Travel

What are the Top 10 Trends in Accessible Travel?

July 4, 2025 by lkarl

Last year’s TravelAbility Summit featured a presentation revealing The Top Ten Trends for Accessible Travel in 2025. Read a summary and watch the full video below!

Summary

🚕 Accessible Transportation Revolution
Ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft face legal pressure to become wheelchair accessible. Rental cars now offer adaptive features and Ford introduces models with audio descriptions for blind users.
Watch here
🛫 Airports Embrace Universal Access
New airport renovations include cutting-edge accessibility upgrades—like changing rooms—highlighted by Portland Airport’s initiatives.
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🧠 Smart Tech Enhances Navigation
Google Maps adds wheelchair-accessible routes. Hotels now feature voice-activated controls and AI travel planners for a seamless, informed experience.
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🤫 Rise of Sensory-Friendly Destinations
Quiet areas in airports and stores (e.g., Walmart) cater to neurodivergent travelers. Autism-friendly travel packages are growing in popularity.
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🛌 Universal Design in Accommodations
Wider doorways, roll-in showers, and height-adjustable furniture are being adopted into architectural blueprints, making spaces inherently inclusive.
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🌍 Virtual Reality Previews
Travelers can explore destinations through VR before visiting. Tools like 360° hotel room tours boost planning confidence.
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🧗 Inclusive Adventure Tourism
Tools like Be My Eyes and Aira assist blind travelers in hiking and outdoor activities. Oregon leads with grants funding these innovations.
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🏖️ Accessible Beach Access Innovations
Greece installs ramps into the sea for wheelchair users. Sensory-safe beach areas are being designed for neurodiverse visitors.
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📋 Nano Training for Hospitality
Scandinavian hotels use sub-50-second videos to train staff on disability service—an efficient way to boost service quality.
Watch here
📺 Inclusive Representation in Media TV shows and marketing campaigns are increasingly spotlighting autism and disability. Large firms like Unilever are leading with inclusive messaging.
Watch here

Watch Here

These trends aren’t just hypothetical—they’re being discussed, demonstrated, and accelerated at the TravelAbility Summit, where accessibility leaders, tourism professionals, and innovators come together to share solutions and spark progress. Join us October 13–15, 2025, at Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon to experience the conversations shaping the future of travel. From live hands-on workshops and expert presentations to networking with changemakers, the Summit is where the next wave of accessibility innovation begins.

Register Today!

Fun in Action? This Party Bus Sucks…You In!

July 4, 2025 by lkarl

A man stands between two buses wearing a jumping Joey tshirt in American flag colors

Historically, the party bus has been elitist, if not downright ableist. Jumping Joey’s is changing that. Jumping Joey’s Journey, a local transportation service, has expanded its offerings with the recent acquisition of a 14-passenger, handicap-accessible minibus. From bar crawls and weddings to church events, family trips, and school field trips, Jumping Joey’s Journey delivers more than just a ride – they create an electrifying experience. They call themselves the ultimate party experience on wheels, and now that party will be open to all.

Read the Full Article

It may be time to reach out to your local transportation services to see how you can up your party game.

Lived Experience: Can an Autistic Adult Use Travel as Therapy?

July 4, 2025 by lkarl

Aleks smiling and sitting on a cement block with a beautiful turquois ocean stretching out behind him

Alex Stratikis is the writer behind Autism Adventures Abroad. He invites readers to join him on his journey of self-discovery as he travels the world, finding himself and what it means to be human, while also understanding more about his autism and about the needs of neurodivergent individuals more generally.

In a recent article, Alex explores the idea of travel as therapy for an autistic adult:

Travel offers more than just a break from routine for autistic adults—it can be deeply therapeutic, fostering personal growth, emotional healing, and sensory exploration. While everyday life may feel rigid and overwhelming due to strict routines and heightened sensory sensitivities, travel provides a liberating contrast, encouraging flexibility, independence, and self-discovery. The author, an autistic solo traveler who has visited over 65 countries, shares how navigating unfamiliar places has strengthened their confidence and adaptability, while also offering moments of calm through sensory-friendly experiences like quiet beaches or cozy bakeries. They emphasize the importance of preparation, self-advocacy, and managing sensory input to create fulfilling and accessible travel experiences. Through both structured planning and spontaneous adventure, travel becomes a transformative tool—not just for exploration, but for understanding oneself and the world in new, affirming ways.

Best Practices: Bonjour Quebec’s Tools for Accessible Travel

July 4, 2025 by lkarl

Bonjour Qu é bec has accessibility filters!

The ability to sort out what you can or cannot do in travel planning is an invaluable empowerment for the disabled traveler.

Bonjour Québec utilizes practical website planning tools and filters across disabilities to make it easy for travelers to plan a visit to Quebec.

Québec for All is a database of over 2,000 Kéroul-certified tourism businesses (Kéroul criss-crosses the province to test and evaluate establishments. Its representatives also make recommendations to businesses on adapting their infrastructures) across Québec, linked directly through the tourism website. Fully or partially accessible to people with a disability, seniors, or anyone with difficulty getting around (parents with strollers included), these establishments offer a warm and caring welcome, with staff that has been trained to respond to the needs and expectations of this clientele.

Business accessibility and searches

With the Bonjour Québec search engine, you can also find accommodation establishments and tourist sites or activities whose accessibility has been evaluated by Kéroul based on four criteria:

Accessible

Partially accessible

Services for people with a visual impairment

Services for people with a hearing impairment

Québec has done a lot in terms of accessibility and inclusion, but the ability to plan for the plethora of accessible options is what truly makes Québec accessible to all travelers.

News from the TravelAbility Community

July 4, 2025 by lkarl

TravelAbility Community Sweeps the Forbes Accessibility 100 List

Forbes Accessibly 100 graphic with black background and red boarders

Including: Alvaro Silberstein, Wheel the World; Mayan Ziv, Access Now; Kelly Twichel, Access Trax; Matt Ater, Vispero; Pierre Paul, We Hear You; Michael Buckley, Be My Eyes; Eve Andersson, Google; Betty Siegel, Kennedy Center; Keely Cat-Wells, Making Space; Squirmy and Grubbs; Dominic Marinelli, United Spinal; Kursat Ceylon, We Walk

Forbes Accessibility 100 List