TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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Introducing Our Easy-to-Navigate Index Organized by Topics You Care About

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There are more than 140 articles organized by category on the right hand side of our home page.

Check out the categories on the right-hand side of our home page at TravelAbility Insider.  (Note: If you are using a mobile phone the categories of the index will appear as you scroll down, starting Accessibility.

There you will find the ‘A to V ‘ of recent stories by category, from Autism and Airports to Trends and Vision. Our mission is to connect you with both the disability community and travel experts and advisors. Sharing knowledge like this creates a unique ecosystem where accessibility travel can thrive.

OUR TAKE: There’s a lot of blogs and newsletters out there about travel and accessibility—but many can be complicated, or worse—outdated. Thanks to our expert Advisory Board and staff, we’ve sourced the most trustworthy, relevant information for you. The search to understand the next big trend in travel is over—or maybe it’s just beginning! Either way, we’re here to help.

Travelability Insider’s Exclusive Interviews with Disability Experts

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exlusive interviews photos of Nate and John Sage

OUR TAKE: When we rolled out TravelAbilityInsider, the companion to our upcoming Summit in November, we did a deep dive into what we didn’t know and found outstanding experts to help. Many have joined our diverse advisory board and made commitments to be at the TravelAbility Summit. Their subject expertise ranges from making a website accessible to creating an itinerary for all abilities. Find exclusive interviews here and get ready for more learning and fun on November 12-13 in San Francisco.

REGISTER HERE

TravelAbility Update: What We’ve Learned So Far

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special update

by Tom Berrigan, Managing Editor, InBound Report

Jake Steinman, editor-in-chief of INBOUND, as well as the founder of a portfolio of the popular tour and travel industry events and conferences acquired earlier this year by Connect Travel, has been concentrating on a new project—the first TravelAbility Summit, a highly focused conference dealing with the issue of accessible travel. He launched the effort a year ago, and the first Summit will be staged Nov. 12-13 in San Francisco. Steinman recently participated in a panel discussion on the subject of accessible travel at the U.S. Travel Association’s recent annual ESTO conference in Austin, which brings together DMO leaders from all kinds of destination organizations. INBOUND talked with Steinman about his ESTO experience and how the TravelAbility Summit is shaping up. Here are excerpts of our recent conversation. 

READ MORE

 

Top Experts, Insider Insights: Three Presenters You Don’t Want to Miss

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3 headshots of speakers in order of text below
Excited to introduce our new speakers.

Lawrence Carter-Long, Lifelong Activist (left) has been a modern dancer, radio show host, and producer, and was the curator/co-host of the groundbreaking festival The Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people. His advocacy has been awarded by the likes of former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the American Association of People with Disabilities. Formerly the Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability—the independent federal agency that brought us the Americans with Disabilities Act—he joined the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund in July 2017, as the first-ever Director of Communications. In his communications work, Lawrence has both set-up media coverage of numerous disability issues in and been interviewed by, respected outlets like USA TODAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, the New York Times, The Daily Show, BBC and CNN among other notable news sources. His interview with NPR about the evolution of disability as a concept, and in language, is available here.

Patty David, Baby Boomer Travel Trends Expert (right) has more than 25 years of experience in the research field. Consumer insights are her passion. At AARP, she manages the suite of research for its Integrated Communication and Marketing division as well as the Innovation division. AARP’s travel site (travel.aarp.org) is a pivotal channel in the Integrated Communications and Marketing division and travel is the number one interest of AARP members. She has a bachelor’s degree in both Sociology and Psychology and a master’s degree in Applied Social Research. Throughout her career, she has been intricately involved with the design and management of customer products based on research findings and insights. She heavily depends on this knowledge to help guide AARP’s travel offerings.

Madeline Chase, Principal and Autism Awareness Advocate (center) is a Middle School Assistant Principal and an Advocate of Autism Awareness. She has worked in public education for over a decade and is now an administrator for one of the few entirely virtual, public middle schools. She loves finding ways to empower and inspire teachers to lead their students to achievement and success. Madeline is the mom of a son with ASD and has been inspired by his journey to increase awareness of autism.

Ready to be even more inspired? Check out the complete roster of speakers and register now for TravelAbility Summit, here.

Top 10 Signs That Accessibility Is Going Mainstream

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Fashion brands including Tommy Hilfiger, shown above, are expanding their accessible clothing lines. [photo of a young boy and girl in sportswear holding hands and running courtesy Tommy Hilfiger.]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of U.S. residents with a disability is estimated at close to a quarter of the nation’s population, with that figure doubling among those aged 65 and older. “Travelers with a disability represent an underserved but growing segment of the population that has been neglected by the mainstream tour and travel industry,” says Steinman. “The travel industry has a huge opportunity and responsibility to help make travel more accessible—and the time to act is now. In fact, a recent study by the Harris Organization in partnership with Open Doors Organization estimates the size of the disability travel market at $17 billion dollars a year. We invite travel professionals to register now for TravelAbility Summit, here. To help define the market opportunity, this is our first of a series of TravelAbility Summit Insights. Here’s why we see accessibility as an ascending trend:

  1. Requests for wheelchairs at airports grew 30% from 2016 to 2017 and have averaged 17% each year since 2015, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 
  2. According to AARP research, over the next 20 years, 75 million Baby Boomers will be aging into disability. This demographic has amassed the largest accumulation of wealth in history—and have the time and desire to travel.
  3. Mattel will debut a doll with a prosthetic leg and another with a wheelchair for Christmas. 
  4. A Travel Weekly survey found that travel agents in one European country alone experienced a 50% increase in inquiries about accessible travel experiences.
  5. The Brussels Airport has hired six people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to work as X-ray screeners. The Brussels program, part of a pilot project, is reporting positive results.
  6. Over 20,000 travel agents in the U.S .have undergone a one-hour basic autism awareness/response training sessions through IBCCES. Another 5,000 travel agents have been trained by Special Needs Group on accessible wheelchair travel.
  7. The TravelAbility research team has identified over 50 technologies, apps, and products that make everything from traversing mountains to navigating museums more accessible.
  8. Since launching its adaptive clothing line in 2018, the Tommy Hilfiger brand has expanded the collection from children’s clothing to a full adult line.
  9. The Skift Global Forum, the leading trend-forecasting conference in the travel industry, included its first accessible travel presentation, “Accessibility: What’s It Worth,” making the business case for accessible travel.
  10.  Trick or Treat! Target is introducing a line of adaptive costumes for Halloween this year.