TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Vision

Visit Mesa Launches Aira, Guided Visual Interpretation for Visitors & Residents

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Visit Mesa logo.

New App-Based Resource One of Several Tech Tools to Aid Travelers with Enhanced Mobility in Mesa, Arizona

Oct. 11, 2021 – MESA, Ariz. – As part of Visit Mesa’s on-going mission to ensure Mesa, Ariz. is regarded as one of the nation’s most accessible travel destinations they are launching a partnership with Aira, an on-demand visual interpretation service. The launch of the service will be made available to visitors to Mesa, as well as residents, on Oct. 15, National Blind Americans Equality Day.

Aira is a new accessibility technology that serves people who are blind or have low vision. Prior to arrival, visitors can download the Aira app to their smart phone and get access to a trained Aira agent who can assist with trip planning. While in Mesa’s city limits, visitors can access the agent to guide them throughout public buildings, attractions, restaurants, hotels and more. Customers of Aira are referred to as Explorers and this instant access to visual information at the touch of a button will enhance everyday efficiency, engagement, and independence.

“We are thrilled to welcome Visit Mesa as an Aira Access partner. Their commitment to providing an accessible, independent visitor experience for the blind and low vision community is another example of their mission to provide never-ending inspiration and discovery,” said Troy Otillio, CEO of Aira.

In Mesa, this service is one of several initiatives the destination marketing organization is implementing to ensure all visitors are welcomed and travel to Mesa is enjoyable.

“Visit Mesa is on a journey to becoming a recognized leader in travel accessibility,” said Alison Brooks, director of destination experience and advocacy at Visit Mesa. “We are putting travel inclusion at the forefront of all we are doing in Mesa and this new service shares an important message to this customer base that their needs and requirements to better experience and explore our destination will be supported. We want every visitor, and ultimately resident of Mesa, to explore our city with ease and comfort.”

Aira’s visual interpretation services are currently available in all Starbucks and Target stores nationwide. The free service for Mesa, Arizona will be available starting Friday, Oct. 15. As part of Visit Mesa’s commitment to accessibility, any guest living or visiting Mesa who is blind or has low vision can use the Aira service while located within Mesa city limits. The service outside of Mesa’s borders is complimentary for up to five minutes and then fees apply. Both iOS and Android phones are supported.

“We want residents and visitors alike to know that Mesa is committed to inclusivity and accessibility, and the availability of Aira is another step in the right direction,” said Mesa Mayor John Giles. “Visit Mesa has become a leader in our region, in putting tools like Aira to work to create greater ease for both guests and residents.”

Visit Mesa helped establish the Mesa Regional Foundation for Accessibility, Diversity & Inclusion to enhance and implement equity, diversity and inclusion for youth and adults within the Mesa community. The Foundation will support programs that expand upon accessibility throughout Mesa with a special emphasis on technology. Additional programs supported by Visit Mesa include the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program and the on-going efforts surrounding Mesa, Arizona’s designation as an Autism Certified City.

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Watch this video to see how Aira visual interpretation services impact the community:

Learn more about Visit Mesa and their mission to promote the value and vitality of Mesa’s visitor economy to create a better community at www.VisitMesa.com.

New Lease on Color: Denver Art Museum Brings Color to Life for Colorblind Visitors

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Two men looking at art in a museum while wearing glasses that correct colorblindness.
Photo courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art has debuted a new accessibility feature – EnChroma glasses – that bring the vibrant colors of paintings and other art exhibits to life for colorblind people.

EnChroma glasses, specially engineered for people with a color vision deficiency, compensate for colorblindness and reveal colors that the wearer has never seen before. The museum received four pairs of the glasses, which retail for between $269 and $429, as a donation from the manufacturer.

Brad Ingles, the museum’s memberships and community partnerships manager, raised the idea. In speaking about his own experiences with colorblindness in art museums, Ingles reflected that “Every single person was experiencing what the artist was talking about, except for me.” Now, with the EnChroma glasses, he and museum visitors can experience artwork as the artist intended.

OUR TAKE: EnChroma glasses are an exciting new accessibility tool that can bring a wider range of colors to colorblind people, and art museums are the perfect place to debut. As more museums make EnChroma glasses available to museum goers, travelers can look forward to more vibrant and colorful experiences!

To read more about this exciting development, read the full article in Hyperallergic.

Blind Ambition: Helen Keller Joins Mattel’s Inspiring Women Line

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Helen Keller Barbie doll.

Popular children’s toy brand Mattel recently announced a new addition to its Inspiring Women line of Barbie brand dolls: Helen Keller.

The company says Helen Keller is an inspiring role model for children, and her lifetime achievements make her worthy of being honored alongside the other women who are memorialized in the Inspiring Women line of dolls. Those women include Dr. Maya Angelou, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Ella Fitzgerald, Katherine Johnson, Freda Kahlo, Billie Jean King, Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sally Ride.

Mattel partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to ensure accuracy and accessibility for the blind and low vision community.

To read more about the new Helen Keller Barbie doll, read this article on the ArkLaTex homepage.

How a Blind Travel Agent (and 2019 TravelAbility Summit Speaker) Adapts to a Sighted World

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Photo of Sue Slater.
Sue Slater, Owner, Presto Magic Travel

Sue Slater, owner of Presto Magic Travel and a speaker at the 2019 TravelAbility Summit, was recently profiled by TravelPulse.

The article describes her path to becoming a travel agent and how she has been able to build a successful travel business as a blind person. She’s incorporated technology like Aira and the JAWS screen reader software to ensure that she is always able to deliver for her customers. “If you’re going to be blind, the 21st century is the time because there is so much technology that makes it almost like you can see again,” she said.

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone in the travel industry, but it has been more challenging for Sue than most. In February, she was faced with the unexpected loss of her husband and business partner, Larry.

Despite the pandemic and the loss of her husband, Sue has adapted, remaining focused on the future. She has approached the uncertainty of 2020 with her ever-positive spirit, and told TravelPulse readers to “have a smile on your face, give yourself a virtual hug and go out in the world looking for a new adventure.” That’s great advice for us all as we approach what will hopefully be a much brighter 2021.

To read the complete profile on Sue Slater in TravelPulse, click here.

A “Vente” Breakthrough? Aira Partners with Starbucks to Help Blind Coffee Fans Social Distance

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Troy Otillio
Troy Otillio

Since presenting during the Launchpad assistive technology pitchfest at last year’s TravelAbility Summit, Aira attracted more users, new partners, greater adoption, and international expansion. According to an interview with CEO Troy Otillio, their user base has nearly doubled since Covid due largely to word of mouth and new partnerships such as the one they’ve just announced with Starbucks that will help the blind buy coffee while they social distance like everyone else.   

We caught up to Troy recently and had a few questions.

Q: Can you describe Aira in 25 words or less?

A: Aira is an app that connects people who are BLV (blind or low vision) with trained professionals who come in through their smart phone to provide visual assistance. 

Q: What is the new pilot program with Starbucks about?  

The program’s success will be measured in terms of usage and social media engagement. A successful test with Starbucks will increase awareness about the importance of inclusivity and show how creativity and partnership can deliver genuine benefit. Once Starbucks chooses to invest in accessibility, other businesses are likely to think about how they can serve customers with visual disabilities. 

Q: How can the TravelAbility community help you be successful with the Starbucks test?

The TravelAbility Community can help by encouraging friends or acquaintances in the seven test cities (Baltimore, D.C., New York, Boston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Los Angeles) to make just one call to a participating Starbucks location, or post one mention on their social media. This will help Starbucks connect with the larger community of those with unique abilities as well as the organizations that support them.

Q: How did you grow Aira’s user base? 

As our user base continues to grow, so do our online communities. Aira has hosted over 1,000,000 sessions with a positive feedback rating of over 98%. Our international growth has recently expanded into the UK, also often providing service to users located outside of the countries we officially serve. Also, we have established over 75 new partnerships across all industries including but not limited to universities, municipalities, banks, and retail stores and over 50 of our existing partners have entered into second and third year renewals to date.

Q: What is the new “Aira for social distancing” initiative and how will it help at Starbucks?

On a practical note the fact Aira enables Social Distancing as well as simply maintaining a safe distance with other people is appealing to all venues and establishments with foot traffic.    Currently, social distancing markers and instructional signs are purely visual, making it completely inaccessible to those who are blind or have low vision.  One aspect of our Starbucks partnership test will be Aira agents providing specific distance estimates in relation to other individuals in the area as well as any other visual information needed to respect any outlined safety guidelines. As a result, BLV (blind and low vision) individuals can maintain their independence and everyone feels safer.

Q: What part did the “Blind Vine” play in your growth?

The blind and low vision community is highly engaged on Facebook, Whatsapp, Aira Groups, Twitter and other online groups as its hard for them to find specific information they need through conventional sources. 

Q: What progress have you made with the tour and travel segment?

Even with the slow down, conversations with several top 10 hospitality brands and destinations have started picking back up and we plan to announce some new destinations once those organizations are ready to move forward. Retail has been quicker to adopt as Aira is easy to deploy, effective, and garners media attention: something we are waiting for destination and tour organizations to experience. 

Q: Can you cite examples of best practices within the travel industry?

Our largest growth has been in museums as we support both on-site experiences unique to each visitor as well as online/virtual experiences. We attribute this to the attention gained by some of our early adopters such as the Shedd Aquarium, Smithsonian, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Museum of Science Boston, Space Center Houston along with other cities such as City of Minneapolis, City of Houston, City of Miami Beach.