TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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What Does a Braille Business Card Communicate?

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A braille business card paired with a logo of Blind in Mind: The Braille Superstore

In a thoughtful commentary on his Evengrounds blog, Tom Babinzski considers all angles of why you may or may not want to invest in a braille business card. In one telling statistic, Tom illustrates how small the audience may be for the practical use of the card: “I have only found information from the United States,” Tom writes, “but approximately 90 percent of people without functional vision do not read braille.” On the other hand, 90% of people who are blind and in the workforce read braille; the card may also have its benefits in the way it signals your commitment to inclusivity. Read more.

Our TakeAway: It’s not for everyone but the braille business card has its uses depending on your business and target market—although the uses may be more symbolic than practical. It may be prudent to print two sets of business cards.

UK Tour Operator Becomes the First in the Country to Offer British Sign Language Interpreters

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Sign language interpreter signing in front of a background image of smiling passengers beside a cruise ship

A great tour company is all about access—access to information, expertise, and assistance when things go wrong. TUI, a leading UK tour operator, is extending that level of access to the Deaf and hard of hearing community providing sign language interpreters who connect travelers with TUI agents.  The free service is the result of a game-changing partnership between TUI and SignLive, which houses the Assisted Travel Team that is available seven days a week via an app or a browser.

“We’re delighted to be working with TUI to make travel more accessible for Deaf people,” said Fiona Mackay, COO of SignLive. “This partnership makes communication smoother and the overall experience of going on holiday much easier for British Sign Language users. Customers can travel with confidence knowing they can communicate via an interpreter throughout their journey.” Read more.

Our TakeAway: This is a major breakthrough in accessible travel that will blaze the trail for other deaf tour programs.  And it can be easily replicated as a new niche in America. Note: British Sign Language is a completely different language from American Sign Language. The two share only 30% of the signs.

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. 

DMO DIY Dept: Travel Oregon Shows How You Can Create Your Own TravelAbility Summit

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A group of 30+ Oregon DMO employees wearing their summit badges beneath a "Welcome to Oregon" headline set against an image of an evergreen tree on a hilltop

If you attended the TravelAbility Summit in Savannah in August, you were probably just as likely to meet someone from the Northwest as the Deep South. Oregonians seemed to be everywhere. And they were. Travel Oregon brought a posse of 34 people to Georgia, seizing the opportunity to create a kind of Summit-within-the-Summit.

“It worked out well for the state,” said Kevin Wright, VP of Marketing for Travel Oregon. “We brought the attendees, and they did the work and now we’ll be one of the most accessible states in the country.” Read more.

Our TakeAway: It sounds like Oregon is laying down a challenge. Next year’s summit in San Francisco provides a great opportunity for other states to follow Oregon’s lead and bring an even larger delegation. Competition aside, it’s a smart idea to leverage the national event to foster state-level collaboration.