Travel

New with this issue: 11 Caribbean Islands–click here. Visit Colorado Springs–click here.   Visit Panama City Beach, FL—click here. 

It’s been a rough few weeks for air travel, with delayed luggage, missed flights, and staffing issues being just a few of the issues we’ve heard about. Long lines at security and customs, however, have become a frequent source of frustration, and the CEO of Heathrow Airport believes he has identified the cause. One is makeup. Excessive amounts of makeup.

John Holland-Kaye claims these long security lines are the result of a growing number of bags containing liquids (and therefore needing to be checked), which ultimately slows the process. With more people afraid of losing their checked luggage, more women are choosing to carry their makeup in their carry-on bag.

Sadly, the story does not end as a simple makeup issue. A particularly offensive TikTok travel hack has made the rounds, encouraging able-bodied passengers to fake disability in order to fast-track the lines. This increase in demand for mobility assistance at the airport leaves those in genuine need without.

Euro News reported in June that “a man fell to his death at Gatwick after being left waiting for assistance and disembarking a plane alone.” On another occasion at Heathrow, “20 wheelchair passengers were allegedly left waiting in a non-air-conditioned part of the terminal.” Read the TravelNoire article here.

Fans of Oklahoma, either the classic movie or the Broadway revival, are sure to love Cory Lee’s latest adventure: Oklahoma City.

With no real knowledge of the city itself, its offerings, or even its attractions – other than that learned while watching the Broadway musical – travel enthusiast Cory Lee recently headed out to Oklahoma City for a long weekend visit. All of his experiences, from a beautiful morning at Myriad Gardens to an emotional visit at the First Americans Museum, surpassed his expectations. He stated, “I left thinking that this is undoubtedly one of the most underrated cities in the U.S..”

If you’re looking for a wheelchair-accessible Oklahoma City experience, Cory Lee’s article has you covered. As he says, “Here are some of the greatest accessible things to do for a phenomenal trip…” How can we argue with that?

Check out Cory’s things to do and places to stay in Oklahoma City.

The Schoolhouse Hotel is the perfect accommodation for those looking for an accessible stay while vacationing in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. As the newest hotel in that city, it brings with it the accolade of being the world’s first fully ADA-compliant hotel, ensuring comfortable stays for neurodivergent individuals including those with mobility issues, blindness, and deafness.

According to the newly published “Portrait of Travelers with Disabilities” Mobility and Accessibility survey from MMGY Global, every industry should act now to better understand and meet the needs of individuals who use mobility aids and their traveling companions. This survey discovered that accessibility for lodging and transportation is the greatest barrier to travel for those with mobility issues. Nearly all respondents (96%) experienced a lodging problem on their most recent trip. 86% reported flight problems and 79% experienced transportation issues in their local market. In addition to these difficulties, 79% of respondents had in-market transportation problems and 86% had flight issues.

Across the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries, travelers with mobility issues should be granted the same experiences as those without. $58.2 billion is spent annually on travel by those with mobility disabilities. They take an average of 3.4 leisure trips in the past 12 months and spend an average of $3,546 on leisure travel.

Our take: While the results that over 80% of accessible hotel bathrooms are unusable for wheelchair users is hardly surprising (see our original article about hotel showers here), the fact that such a highly respected organization such as MMGY Global Intelligence, has added accessibility to their research portfolio, will add further validation and generate new attention from DMO’s and hotel companies. For more about this survey, read the MMGY Global article.