Trends

The Crystal Ball: Will Omicron lead to herd immunity? As the most perniciously contagious Covid variant yet, several notable immunologists believe that it may eventually infect 90% of the population, which is the percentage of penetration necessary for herd immunity… or maybe not. 

1. Flexibility will become a commodity. Watch for a surge in refundable policies for everything from air, hotels and group tour as travelers scurry to book and rebook based on spike patterns between variants. Those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted will be planning for the spring and summer season after Q2 and Q3 for summer travel, creating an extended off-season for Fall and winter.
2. 2022 will be the year more conventions and corporate meeting planners will include accessibility in their RFP’s. As corporations become more familiar with ADA requirements, planners will be demanding accessibility for a variety of disabilities and planners will be including specific accessibility needs on their registration forms.
3. Shower Shaming will make a Splash in 2022! There is a growing body of evidence that something is seriously amiss in the design of accessible bathrooms for wheelchair users. First, a prominent travel blogger became exasperated to find that five out of six of the hotels on a road trip from Orlando to Houston were inaccessible — she had to resort to sponge baths because the handheld shower was out of reach. Additionally, accessibility consultant John Morris, owner of the Accessible Development Group and founder of WheelchairTravel.org, has kept a log of ADA deficiencies in the 500+ hotels he has stayed in since 2014. Among that large sample size, 80-90% of the “accessible” bathrooms were not compliant. In most cases, the shower seat was positioned beyond the reach of the hand held showers. Some hotels substituted portable shower chairs, but these often lacked the stability necessary for him to transfer safely. Once, an improperly assembled portable chair collapsed and he narrowly avoided serious injury! One wonders how these accessible bathrooms even passed city inspections, let alone how accessible room design templates have been allowed to replicate unabated for decades. As disabled people continue to shine a light on inaccessibility, governments are beginning to take notice: In 2022, we may see some enforcement action.
4. Google Maps will become the place to go for accessible information in urban areas. The app already has over 55 million places that have been verified by over 100 million local guides. We predict that 2022 will be the year they develop a website version that will be useful during the planning phase of accessible travel.
5. Expect more accessibility information to be posted on travel organization websites. In 2020 our research team found only 34 accessible landing pages on destination sites (it also took over 3 ½ minute each to find them). In 2021, they uncovered 67 more and TravelAbility’s Accessible Destinations project now has 102 landing pages. See it here: https://travelability.net/accessible-destinations/
6. Anticipate more travel organizations celebrating and promoting around official accessibility awareness dates.  Here are six nationally recognized Disability Awareness Months for 2022 — March: Developmental Disability Awareness Month; April: Autism Awareness Month; July: ADA Awareness Month (and anniversary); September: National Deaf Awareness Month; October: Blindness Awareness Month; December 2, 2022: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
7. Will 2022 be the year Accessibility will finally become an integral part of DE&I? We believe so because, according to one executive, DE&I fatigue has  begun to set in and accessibility is a new, undiscovered dimension that can reinvigorate the movement.
8. More accessible websites. The controversy between traditional website accessibility remediation and inexpensive overlay widgets that are disrupting the industry has created new awareness about website accessibility. The demand letters threatening lawsuits didn’t hurt, either.
9. More accessible travel agents becoming consultants about disability travel and training. Destinations and hotels stand to benefit from their expertise on accessibility and inclusion.
10. 2022 may be the year wheelchair damage may be reduced thanks to baggage handler training pilot programs being instituted by airlines and their contractors. Open Doors Organization (ODO), which conducts training for wheelchair assistants at airports around the country, is piloting a training program for baggage handlers.
11. Know before you go technology is here. Travelers with disabilities can access virtual reality tours and apps during their planning. For example, Threshold 360 has over 100,000 destination, hotel, attraction and restaurant videos to acquaint disabled travelers and autistic families with more accurate expectations.
12. Following Marriott’s lead, hotel chains will begin bundling travel insurance into their rates. Recently, Marriott teamed up with Allianz Partners to bring travel insurance bookings to Marriott.com and the iOS version of the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app.
13. Airlines will make proof of vaccination mandatory in 2022. Even with a fully vaccinated population, they need to prepare for the next new virus that may explode into a pandemic.
14. Expect travel insurance companies to roll out more Covid-19 insurance options. Forbes magazine evaluated the Best Pandemic Travel Insurance plans and scored them based on their Covid-related trip cancellation and medical benefits, and whether the plan offers “cancel for any reason” coverage, which gives travelers the option to cancel and be reimbursed no matter what the reason.
15. Increased visibility for people with disabilities featured in advertisements. The advertising industry is finally beginning to realize that consumers react positively to people like themselves in ads. Check out Zeebedee, a disability modeling agency recently expanded to represent disabled influencers for travel ads. Visit Florida released this video in 2021. 
16. Expect the entertainment industry to get behind more productions about people with disabilities. This past December, in homage to International People with Disabilities Awareness month, Amazon Prime included an entire sub-genre, “Movies and TV shows about people with disabilities.” As a category along with Romance, Comedies, etc. And, if that wasn’t enough, this directive was sent to all production partners that future Amazon Studios productions will incorporate DE&I by including at least one person of color, a person with a disability and a character depicting the LGBTQ community.
17. Set Your Alarm an Hour Early. There will not only be TSA security checks at airports but also health checks that will require proof of test results or vaccination. Lines will be manageable until full-scale travel resumes in the next two-three years.
18. Domestic outdoor destinations will continue to grow in popularity. Outdoor and nature-oriented accessibility will continue to grow as travel continues to be centered around destinations closer to home and outdoor recreation is deemed as safe.
19. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and (in 2022) Accessibility. Look for more travel and tourism organizations to include Accessibility as part of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equity initiatives. After all, accessibility is also a component of the Civil Rights Act and they surely don’t want to exclude 25% of the population (according to the CDC).
20. More attractions will offer services for families with children on the autism spectrum. For example, Ringling Museum has created a “sensory map” with color coded areas that guide visitors to the spaces that will more positively impact their experience.
21. More Airports Get Looped. From 2022 to 2024, we expect more airports to install hearing loop systems, which optimize the sound for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. This is part of the trend for airports to position themselves for the coming generation of baby boomers who will be aging into a multitude of disabilities.
22. See you in Court! While it may sound counter-intuitive, plaintiff attorneys are blanketing the hotel and travel industry with nuisance demand letters even more aggressively in hopes of recovering easy settlements to replace revenue lost during Covid.

What do you expect to see in 2022 and beyond?