay

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In each edition of Insider we’ll be sharing presentations from the Emerging Markets Summit. This month’s featured presentation comes from Patrick Harrison at Visit Tampa Bay and focuses on their Accessible Riverwalk Pass.

Our Takeaway: This campaign serves as a great model and Patrick shares concrete results. Nearly 2000 passes were sold and generated $103,000 which was distributed to their partners.  Fun Fact: Most sales were to residents via word of mouth. Read more

Slide from the Visit Tampa Bay showing these statistics: 1986 Total Riverwalk Passes Sold with $103K Total Sales (Profits Distributed to Partners)

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