Each month we share a recap from one of the sessions at the 2025 TravelAbility Summit. This session on the new AI Companion to TravelAbility’s Accessibility Playbook was packed with actionable insights.

Want to be part of these conversations in real time?

Join us November 9–11, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, for the 2026 TravelAbility Summit. It’s where destinations, venues, and travel brands come together to advance accessibility in a practical, business-smart way. Over two days of case studies, workshops, and peer learning, industry leaders share proven strategies that improve the travel experience for people with disabilities—and, by extension, for families, multigenerational groups, and travelers with temporary or situational limitations. Meet the advisors, suppliers, and destination teams leading the way, and leave with a roadmap you can put to work immediately.

Session Overview 

This session introduced the Accessibility Playbook and its companion AI tool as practical, step-by-step resources for destinations to move accessibility from a compliance checkbox to a core strategy for inclusion, destination stewardship, competitiveness, and community impact. Case studies from Visit Concord and Choose Lansing showed how education, partnerships, and measurable pilots can unlock funding, align stakeholders, and scale progress. 

Key Takeaways

Accessibility is rapidly becoming a competitive advantage for destinations, but many organizations still struggle with limited funding, competing priorities, inconsistent standards, and the challenge of providing credible information that serves travelers with a wide range of disabilities. This session explored how the TravelAbility Playbook helps destinations overcome those barriers by providing a practical framework, business case, and implementation tools for building more inclusive visitor experiences.

Visit Concord shared how it used ARPA funding to launch Sensory Practice Day, providing 150 complimentary hotel stays for autistic and neurodivergent travelers to practice traveling in a supportive environment. The program expanded to include sensory kits, hotel staff training, visitor center enhancements, and a partnership with JSX that brought sensory-friendly resources to air travel. By measuring outcomes and demonstrating community impact, Concord has been able to build support for future accessibility initiatives.

Accessibility succeeds when it is treated as a shared community effort.

Choose Lansing described its accessibility journey, which began with a sensory-inclusive performance of The Lion King and grew into a destination-wide effort. Through partnerships with Michigan State University and Wheel the World, Lansing assessed more than 200 locations and integrated accessibility information throughout its marketing channels rather than limiting it to a single webpage. The TravelAbility Playbook also helped provide structure for outreach to meetings and conventions planners.

The session also highlighted the TravelAbility Playbook’s growing library of standards, checklists, templates, case studies, and traveler journey guidance, along with a new AI companion that can help destinations develop funding proposals, stakeholder reports, communications materials, and other accessibility-related resources using verified content.

Actionable Takeaways

Accessibility succeeds when it is treated as a shared community effort. Destinations should provide detailed and reliable accessibility information, invest in ongoing staff training, pilot new programs and measure results, and build partnerships that expand their reach and impact. Panelists also emphasized that accessibility should be visible throughout all marketing and visitor communications, not confined to a dedicated accessibility page.

Notable Quote

“How do you stop when families tell you they’ve never been able to do this together?” — Julie Pingston

Outcomes & Momentum

Lansing’s work has helped spark broader community engagement, including City Hall planning efforts and an AARP walkability study, while Concord has used the success of its sensory travel initiatives to secure support for future programs. Both destinations demonstrated how small, intentional steps can create lasting momentum for accessibility across an entire community.

Speakers 

Ava Wells — Social Impact Director, Destinations International 

Amy Jukes — COO & Principal Consultant, AmVarra; Strategic Advisor, TravelAbility

Beth Javens — President & CEO, Visit Concord (CA) 

Julie Pingston — President & CEO, Choose Lansing (MI) 

Joy Burns — Communication and Partnership Manager, Wheel the World