TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

TravelAbility Report: March 2019

Top Experts, Insider Insights: Three Presenters You Don’t Want to Miss

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3 headshots of speakers in order of text below
Excited to introduce our new speakers.

Lawrence Carter-Long, Lifelong Activist (left) has been a modern dancer, radio show host, and producer, and was the curator/co-host of the groundbreaking festival The Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people. His advocacy has been awarded by the likes of former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the American Association of People with Disabilities. Formerly the Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability—the independent federal agency that brought us the Americans with Disabilities Act—he joined the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund in July 2017, as the first-ever Director of Communications. In his communications work, Lawrence has both set-up media coverage of numerous disability issues in and been interviewed by, respected outlets like USA TODAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, the New York Times, The Daily Show, BBC and CNN among other notable news sources. His interview with NPR about the evolution of disability as a concept, and in language, is available here.

Patty David, Baby Boomer Travel Trends Expert (right) has more than 25 years of experience in the research field. Consumer insights are her passion. At AARP, she manages the suite of research for its Integrated Communication and Marketing division as well as the Innovation division. AARP’s travel site (travel.aarp.org) is a pivotal channel in the Integrated Communications and Marketing division and travel is the number one interest of AARP members. She has a bachelor’s degree in both Sociology and Psychology and a master’s degree in Applied Social Research. Throughout her career, she has been intricately involved with the design and management of customer products based on research findings and insights. She heavily depends on this knowledge to help guide AARP’s travel offerings.

Madeline Chase, Principal and Autism Awareness Advocate (center) is a Middle School Assistant Principal and an Advocate of Autism Awareness. She has worked in public education for over a decade and is now an administrator for one of the few entirely virtual, public middle schools. She loves finding ways to empower and inspire teachers to lead their students to achievement and success. Madeline is the mom of a son with ASD and has been inspired by his journey to increase awareness of autism.

Ready to be even more inspired? Check out the complete roster of speakers and register now for TravelAbility Summit, here.

Busting Records & Myths: One Rider Spends 1,000 Days Straight on Rails to Trails

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Four riders including Ian Mackay with a backdrop of mountains snow and green grasss
Four riders, including Mackay, tackling the mountains on a gorgeous days out. photo courtesy: Rails to Trails.

It takes a certain kind of dedication to get out on a trail every day. As in, every day. Seven days a week. Rain or shine. Scorching days, freezing days and every kind of day in between. The last day I missed was Halloween 2016, Ian Mackay told Rails to Trails. He surpassed consecutive day number 1,000 in July. In this piece, writer and rider Scott Stark, who also enjoys exploring trails across the country, describes how a serious bike injury changed Mackay’s approach to enjoying time spent trail’riding’.

OUR TAKE:  There is a way for everyone to enjoy the outdoors—and thankfully, some people are driven enough to find that path and share it with the entire state. At the TravelAbility Summit on November 11-13, the focus will always be on ability. We have found there’s an entire world of people like Mackay adventuring through life and will continue to highlight them, helping travel and destination marketers get a more accurate picture of the ‘accessibility’ customer. READ MORE on the Rails to Trails blog.

25+ Tech Companies Invited to Participate in TravelAbility “Launchpad”

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illustration of a red rocket launching and the words travel ability launchpad: boosting innovation in travel and accessibility

Tourism marketing organizations would feel more confident proposing or expanding accessibility initiatives if they had a greater knowledge of the latest product innovations and how they can be a valuable competitive differentiator. To address this opportunity, TravelAbilitySummit created LaunchPad, a pre-conference workshop planned for the afternoon of November 11, 2019, in San Francisco. 

LaunchPad will bring together socially conscious entrepreneurs, who have created products and services that  make travel easier for people with disabilities, and established travel end users—hotels, airports, attractions, and destinations. “The goal is to connect entrepreneurs with new distribution channels in the travel industry and to help jumpstart new accessibility initiatives,” says Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of both Launchpad and TravelAbility Summit.  The accessible travel market has been estimated to be in excess of $17 billion dollars* annually and growing at a rapid pace as baby boomers age into a disability.

Leading travel media representatives and angel investors who can provide exposure, advice, and capital to help these companies grow will also be attending. “We have received a commitment from Blue Umbrella,” said Steinman, “a disability technology accelerator that will take part in the workshop and keep office hours during the conference to meet one on one with founders. A list of invited attendees for Launchpad is available here.

The creation of LaunchPad is a result of the TravelAbility Summit team’s deep dive into three categories:

  • –a fast-growing accessible technology market
  • –the disability community’s changing needs
  • –feedback from travel marketers asking for next steps to help them to create meaningful accessibility initiatives.

To that end, TravelAbility released The Fab 50  in February—50 products and services that are available to make the travel experience easier for people with disabilities— and from that list, we’ve invited some of the most affordable and practical to present their products and services at LaunchPad in San Francisco.

“Because there hasn’t been a disability travel conference in the U.S. in over 13 years,” explained Steinman, “there hasn’t been a venue dedicated to new assistive technology, apps, products and services designed to help people with disabilities travel more independently. We are looking forward to watching the sparks fly as these communities come together. We’ll be tracking  the outcome to build the business case for accessibility in travel.”

*2015 Open Doors Study on the Accessible Travel Market

(The Fabulous 50 list will be distributed to over 2400 destinations, hotels, attractions and suppliers in travel and disability communities.  

Top 10 Signs That Accessibility Is Going Mainstream

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Fashion brands including Tommy Hilfiger, shown above, are expanding their accessible clothing lines. [photo of a young boy and girl in sportswear holding hands and running courtesy Tommy Hilfiger.]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of U.S. residents with a disability is estimated at close to a quarter of the nation’s population, with that figure doubling among those aged 65 and older. “Travelers with a disability represent an underserved but growing segment of the population that has been neglected by the mainstream tour and travel industry,” says Steinman. “The travel industry has a huge opportunity and responsibility to help make travel more accessible—and the time to act is now. In fact, a recent study by the Harris Organization in partnership with Open Doors Organization estimates the size of the disability travel market at $17 billion dollars a year. We invite travel professionals to register now for TravelAbility Summit, here. To help define the market opportunity, this is our first of a series of TravelAbility Summit Insights. Here’s why we see accessibility as an ascending trend:

  1. Requests for wheelchairs at airports grew 30% from 2016 to 2017 and have averaged 17% each year since 2015, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 
  2. According to AARP research, over the next 20 years, 75 million Baby Boomers will be aging into disability. This demographic has amassed the largest accumulation of wealth in history—and have the time and desire to travel.
  3. Mattel will debut a doll with a prosthetic leg and another with a wheelchair for Christmas. 
  4. A Travel Weekly survey found that travel agents in one European country alone experienced a 50% increase in inquiries about accessible travel experiences.
  5. The Brussels Airport has hired six people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to work as X-ray screeners. The Brussels program, part of a pilot project, is reporting positive results.
  6. Over 20,000 travel agents in the U.S .have undergone a one-hour basic autism awareness/response training sessions through IBCCES. Another 5,000 travel agents have been trained by Special Needs Group on accessible wheelchair travel.
  7. The TravelAbility research team has identified over 50 technologies, apps, and products that make everything from traversing mountains to navigating museums more accessible.
  8. Since launching its adaptive clothing line in 2018, the Tommy Hilfiger brand has expanded the collection from children’s clothing to a full adult line.
  9. The Skift Global Forum, the leading trend-forecasting conference in the travel industry, included its first accessible travel presentation, “Accessibility: What’s It Worth,” making the business case for accessible travel.
  10.  Trick or Treat! Target is introducing a line of adaptive costumes for Halloween this year. 

Mike May, New Advisory Board Member, Comes Crashing Through

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Mike May is the subject of the book Crashing Through by Robert Kurson.

Mike May, New Advisory Board Member, Comes Crashing Through

Mike May broke world records in downhill skiing, joined the CIA and has been a successful entrepreneur for decades. As if that weren’t enough to make him a compelling hero for a book about his life as an adaptability advocate, there’s more. May, who was blinded by a chemical explosion at age 3, is one of a handful of adults offered the chance to have a  revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery to  restore his vision. At the time, 1999, there were fewer than 20 cases, but he went on to have the risky surgery and is now recognized on a national level as a champion for adaptive technology and sports. 

Today he is the chief evangelist for Access Explorer, a navigation company. He was previously Executive Director of the Workforce Innovation Center at Envision in Wichita Kansas, CEO of the Lighthouse for the Blind in Seattle and CEO/Founder of Sendero Group, makers of accessible navigation products. He was a member of the White House delegation to the 2010 Paralympics and has been inducted into the U.S. Association of the Blind Hall of Fame. The book on his adventures is written by Robert Kurston and titled Crashing Through (it will also be turned in to a film.) You can meet Mike May and learn more about his story at TravelAbility Summit on November 11-13 in San Francisco. We are also pleased to welcome May to the Advisory Board this month. “As a technology entrepreneur, disability advocate and fearless leader of change in the travel industry, Mike brings a rare combination of skills to the Summit,” said Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility Summit. “I knew as soon as we spoke that he would be a strong advocate and collaborator for the blind along with the outstanding travel experts we will have at the Summit.”