TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Technology

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.

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

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A moderator who uses a wheelchair hosts a panel discussion at the 2023 EMS Summit; image includes the logo for Travelability: The Intersection of Travel and Accessibility.

We’re thrilled to announce that the next Emerging Markets Summit will take place 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.

“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 the Summit sold out for. If you’d like to reserve your spot for 2024 or learn more about TravelAbility, visit [www.travelability.net] or follow TravelAbility on [Facebook] and [LinkedIn].

Read more: EMS2024 Announcement

United Leads the Way with its Embrace of Braille and Other Navigational Aids

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Braille directions on the seat and row of a United Airlines plane.

For eight years running, United Airlines has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. No surprise then that they also play a leadership role in integrating accessibility into their product design. United is the first U.S. airline to incorporate Braille into its aircraft interiors. United has already equipped a dozen aircraft with Braille markings for individual rows and seat numbers, as well as lavatory interiors and exteriors. The airline anticipates outfitting its entire mainline fleet with Braille by the end of 2026.

The Braille initiative is just a first step. United is also collaborating with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and other disability advocacy groups to investigate the application of other tactile navigational aids, such as raised letters, numbers, and arrows, throughout the cabin. Read more.

Our Takeaway: United’s incorporation of Braille and other navigational aids will relieve some of the stress of flying for millions of blind and low vision travelers. These features should become the industry standard.

Cruise, the GM-backed Autonomous Car Maker, Forms Accessibility Council

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Michele Lee in a wheelchair looking into the Cruise Origin Mobility (Photo credit: Cruise]

Self-driving cars are the zenith of accessibility according to Cruise, the San Francisco-based and GM-backed autonomous car company. Fully autonomous cars are a game-changer says Michelle Lee, the company’s senior public affairs manager.

“It’s going to enable independence,“ Lee said. “It’s going to enable freedom to move about as you want and live your life. I am so excited for the day that Origin Mobility is on the streets. I dream of it honestly—I have to always rely on somebody to drive me, or a bus driver, a train conductor, Uber driver, Lyft driver, or taxi driver. [With autonomous cars], I’m not always relying on someone. I want to go places and I want to do things. I know I’m not alone in that. People with disabilities want to live life..”

Lee came to Cruise as a disability advocate and echoes the refrain “nothing about us, without us.” That belief led to the recent formation of the Accessibility Council, “a cross-disability group of leaders and advocates who will provide external, independent input on Cruise’s product, programs, and approach to accessibility.” The Accessibility Council comprises seventeen people representing various disability organizations, including the National Federation of the Blind, the United Spinal Association, and the National Association of the Deaf. Read more.

Our Takeaway: The independence afforded by the promise of fully-autonomous cars may well be a game changer for many people with disabilities. So too is Cruise’s formation of a cross-disability council, provided the group has genuine influence on the design of the vehicles.

INNOVATEAble Recap: Watch the Presentations of the Top Three Products from the Emerging Markets Summit

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Logo: TravelAbility Presents INNOVATEAble

One of the most talked about segments at the Emerging Markets Summit in Savannah last month was InnovateABLE, a Shark-Tank-like competition of accessible products. Here are the presentations of the judges’ top three finishers:

Tied for First: Translate Live’s Instant translator speaks, reads, and writes more than 100 languages, including American Sign Language and Braille: Watch presentation

Tied for First: Color blindness is now covered by the ADA. Enchroma glasses and screen viewers allow color blind people to see true colors: Watch presentation

Third Place: GRIT Freedom Chair: Designed by MIT engineers, the GRIT Freedom Chair is a mix between a manual wheelchair and a mountain bike. Watch presentation