TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Sustainability

Sage Inclusion Partners with Sustainable Hospitality Alliance

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The Alliance brings together hospitality industry leaders and strategic partners, such as Sage Inclusion, to address key challenges affecting the planet and its people, local destinations and communities. Improving inclusivity within the industry is one part of the Alliance’s Pathway to “Net Positive Hospitality,” which sets ambitious targets to create a prosperous and responsible global hospitality sector that gives back to the destination more than it takes. For example, the program’s framework outlines how organizations can measure, minimize and embed diversity and inclusivity within its value chain, with the aim to go beyond this and advocate for inclusivity beyond the value chain.To learn more visit Sage Inclusion

Our Takeaway: Sage Inclusion is the latest iteration of accessible travel entrepreneur John Sage’s effort to bring accessibility to the attention of the hotel community by combining it with sustainability to provide a one-two punch.

Reimagining Destination Accessibility as Welcoming . . . All Means All

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“Several years ago, I was hired as a strategic research consultant by a leading European tourist destination wanting to refocus and reposition their image by capitalizing on long-term, sustainable trends in travel that my team had identified. A key concept I put forward was – accessibility for all visitors – and I advised strongly to the destination not to characterize consumers or people with disabilities (PwD) as ‘niche’ but rather to cater for people of all abilities as part of their standard travel industry planning, infrastructure and operations.

For example, the destination I was advising is hugely popular with multi-generational visitors travelling together including grandparents often coming over with their grandchildren every year because they loved it so much. The ‘older adult’ segment I concluded was worth hundreds of million Euro a year in revenue but was most definitely not being adequately supported in terms of providing accessibility even at the most rudimentary level. For instance, there was very limited accessible transportation to and from the airport; there were physical barriers at many heritage sites; and the majority of hotel accommodation had no training, expertise or motivation to cater for guests that were not fully abled” Jem Golden

Read more.

Our Takeaway: Positioning accessibility to be inclusive for all is the best overall strategy when addressing industry partners. But it’s always useful to remind them about baby boomers for whom aging is a form of disability on the installment plan.

Sustainability: How the California Tourism Industry is Tackling Climate Change

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Small tree seedlinh held in a person's hand.

“As an industry, we must acknowledge the climate threat to tourism and live up to California’s well-deserved reputation as the best steward of the environment by encouraging responsible travel and adopting green practices,” Caroline Beteta, CEO of Visit California, said in a Nov. 4 statement. “The opportunity to act has never been greater.”

Beteta’s message is not hyperbole. In 2019, before the pandemic, the state’s tourism industry contributed $145 billion to California’s economy, capping a decade of annual revenue growth. But that growth stalled in 2020, dropping by 55%.

To learn more about Visit California’s sustainability pledge, read the coverage from the North Bay Business Journal.

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