Our goal when we created Travelability Summit in 2019 was to create a travel industry conference to educate travel organizations about how they can prepare for the emerging market of baby boomers–40 percent of whom, according to Health Today, self-identify as having a disability after they turn 65. Presumably, by being accessible for the 12.5 million people with disabilities who travel today (2020 Open Doors/Harris Poll and AARP Baby Boomer Travel Report 2021), the industry would be ready when this number grows to over 35 million people over the next eight years.
Based on turnout at several travel industry conferences I’ve attended, one hurdle the industry needs to overcome is an underlying tentativeness when encountering people with disabilities.
I’ve personally led breakout sessions at various conferences that have attracted between 15-25 attendees—out of 600, which is quite frustrating to the organizers who have added accessibility breakouts to their events as an option. However, two weeks ago I spoke at the New Jersey Conference on Tourism, where the accessible session was titled “Emerging Markets,” which blew the attendance number to 123 out of 175!. Perhaps it’s the fear of saying the wrong thing, or the daunting prospect of being accessible for a range of disabilities, or that people in the industry consider accessibility a training issue more appropriate for someone else in their organization. This awkwardness is so prevalent that the D.C. Office of Disability Rights created this 3+ minute video using humor to diffuse discomfort.
While we have always viewed accessibility through the lens of growth, the conference has not been perceived that way due to our focus on awareness-raising rather than positioning the disability niche as an emerging market trend along with Sustainability and DE&I. Due to the baby boomer demographic (they control 58% of U.S. discretionary spending), accessibility is poised to be a more robust tourism driver than either of the other two. By bundling the three niches together into one event we will be introducing accessibility to people who are interested in the growth offered by this trifecta of growing market segments.
While accessible travel is our area of expertise, we will be reaching out to the most knowledgeable organizations in the tourism Sustainability and DE&I space for guidance in connecting us with experts who can help create the most relevant content and how that will drive tourism in the future. Stay tuned for more announcements about partnerships.
TravelAbility EMERGING MARKET SUMMIT will be held June 5-7, 2022 at the Hilton Orlando, co-located with IPW, eTourism Summit, and, coincidently, the 2022 Special Olympics.
In order to maximize engagement and networking, attendance will be limited to 150.
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