TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessible travel

Lived Experience: Tara Shetterly on Accessible Travel and Disability Advocacy

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Tara Shetterly is a 22 year old social media creator, disability advocate, educator, certified occupational therapy assistant, and accessible tourist. Her ultimate goal is to create an accessible world for everyone to access the natural beauty of the world, from cities and parks to improved societal expectations of what’s “possible” from a wheelchair. 

@tara_shett

📣life doesn’t end when u become seated

🚷T11/12 paraplegic & hEDS

👩🏻‍🎓 certified OT assistant

📍Virginia Beach 

Total followers across platforms: 400,000

Get lost in the scroll checking out her viral IG reels where she takes you through cities, up mountains, and raises disability awareness. 

To work with Tara, email her at tarashett@kannco.com .

Accessibility Playbook: Welcoming the Aging Air Traveler

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Seven years in the making, the Travelability Accessibility Playbook, created in partnership with Destinations International, is an end-to-end toolkit to equip destination organizations on their accessibility journey, enabling them to better welcome and accommodate people with disabilities within their destination. The following snippet focuses on welcoming the aging traveler, an ever growing need as the Baby Boomer generation ages into disability.

Flying proves to be one of the greatest barriers to senior travel. Studies reveal that it’s not just the flight that’s the barrier, but the logistics of navigating getting to the airport, getting from parking through security, and navigating the long distances from security through the terminal to the gate. 

Port of Portland’s digital map, powered by GoodMaps, shows walking distances and

walk times. Users can select accessible routes that will account for vertical conveyances

and TSA precheck distances for more accurate timing. Click here to learn more.

Flying

OBSTACLESOLUTIONS
Difficulty getting through security (33%)Improved workforce: Provide special TSA lines and allow more time (60%)
Difficulty getting from parking to theairport (33%) or to the gate (32%)Greater access to wheelchairs/motorized carts (52%)
Difficulty understanding announcements(21% among the 65% with hearing loss)Provide designated assistance desks where travelers can check for updated information and receive personalized help
Difficulty waiting to board at the gate(15%)Offer check in assistance (43%)

“It’s hard for us to fly without precheck – it’s tiring to take off shoes and unpack bags. We’ve forgotten our suitcases after the hassle of putting our shoes back on.” -Jack and Elaine from Seniors with Latitude.

Click here to learn more or to purchase the full Playbook.

NYT Daily’s Podcast Uncovers Sites Unseen: The Blind Leading the Sighted

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Two travelers navigate a crowded street market; one person uses a white cane while another offers an elbow guide, with rickshaws, shoppers, and storefront signs in Hindi surrounding them.

On this episode of The New York Times’ “The Sunday Daily,”  Andy Isaacson talks with Host Michael Barbaro about a trip that forever changed the way he travels.

Andy Isaacson is a writer and photographer. His work for The Times has taken him to every corner of the world, and he has transmitted what he’s experienced through his images.

But recently, Isaacson took a trip unlike any he’d taken before. Not because of where he traveled, but because of how he traveled.

Paired with a set of unlikely travel companions, he put down his camera and experienced the word through touch, smell and sound.

↪Listen to the incredible story here

Why Vision 2030? These Shareable Images Highlight the Significance of the Accessibility Moonshot

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TravelAbility has created a powerful set of infographics designed to spotlight the urgent need for accessibility by 2030, when more than 30 million Americans over age 65 will be living with a disability.

These visually compelling, easy-to-share graphics are available as a free resource, making it simple to spark meaningful conversations with partners and stakeholders. Use them to clearly communicate the growing demand and the undeniable business case for accessibility.

Learn More About the Accessibility Moonshot

Download Infographics Here

Infographic: ‘Who Will Be Impacted by Disability in 2030?’ 30M people 65+ living with a disability; 33M household partners; 225M immediate family; total 288M lives connected.
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Why Vision 2030—The Accessibility Moonshot?’ Demographics: $1.2M avg net worth; boomers hold 50% of U.S. wealth; 72% retired; 40% of Americans 65+ will live with a disability. Travel data: 44% multigenerational trips; 57% of parents plan trips with grandparents/children; 18% parties need accessibility; 30k monthly cruise accessibility requests; $75M accessible luxury sold in 2025; 70% plan to travel this year. Fun facts: Japan produces more adult than child diapers; by 2030, 23% of the U.S. population will be 65+.
Text-only description

One for the Books: Route 66: An Accessible Guide to America’s Most Iconic Road Trip

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Book cover for *Route 66: An Accessible Guide to America’s Most Iconic Road Trip* by Amy Tarpein featuring a colorful Route 66 mural and the subtitle “Traveling Route 66 With Confidence, Dignity, and Inclusion.” The article highlights the bestselling guide’s practical accessibility tips, family travel insights, and lived-experience recommendations for inclusive road trips along Route 66.

Amy Tarpein, from TravelAbility’s Influencer Project, has another best seller.

Amy Tarpein’s new book, Route 66: An Accessible Guide to America’s Most Iconic Road Trip, was an Amazon bestseller right from the start. As mom to Elijah of Elijah’s Baby Bucketlist, Amy chose Route 66 as his Make A Wish trip in 2022. They did a two week road trip, but they’ve been back twice since. This guide was born out of experience and necessity. 

Amy traveled Route 66 with her four children including her medically complex son, Elijah, documenting what worked, what didn’t, and what every family deserves to know before setting out.

Route 66: An Accessible Guide to America’s Most Iconic Road Trip is reshaping how families all over the world plan their Mother Road adventures. Written by award‑winning accessible travel writer and international bestselling author Amy Tarpein, this guide is the first of its kind created from real lived-experience.

Amy traveled Route 66 with her four children including her medically complex son, Elijah, documenting what worked, what didn’t, and what every family deserves to know before setting out. The result is a warm, practical, deeply human resource that blends storytelling with actionable tools.

Inside the book, readers will find:

  • Step‑free routes and mobility considerations
  • Sensory notes and family‑tested recommendations
  • Tips for traveling with medical equipment
  • Strategies for multi‑generational trips
  • Interactive reflective sections at the end of each chapter
  • Practical checklists and curated resources to support planning

The book’s impact has already reached far beyond the United States. Readers from Singapore to Australia and across the country have shared that they purchased the guide and are now planning their own Route 66 journeys with confidence. It is also a bestseller on Amazon. It is available on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and wherever books are sold.

Buy Here

This is more than a travel book. It is an invitation for families of all ages and abilities to experience the history, joy, and freedom of America’s most iconic road trip in a way that feels welcoming, informed, and accessible. 

“When we make travel accessible, we make room for more stories, more memories, and more magic.” Amy Tarpein

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