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The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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Post-COVID-19 Travel Trend Forecast: Where Do We Go From Here?

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Trend: The Great outdoors is looking greater.

Here’s a little something to brighten your week. Predictions on the future of travel, both optimistic and realistic (and, of course, deep-cleaned!) from the TravelAbility community:

It Will Be All About the Deep Clean—and Proving It!  The way I believe it will unfold is with an initial reluctance on the part of the consumer to travel for fear of being safe from either catching the virus or spreading it.  The challenge will be how hotels communicate the cleanliness protocols they are putting in place without scaring people off.  In order to get people’s attention, the GM of a hotel may be able to cut through the clutter by using humor. Perhaps proclaiming that they’ve done a personal inspection and now their hotel is so clean you can eat off the floor.  And to prove it, will have someone video him as he enjoys an un-plated bacon and egg breakfast from the lobby floor.—Name withheld by request

This Will Be A Rebuilding Period We think travel will rebound and since there has been strong growth in the movement over the past decade…we believe that in no way will a few months of this stop travel. However, we do understand there will be a rebuilding period, but we will not lose our seat at the table.—Eric Lipp, Open Doors Organization

Demand For RV’s Will Rise My sense from listening to some people in the disability community is that there is definitely trepidation towards getting on a plane or cruise any time in the near future. I think we will see more people traveling by vehicle and there will be a demand for accessible RVs. Also, I believe that National & State Parks will see an increase in visitor’s because people can more easily keep their distance from others and during the lockdown, more people discovered the joys of being out in nature and will seek it out more.—Bonnie Lewkowicz, former travel agent and accessibility trainer

Opting for Optimism As somebody who travels 50% of my time, I will celebrate the first flight as soon as it is safe. When we were first locked down, I canceled six flights and I have not booked any new ones including two trips to Europe that were on my schedule. I definitely feel pangs of pent-up travel requirements for both business and personal needs. I choose to be optimistic and think that the airlines and hotels are going to be so vigilant in there cleaning that things will be even better than before this mess. I will be extra loyal to the companies which have shown compassion to their customers and to their staff. —Mike May, Head Evangelist, Access Explorer

Making Trust Priority #1 Airports will conduct temperature checks at all TSA checkpoints to restore confidence in the safety of air travel and there will be widespread testing cruise ports. I think you’ll see something similar in hotel rooms that you see in airport bathrooms: a clipboard hanging from the door with the time and initials of the last person that cleaned—or deep cleaned. Airlines may institute distance protocols by blocking center seats—or selling only center seats. Destinations will busy forming cooperative advertising programs selling packages at outlandishly low prices to lure the least paranoid consumers.  In order to generate cash flow, hotels will offer flash sales where consumers can pre-buy up to X number of room nights at 4-star hotels at a 2-star price with the flexibility to use the rooms anytime within a 12 month period. Groupon, a dead horse, will make a comeback. —Jake Steinman, founder, TravelAbility Summit

The Great Outdoors Will Be Looking Even Greater I think there will be a gradual opening of the travel market and visitors will look for drive markets and small rural getaways. I think disability travel will return but maybe at a slower pace. Outdoor destinations with camping, hiking, biking and water activities will be at the top of the list.— Mary Kay Vrba, CEO, Dutchess County Tourism, NY

Knowledge Will Equal Power Destination will have highly trained and knowledgeable staff and there will also be a shift towards transparency in cleanliness and health. In general, I think the travel market will bounce back but it will look a lot different in the future.  —Myron Pincomb, chairman, IBCCES

Cleanliness Education Will Help Mitigate Risk Disabled travelers are eager to reengage with the world and I anticipate a resurgence in demand as the public health situation stabilizes. In this new chapter, the disability community will seek out vacation destinations that prioritize accessibility and work to educate businesses and travel providers on cleanliness and risk mitigation. Destinations that use this time to develop accessibility guides and information for disabled travelers will be better positioned to attract the fastest-growing segment of travelers.—John Morris, CEO, WheelchairTravel.com

Home Rentals Will Be Preferred Over Hotels We predict there will be a larger emphasis on outdoor, open-air attractions and destinations as social distancing phases out slowly. Also, private, stand-alone accommodations and entire home rental will be preferred over hotels.” —Lisa Burns, executive director, Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council of New York

Free and Easy Escapes Will Rule We anticipate that drive markets and Fort Worth’s free activities will be big parts of the destination’s story when people are ready to travel. We’re a great value for people who need an easy escape.” — Mitch Whitten, executive VP, marketing and strategy, Visit Fort Worth

Trips Down Memory Lane Will Have New Appeal  …Following this long period of social distancing, we’ll find many people revisiting the places and experiences that fill them with joy. However, after being cooped up, people will start to put plans in place for destinations that have always been on their bucket list, and they may even be more apt to try adventure-filled experiences with their renewed sense of freedom. We’re preparing for the many ways travelers may choose to travel moving forward – and are putting our efforts and initiatives together that beckon them back.” —Mary Quinn Ramer, president, VisitLEX 

See more prediction in this Forbes.com post. For our specials on COVID-19 planning, find them here.

Listening Tour Notes From our Founder: “Oakland Speaks Its Mind and We Listen to Their Awesome Questions”

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TravelAbility 2020 listening tour
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As Listening Tours tend to do, our recent Oakland roundtable raised some smart questions and pushed us to think about accessibility, tech, disability and the travel industry in even deeper ways. It also motivated many of our colleagues to take the fear of compliance and turn it into action. Here are a few of the items of interest during our Oakland, CA, meeting.

  1. Pam Wright of Point Hospitality told the group about using the AccessiBE app to make all six of their hotel websites compliant. The motivation for this action was to deter lawsuits.  Point Hospitality will work with TravelAbility to design an “Accessible FAQ” page on their website as a model that can be used by others that will include accessible room specs as well as images.
  2. Astrid Johannessen of Alcatraz Cruises told the group about the new Bay cruise initiative with the National Park Service (NPS) that will feature a full range of accessibility options including audio description and assistive hearing devices. NPS holds an annual training session at Fort Mason. One of the desired outcomes is to get front line staff to be more pro-active.
  3. Jake Steinman, Founder, TravelAbility Summit brought the group up to speed on some of the industry news that will be impacting the next TravelAbility Summit. On the table: Expedia is expanding their Diversity & Inclusion program beyond its internal employee focus to an external effort that includes customers. 
  4. The concept of shared values seems to be trending in destination marketing. Many are working to understand the needs of their communities and providing accessibility solutions locally. The Think Differently Pledge in Dutchess County took this approach and has over 60 different municipalities who signed their pledge and committed to making their communities inclusive for all. TravelAbility is working on a sample pledge that DMO’s can use with their hotel and attraction partners.
  5. Toby Willis from Expedia recently joined the TravelAbility Advisory Board and there may be opportunities to collaborate with them on scenario-based training videos.
  6. Art Jimenez is positioning the Reno Sparks CVB as the driving force behind accessibility and working with a group in Truckee –Hi5’s – an organization of adaptive sports athletes. The CVB will be highlighting individual athletes in their social media campaigns.

Thanks to all who attended including Astrid Johannessen, Alcatraz Cruises; Bonnie Lewkowicz, BORP; Pam Wright, Point Hospitality; Laszlo Horvath, Active Media; Elaine Schroth, Visit Concord; Jake Steinman, Tricia Roth,  TravelAbility Summit; Art Jimenez, Reno-Tahoe: Tracy Harris, Reno Tahoe

6 Ways Forward-thinking Airports Use Tech to Accommodate Travelers with Disabilities

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Room is set up with soft padding low light screens and cubes for sitting on and napping. It is blue and red.
A sensory room at Gatwick Airport. Photo courtesy Gatwick Airport

While we’ve heard repeatedly that airlines are still struggling to develop systems for aiding travelers with disabilities, the good news is that airports have found greater success, according to Airport Technology. Using new technology, including virtual reality and automation as well as an understanding of sensory issues that affect many people on the autism spectrum, they’ve devised futuristic-looking solutions that honestly, many weary airport travelers would love to be happy to experience.  READ MORE

Delta Promoted Accessibility on Social Media—Here’s What Happened Next

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An (unrelated) ad for Delta highlights that they will be adding more crew members in 2020.

Delta Airlines released a promotional video on social media showing how it “makes the world smaller” for everyone, including children with disabilities. The disability community, however, swiftly called out how Delta and other airlines often make travel harder for people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users, an issue Delta said it is working to resolve. The response from the disability community was 180-degrees from what the company expected. They jumped in the comments section on the video and told their stories—of seeing their wheelchair treated like a sack of potatoes, traveling with a repair kit and being asked to crawl up a flight of stairs to the plane and other difficulties with airline staff. Read the full story here on Yahoo, here.

OUR TAKE: No good deed goes unpunished, even by the disability community.  It’s certainly understandable why disabled travelers who’ve experienced first hand a ruined vacation due to wheelchair damage would jump at the chance to vent at Delta, but it doesn’t seem to be productive in the long run.  Delta’s ad shows that they are trying to find accessible solutions that involve both design and awareness training among their hundreds of airport sub-contractors to improve conditions.  Having to endure this torrent of excoriation may have an unintended effect: Brand risk. If the airlines do nothing, they risk nothing. It is with mixed emotion that we write this. It’s unclear whether marketing folks at Delta ran the ad by a focus group of disabled airplane travelers. If they had, they might have been able to hear their stories and work a note about their long-term approach to change into the messaging.  To learn about some of the positive internal changes Delta has made in hiring and supporting people with disabilities, click here.  “When we had our CEO transition, we really birthed an increased focus on diversity and inclusion,” said Keyra Johnson, Delta’s chief officer of diversity and inclusion (on their site). “We don’t think diversity just happens. We actually believe that you have to work for it and go after it.”

Busting Records & Myths: One Rider Spends 1,000 Days Straight on Rails to Trails

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Four riders including Ian Mackay with a backdrop of mountains snow and green grasss
Four riders, including Mackay, tackling the mountains on a gorgeous days out. photo courtesy: Rails to Trails.

It takes a certain kind of dedication to get out on a trail every day. As in, every day. Seven days a week. Rain or shine. Scorching days, freezing days and every kind of day in between. The last day I missed was Halloween 2016, Ian Mackay told Rails to Trails. He surpassed consecutive day number 1,000 in July. In this piece, writer and rider Scott Stark, who also enjoys exploring trails across the country, describes how a serious bike injury changed Mackay’s approach to enjoying time spent trail’riding’.

OUR TAKE:  There is a way for everyone to enjoy the outdoors—and thankfully, some people are driven enough to find that path and share it with the entire state. At the TravelAbility Summit on November 11-13, the focus will always be on ability. We have found there’s an entire world of people like Mackay adventuring through life and will continue to highlight them, helping travel and destination marketers get a more accurate picture of the ‘accessibility’ customer. READ MORE on the Rails to Trails blog.