TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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Up Yours! Up Your Game Around Accessibility, Sustainability, and DE&I at TravelAbility’s EMERGING MARKETS SUMMIT

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TravelAbility Emerging Markets Summit logo, tagline reads Accessibility, Sustainability and DE&I.

Through our partnerships with Tourism Diversity Matters, a recognized leader in moving tourism and DE&I to the next level, Leave No Trace, dedicated champions of ecofriendly travel lessening negative impacts to our valuable shorelines and outdoor spaces, and USAE News, the premier news source for associations, hotels and CVBs, the conference will be reconstituted as TravelAbility’s Emerging Markets Summit. Learn about all three growing market segments at one insightful event.

photo of Jake Steinman
Jake Steinman

“Accessibility, Sustainability and DE&I have three things in common when it comes to travel,” said Jake Steinman, Founder of TravelAbility and organizer of EMS: “1. They are adjacent niche segments that are growing in importance but it’s not always easy to know where and how to begin. 2. Since they are all complex matters that involve a commitment, it’s important to begin with small steps and iterate from there.  For example, Visit Florida began focusing on accessibility three years ago with just a few content elements, today they have over 1000 pieces of content and aspire to be the most accessible state in America. 3. All three segments benefit humanity and unlock an intrinsic goodness in people giving them a fresh sense of pride about the organization they work for.”

Andrew Leary headshot
Andrew Leary

TravelAbility is pleased to work with three distinguished organizations that will help guide us to content that will lead to actionable takeaways and spread the word far and wide.

Andrew Leary, who is the Director of Sustainable Tourism and Partnerships, Leave No Trace, commented: “We are thrilled to be partnered with TravelAbility to help foster these crucial sustainability and stewardship conversations at this year’s Emerging Markets Summit.”

Greg DeShields headshot.
Greg DeShields

Greg DeShields, who is the Executive Director of Tourism Diversity Matters, commented: “As the leader in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, we are dedicated to providing decision makers with access, resources and tactics to develop more effective DEI strategies. The TravelAblity conference is a valuable forum to understand where DEI meets accessibility.  By creating awareness of this intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground our differences as DE&I is more than policies, programs, or headcounts.”

EMS sessions will focus on actionable topics designed to both raise awareness and provide ideas that stimulate travel activity.  For example, one of the DEI sessions will feature a representative from Black Restaurant Weeks, an organization that helps destinations organize dining promotions; as well as a sustainability session about how carbon offset organizations can serve as an amenity for any hotel, airline or other provider interested in helping to address climate change.

Additional news: USAE News, the premier weekly source of news for over 60,000 hotel, CVB, and meeting planner professionals, will be the official media sponsor for this year’s EMS. Ross Heller, Publisher, USAE News: “The Emerging Markets Summit is a ‘must attend’ for destinations looking to learn cutting edge strategies for capturing more of these emerging markets.”

What attendees will learn about accessibility, sustainability and DE&I.

  • Getting in the game: How to get started. 
  • How to up the game you already have.
  • How to create a business case should you need to convince the boss.
  • How to communicate and reach people most likely to respond to marketing to all three segments.

Early Bird Registration Ends on April 1st. Register Today and Save.

Louisiana Thief Uses Wheelchair as Ruse for Series of Burglaries

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Police car at night with red and blue lights flashing.

An unusual search is underway for a thief who pretends to need a wheelchair, according to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office in Monroe, Louisiana.

The “person of interest” uses the chair to travel from crime scene to crime scene, officials said in a news release. An out-of-focus photo of the man was shared on Facebook, with a plea for help with an identification. While he was seen using the wheelchair near the burglary scene, the man can walk, the sheriff’s office said. “He was seen walking and running from different vehicles while committing the burglaries.”

To learn more, read the reporting from The Sacramento Bee.

Featured Accessible Destination Landing Page: The Five Boroughs of New York City

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New York City skyline seen from pedestrian walkway on bridge.

NYC & Company has released an updated accessible travel landing page to introduce the city to visitors with a disability. The page features information on disability-friendly attractions, including the city’s zoos, aquariums, museums, and observatories with ADA facilities.

Visitors to the landing page can watch a video entitled “How to Explore NYC with a Wheelchair,” in which Lakshmee Lachhman-Persad and her family offer tips for visitors with mobility issues. It’s a fantastic resource!

What we Loved about this Landing Page: It highlights many of the great things to do in New York City, with a database of more than 1,000 accessible venues.

What Could be Added: Accessible Resources: Detailed information about accessible hotel rooms, accessible airport transfer options and medical equipment repair/rentals. 

To check out this featured landing page, visit the NYC & Company website. Also be sure to check-out the New York City destination page on the TravelAbility website.

Elephant with Prosthetic Leg Can Travel Again

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When Mosha, an elephant, was two years old, she lost her right front leg after encountering a landmine along the border of Thailand and Burma.

An orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, stepped-in to create a prosthetic leg for the young elephant – a first for a creature of this size. As Mosha has grown into an adult, Dr. Jivacate has remained by her side, fashioning new prostheses to withstand her increasing weight and larger size. The two have a unique bond, and Mosha has gone about living her life in the elephant sanctuary, where staff members can care for her and the prosthesis.

Dr. Jivacate’s work has inspired other sanctuaries around the world to offer the same life-saving interventions for other injured elephants.

In 2016, I met Chhouk the elephant in Cambodia. Like Mosha, he lost one of his front legs at a young age. The animal sanctuary Wildlife Alliance took him in, and developed a prosthetic device to improve his quality of life. You can read more about that in my WheelchairTravel.org article on Chhouk the Amputee Elephant.

Mobility is a key component of quality of life – not just for human beings, but also for elephants. Whether one is independently mobile or with the assistance of mobility equipment, these elephants have shown us that life can be rich and vibrant, with or without a disability.

Former TravelAbility 2019 Speaker Profiled by Inclusion Hub

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Headshot of Will Butler, smiling, wearing blue glasses and a grey floral shirt

Will Butler, Vice President of Community at Be My Eyes and a 2019 TravelAbility Summit speaker, was recently profiled in an article on Inclusion Hub. Be My Eyes is a mobile application that connects blind and low-vision users with sighted people who can offer support, whether it’s describing an event, reading a document or helping navigate an unfamiliar space.

Butler, who was declared legally blind at 19 and who previously worked for Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is passionate about his work at Be My Eyes.

In speaking with Inclusion Hub, Butler commented on his own experience accepting his blindness and the journey toward becoming an active member in the community. To read more about Will’s interesting journey, click here.