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The Intersection of Travel and Disability

TravelAbility Summit

From TravelAbility 7.0: Accessibility Playbook and the AI Companion

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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?

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, 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.

Register Today

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 

From TravelAbility Summit 7.0: The VistAble Approach—Frontline Training that Transforms Destinations

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Each month we share a recap from one of the sessions at the 2025 TravelAbility Summit. Check out VisitAble’s section of our first ever Accessibility Masterclass.

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.

Register Today

Session Overview

Joe Jamison speaks at a podium while attendees sit at round tables. In the foreground a person using a wheelchair listens; a sign reading “TravelAbility Summit 2025” are at the front of the room.

In this session from the 2025 TravelAbility Summit Joe Jamison shares VisitAble’s approach, designed to help destinations transform accessibility from an afterthought into a standard through practical, scalable frontline training. 

Focus: shifting hearts, minds, and daily behavior, not just compliance. 

Why It Matters 

  • 28.7% of U.S. adults (75M+) have a disability — a steadily growing segment.
  • Travelers with disabilities spend $50B/year in the U.S. 
  • The fastest way to improve visitor experience is not only infrastructure — it’s frontline culture. 

When frontline staff treat disabled guests with dignity, respect, and proactive communication, destinations become welcoming for everyone.

The 7 Golden Rules of Disability Inclusion 

  1. Practice Respectful Behavior
    • Never touch mobility devices, service animals, or assistive tools without permission.
    • Offer help politely and verbally—don’t assume someone wants assistance. 
    • Don’t speak to a companion instead of the disabled person. 
    • Treat visitors as equal adults, not inspiration objects or fragile guests. 
    • Speak normally—no baby talk, no oversimplifying. 
    • ✅ Respect = dignity + autonomy + independence. 
  2. Use Positive, Respectful Language 
    • Words to USE
      • Disabled / person with a disability 
      • Wheelchair user 
      • Accessible rooms, accessible parking, accessible entrance  
    • Words to AVOID
      • Handicapped 
      • Special needs 
      • Wheelchair-bound / confined 
      • Differently-abled 
      • Impaired (except “visually impaired,” which is still standard)
    • ✅ Disability is not a bad word—avoiding the term creates stigma.
  3. Validate Before Assuming
    • Don’t assume someone needs help, can’t participate, or can’t communicate.
    • Not all disabilities are visible. 
    • Ask before providing assistance:
      • “Would you like help, or would you prefer space to do it independently?”
    • Always speak directly to the person, not the caregiver or companion. 
    • ✅ Asking + listening = inclusion. 

Industry Best Practices Shared

Frontline staff should:

  • Greet every guest and proactively let visitors know where to find help.
  • Never “police” disability — no judgment, no questioning legitimacy of accommodations. 
  • When taking reservations, always ask: 
    • “Do you need any accessibility accommodations for your visit?” 
  • Provide information in multiple formats (large print, digital/screen-reader friendly, audio options). 

Accessible Communication

  • Provide ASL interpreters when requested 
  • If needed urgently, apps like HandTalk or SignSpeak can help 
  • Offer printed/braille/digital alternatives for museum or attraction signage 

Why VisitAble Works

  • Real stories from diverse people with disabilities 
  • Emotional connection increases staff empathy and retention 
  • Destinations using the training have reported: 
    • Better guest satisfaction 
    • Staff confidence when assisting disabled travelers 
    • Repeat visits from travelers who felt respected and welcome 

Certification

Attendees receive a certificate of completion + email signature badge Destinations can certify entire teams or tourism partners as Accessible Travel Leaders. 

Key Takeaway

Accessibility = hospitality. 

When frontline staff treat disabled guests with dignity, respect, and proactive communication, destinations become welcoming for everyone.

INNOVATEAble Recap: Watch the Presentations of the Top Three Products from the Emerging Markets Summit

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Logo: TravelAbility Presents INNOVATEAble

One of the most talked about segments at the Emerging Markets Summit in Savannah last month was InnovateABLE, a Shark-Tank-like competition of accessible products. Here are the presentations of the judges’ top three finishers:

Tied for First: Translate Live’s Instant translator speaks, reads, and writes more than 100 languages, including American Sign Language and Braille: Watch presentation

Tied for First: Color blindness is now covered by the ADA. Enchroma glasses and screen viewers allow color blind people to see true colors: Watch presentation

Third Place: GRIT Freedom Chair: Designed by MIT engineers, the GRIT Freedom Chair is a mix between a manual wheelchair and a mountain bike. Watch presentation

Reinventing TravelAbility Summit: Humanizing the Virtual Conference Experience

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Travelability summit

Our 2020 goal: Not the new normal or the next normal, but a case study to find the BEST normal.

(Oakland, CA, June 8, 2020) While some travel industry conferences and events are adapting and embracing virtual attendance, many are scaling back, canceling, or rescheduling to 2021. As the industry’s only disability-focused conference, the TravelAbility Summit team, supporters, and advisory board believe that the destination and disability-focused education, insights, and networking that takes place at this event is essential for the tourism industry and that the conference will go on. 

Customizable Attendance Options
With a variety of customizable attendance options via the in-person/virtual attendee hybrid model, the TravelAbility Summit is further reinforcing its slogan, All Means All. The conference’s 2020 location, Orlando, Florida, provides easy access for many considering attending in-person and virtual event options elevate opportunities for European destination marketing organizations and others across the US to participate. 

The Best Online Experience
“Over the past two months, our team has spent hours of screen time attending virtual conferences ranging from technology to education to comedy clubs, evaluating new Zoom-like platforms that best capture the experience of live events.” said Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility Summit. “And, we’ll be applying the best of the best of what we’ve found to our event and openly sharing the results with the industry.” 

Turnkey Platforms, Innovative Tech
The online conference will serve as a case study for travel industry meeting planners who don’t have the time to research and evaluate all the of new self-service turnkey platforms and innovative technology that have been released.   A few highlights include…

  • Collaborating with pros: a former Broadway producer will direct both the live and virtual event; and a stand-up comic will serve as emcee, and a behavioral psychologist will help design in-person spaces where physical distancing protocols will feel less unnatural.
  • Virtual tools: virtual whiteboards, virtual business cards, QR codes, games, holograms
  • Shorter presentations/better takeaways.. 73 total presenters limited to 7 to 10 minutes + Q&A
  • Random One-on-one speed dating: 3-minute sessions 
  • Testing flexible registration options–including a la carte options by the hour
  • New insights about sponsorships, value proposition, and ROI 
  • New tools that make virtual conferences accessible and may help avoid litigation
  • Several virtual reception ‘breakout rooms’ that emphasize human connection…
    • Who let the dogs in? introduce your favorite pet 
    • My Covid crib: home tours
    • Did you hear the one about? humorous stories/jokes
    • The hot tub: attendees appear in bathing suit attire  

Broader Reach
According to the Convention Industry Council (CIC*) $115 Bn of the $263 bn in direct spending of meeting in the U.S. is travel and tourism-related. Leading trade associations believe that virtual trade events will have a permanent role as a complement to broaden the reach for those who cannot attend in person.

Case Study: What Works, What Doesn’t
“We’re willing to do our small part to help the meetings industry, which has been decimated by the pandemic, understand what works and what doesn’t,”  said Steinman. “While we understand that some of our ideas may fall flat, we’re willing to openly share our experience afterward to help the industry rise again, as planners may not have the time to do the due diligence or the appetite for risk.”

 *(CIC summary here).

For more information go to TravelAbility Summit 2020, Find up to date news on TravelAbility Insider

Contact: Jake Steinman  jake@travelabilitysummit.com

Bright New Ideas For TravelAbility Summit October 12-14, 2020

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gorgeous handing lightbulb with bright pink background

It’s clear that our focus should be on offering the industry reliable, simple-to-follow resources in this new COVID-19 market. That’s what we’re doing. Our 2020 Virtual TravelAbility Summit and Launchpad will highlight items that you need to know now, including training staff, gaining trust, and learning lessons from peers. As the industry changes, for better or for worse, we’re proud to make ourselves of service.

Note: To be on top of the news, our program will change to reflect any new realities for the travel industry in this crisis. Stay safe.

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Your name and email will never be sold to 3rd parties.