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The Intersection of Travel and Disability

accessibility leadership

Your Best Year Ever: Why Now is The Time to Leave Your Mark on Accessible Travel

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By Jennifer Allen

Book cover of Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt, revised and updated edition. A small rocket launches upward from a gold plume of light against a cream background.

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt. is aspirational for any set of goals–career, personal, or both–but I couldn’t help but read the implications for leaders in accessible travel in every chapter. 

Clarity hit when Hyatt revealed that the big driver behind meeting your goals is to just start. 

We’ve heard that before. That’s what Kevin Wright said last month when I asked him what advice he’d give destinations who may be inspired and want to follow his lead as a repeated award winner for multiple accessibility initiatives, including leading the first ever Accessibility Verified State. That’s what a panel of accessibility champions advised at a past TravelAbility Summit, it’s a theme that comes up in almost every accessibility champion interview, and it’s a mantra that our CEO, Jake Steinman keeps coming back to.

The point isn’t that resources don’t matter. It’s that lack of perfect resources can’t become an excuse for permanent inaction.

Jennifer Allen

“Just Start”

People often wait for the perfect circumstances before pursuing meaningful goals. “It’s a lot easier to plan than take action,” Hyatt states. There will never be enough money, staff, data, time, executive buy-in, or infrastructure to make accessibility perfect. 

That sounds remarkably familiar to anyone working in destination accessibility.

Don’t wait for the accessible destination master plan to start. Start with the website. Start with one accessible itinerary. Start training front-line staff. Start talking to disabled travelers. Start fixing the barriers you already know about.

The point isn’t that resources don’t matter. It’s that lack of perfect resources can’t become an excuse for permanent inaction. Hyatt recommends doing the easiest task first. That sense of accomplishment will give you a quick boost to keep going. Like Jake always says, there are multiple starting lines–the point is to start.

Here are the steps Hyatt recommends to take your vision and make it a reality.

1. “Believe the Possibility” 

“Our thoughts determine our lives,” quotes Hyatt. Our limiting beliefs are keeping us from stepping up as accessibility champions.

Maybe you believe accessibility is too expensive to tackle without a dedicated budget. Maybe you assume leadership won’t prioritize it, your destination isn’t ready, or your organization lacks the expertise to make a meaningful difference. 

Identify those limiting beliefs, then replace them with liberating truths: You can start with the resources you have. You can build buy-in by demonstrating what’s possible. You can bring disabled travelers into the conversation rather than needing all the answers yourself. Your DMO can influence accessibility across the destination, even if it doesn’t control every business or infrastructure decision.

Then lead as though those new beliefs are true. Put accessibility on the agenda. Invite disabled travelers to advise your team. Build partnerships. Make the case for investment. Take the first step before you have every answer.

2. “Complete the Past”: Stop Repeating the Same Accessibility Mistakes

Hyatt asks readers to look honestly at the previous year before setting new goals.

For a DMO, that could mean asking:

  • What accessibility initiatives actually happened?
  • Which ones stalled, and why?
  • Did we ask disabled travelers what they needed, or did we guess?
  • Did our accessibility messaging match the actual experience?
  • Where did we spend money without creating meaningful access?
  • What did we learn from complaints or failed experiences?

The goal isn’t a self-congratulatory annual report. It’s institutional learning.

If you can’t describe the future, you can’t build toward it.

Jennifer Allen

3. “Design your Future:” What Would Inclusion Actually Look Like?

Accessibility goals can easily become vague: Improve accessibility. Become more inclusive. Do better.

What would be different if your destination genuinely worked better for travelers with disabilities?

Maybe it means 25 businesses completing accessibility training. Maybe it means creating verified accessible itineraries. Maybe it means accessible transportation information that travelers can actually use. Maybe it means hiring disabled creators to tell the destination’s story.

If you can’t describe the future, you can’t build toward it.

Instead of: “Increase accessibility awareness.”

Try a SMARTER goal – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Risky, Time-keyed, Exciting, and Relevant. Something more like this:

“By June 2027, train 50 tourism businesses on accessibility and publish 10 verified accessible experiences.”

The second goal gives a team something to do, measure, celebrate, and improve.

4. “Find Your Why”: Accessibility Isn’t Just Another Project

Hyatt asks readers to understand why a goal matters.

Over and over accessibility champions have shared a defining moment or relationship that sparked their passion for inclusion. If it’s not personal, the motivation wanes. 

Accessible tourism means more people can experience the destination, more families can travel with confidence, businesses can serve a broader market, and disabled travelers can see themselves represented as ordinary travelers rather than as an afterthought. 

If this isn’t personal to you, it may be time to go deeper and build the connections that will make it personal. Then motivation becomes bigger than checking an accessibility box.

5. “Make it Happen” 

I opened with Hyatt’s final step. Every journey begins with the first step. Get started. Set triggers to keep you on track. Review your progress daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly to stay on track. Don’t set a goal and forget about it. 

Celebrate each milestone achieved. Recommit to goals you haven’t reached, yet. Revise goals to make them more achievable.

Remember it’s a process. You don’t need to have everything figured out to begin. You just need to begin.

↪Check out the full book.

The State of Accessible Travel 2026: From FOMU (Fear of Messing Up) To FOMO

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Graphic with text saying “The State of Accessible Travel 2026, FOMU to FOMO, Fear of Messing Up to Fear of Missing Out, Don’t fear the mistake. Fear the missed opportunity. TravelAbility.” The acronym FOMU is faded and crossed out, with an arrow pointing to FOMO in bright green on a blue background.

By Jake Steinman, Founder, TravelAbility (w/ assistance from Claude.ai)

Seven years ago, the travel industry talked about accessibility in a whisper. Today, the smartest people in the room are talking about it out loud, because they’ve done the math.

The shift is captured in two acronyms. The industry is moving from FOMU, the Fear of Messing Up, (thank you, Brittany DeJean) to FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out. One mindset sees accessibility as a liability to be managed. The other sees it as one of the largest growth opportunities travel will see in our lifetimes.

2019: The Era of FOMU

When Travelability began in 2019, the prevailing mindset across travel and hospitality was fear. Not fear of losing customers, but fear of making mistakes.

Hotels, attractions, cruise lines and tour operators worried that one wrong word, one inaccessible room or one poorly trained employee could lead to a complaint, a bad review or a lawsuit. Accessibility lived in the legal and compliance department. The goal was to meet the minimum standard and avoid getting caught short.

That fear had a cost. Many businesses chose silence over engagement. They didn’t market to travelers with disabilities, didn’t describe their accessible features in detail, and didn’t ask what those guests needed. The safest move seemed to be saying as little as possible. The result was a market of millions of willing travelers who couldn’t find the confidence to book.

2026 and Beyond: The Era of FOMO

In 2026, the conversation has flipped. The question is no longer “What if we get it wrong?” It’s “What if we miss this?”

The reason is demographics. Baby boomers control roughly 50% of the world’s wealth. They are also the generation that made travel a lifestyle, not a luxury. Now they are aging into disability, whether that means reduced mobility, hearing or vision loss, or chronic health conditions.

Don’t Fear the Mistake. Fear the Missed Opportunity.

Jake Steinman

What makes this moment different is that these travelers have both the time and the resources to go. They are retired or nearing retirement. Their calendars are open and their bucket lists are long. Disability doesn’t end their desire to travel. It changes what they need in order to do it.

The businesses that understand this aren’t asking how to avoid complaints anymore. They’re asking how to win the loyalty of the wealthiest travel cohort in history before their competitors do.

The 2030 Moonshot

By 2030, every baby boomer will be over 65. An estimated 40% of them will be living with a disability. And they will still want to travel.

They will also be living longer than any generation before them. Advances in pharmaceuticals and medical care are extending not just lifespans but active years. A 75-year-old today may manage arthritis, diabetes or heart disease with medication and still be ready to board a river cruise, explore a national park or fly across the world to see grandchildren.

  • That’s the thinking behind Travelability’s 2030 moonshot: a travel industry ready to welcome this generation when the wave fully arrives. Readiness means more than ramps and grab bars. It means:
  • Accurate, detailed information about accessibility so travelers can book with confidence
  • Staff trained to serve guests with disabilities naturally and respectfully
  • Products and experiences designed for a range of abilities from the start, not retrofitted later
  • Marketing that shows older travelers and travelers with disabilities as the valued customers they are

2030 is not far away. The destinations, hotels and operators that start building now will be the ones this generation trusts with their time and money.

Don’t Fear the Mistake. Fear the Missed Opportunity.

FOMU kept the travel industry cautious and quiet. FOMO is pushing it to act. Both are fears, but only one leads to growth.

The truth is that the biggest mistake a travel business can make today isn’t getting accessibility slightly wrong. It’s sitting out entirely while the largest, wealthiest and most travel-hungry generation in history looks for places that are ready for them.

The demographic wave is coming either way. The only question is whether you’ll be ready to welcome it.

Earn Your Accessibility Leader Certification at TravelAbility Summit Tampa

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Last year, we introduced the Cultivating Accessibility Leaders Masterclass at the TravelAbility Summit for the first time. Led by VisitAble and Canucks Autism Network, the two-hour session focused on four of the most common disabilities, with attendees leaving with an Accessible Leader Masterclass certificate.

“In just 2½ days, you’ll walk away with everything we’ve learned about accessible travel over the past eight years.”

– Jake Steinman, TravelAbility Founder and CEO

This year, we’re expanding the Accessible Leader certificate to officially recognize what we see every year: people who come to the Summit go back to their communities and begin leading accessibility initiatives within their own organizations. Now, every Summit attendee will receive a certificate at the end of the Summit recognizing their readiness to build accessibility into the work their organization is already doing. 

USAE News recently featured the expansion of the Accessible Leader certificate and what it means for this year’s Summit.

↪Read the full release here

“In just 2½ days, you’ll walk away with everything we’ve learned about accessible travel over the past eight years.” – Jake Steinman, TravelAbility Founder and CEO

TravelAbility Tampa 2026 Summit graphic featuring friends, one a wheelchair user, gathered around a waterfront table, with event dates November 9 to 11 in Tampa, Florida.

Join us November 9–11 in Tampa for the 2026 TravelAbility Summit and leave with the tools, knowledge, and connections to lead accessibility within your organization. 

 ↪Register for the summit 

How a Safari Clarified the TravelAbility Vision

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By Jake Steinman

Jake Steinman and his safari group smiling for a selfie at sunset, with a golden sky and dry savanna landscape behind them.

Stepping into the African savannah for a recent safari to celebrate my birthday, I expected breathtaking landscapes and incredible wildlife. What I didn’t anticipate was returning with profound clarity regarding our mission and the future of accessible travel.

Observing the natural world offers powerful lessons in survival, growth, and connection. Here are the core insights from the wild that are directly shaping our path forward.

The Power of the Pack

During the trip, I observed over 20 different species in their natural habitats. Despite their vast differences, one common thread was this: they all operated within clustered, tight-knit groups. Whether it was a herd banding together to protect their vulnerable young from predators, or a Pride operating as a synchronized team in pursuit of prey, community was their ultimate mechanism for success.

In the wild, isolation is a vulnerability. Progress relies entirely on the strength, coordination and collaboration of the collective.

Cultivating an Accessibility Ecosystem

A Cape buffalo standing partially hidden in dense green bushes, its large curved horns visible above a dirt clearing.

This natural dynamic perfectly reflects the fundamental purpose of TravelAbility. We are actively building and expanding a robust accessibility ecosystem around destination organizations.

The epiphany that I had was that our purpose is to build a community of DMO “A11Ys”—accessibility advocates and leaders who are committed to scaling accessible travel. 

Just as a herd works together to navigate survival, our network functions to overcome industry barriers and advance accessibility with a ripple effect of A11Ys that begins with the destination and scales through hotels, attractions, restaurants and tour companies. 

My definition of an “A11Y” has broadened. It now includes anyone who attends an accessibility breakout session at a conference, responds to a survey, signs up for a webinar, or—most effectively—adds an accessibility page to their website. In other words, an A11Y is anyone who has shown an interest in learning more.

TravelAbility Tampa: Our Watering Hole

TravelAbility Tampa 2026 Summit graphic featuring friends, one a wheelchair user, gathered around a waterfront table, with event dates November 9 to 11 in Tampa, Florida.

Every functioning ecosystem requires a central gathering place—a “watering hole” where different groups converge to share resources, expand networks and learn from not only experts but also from each other.

For our community, the upcoming TravelAbility Summit Tampa is that essential watering hole—a place where like-minded A11Ys gather to connect, learn, and plan. There, we can provide the tools, education, and network they need to expand accessibility across their industry partners’ networks.

Reducing Friction: Integrating Accessibility into Existing Workflow

In the wild, survival strategies aren’t optional—they are seamlessly woven into the pack’s daily rhythm. Animals don’t overthink collaboration; it’s instinctive.

A herd of zebras grazing on dry grassland at sunset, with a tree line and pastel sky in the background.

Similarly, to truly advance accessibility, Travelability must eliminate friction by integrating accessible practices into existing departmental workflows. We’ve been exploring how accessibility fits not only into marketing and PR, but also as a competitive edge for convention sales and destination development. By simply highlighting accessible features in existing attractions and museums, destinations can tap into new markets without needing new construction. When an ally integrates accessibility into someone’s current workflow, securing leadership buy-in becomes much easier.

Two lions resting on the grass at night, illuminated by a spotlight or vehicle light.

Overcoming FOMU

While our Summit brings us together like a watering hole, the real work happens when the herd disperses and continues the journey. That’s where Travelability Tampa attendees come in.

One of the biggest barriers to progress is what accessibility advocate Brittany DeJean calls FOMU: Fear of Messing Up. People often hesitate to act out of fear of making a mistake or offending someone, making inaction feel like the safer choice. However, doing nothing doesn’t just stall progress—it steals the opportunity to learn.

The Travelability Summit creates an ongoing, reverberating community. Attendees become allies who, in turn, recruit others across hotels, attractions, and suppliers. Because every destination operates on different budgets and capacities, this network helps members scale their efforts in practical, sustainable ways. 

Click here to learn more about Travelability Tampa.

As we look toward 2030—when over 30 million baby boomers will live with a disability, impacting tens of millions of family members—one thing is clear: lasting progress in accessible travel is not just possible, it is inevitable.

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