[Travelandtourism] AGENTS LEAD EFFORTS TO MAKE TRAVEL MORE ACCESSIBLE

[Cheryl Echevarria]

AGENTS LEAD EFFORTS TO MAKE TRAVEL MORE ACCESSIBLE

by Judy Jacobs / May 12, 2015 from Travel Market Report.

 

I first want to apologize ahead of time about the information she posted
about the NFB Travel & Tourism, the information was incorrect, and will be
making a re-write next week.

 

Here is the story though.  I was written up a few weeks ago, and then I was
asked  if I knew other travel experts that are disabled working in the
industry.

 

This is the story.

 

The move to make travel accessible for all is beginning to gain steam, led
by a group of exceptional travel agents. 

 

Whether wheelchair bound, blind, deaf or hard of hearing,
physically-challenged travelers are seeking experiences tailored to their
needs. 

 

And they're asking the industry to respond.

 

Scott Rains of Ticket To Travel in San Jose, Calif., one of those at the
forefront of the movement, is a travel agent - but not an agent in the usual
sense. 

 

He doesn't book travel. Instead he consults with agencies, hotels, tour
operators, and airlines to encourage them to respond to the special needs of
travelers like himself.

 

Accessibility for everyone

Paralyzed at 17-years-old as a result of spinal cancer, Rains has been in a
wheelchair as a paraplegic most of his life. 

 

That experience, and his desire to travel, as well a doctorate in pastoral
ministry and his years as a consultant on disability issues, make him well
positioned to see a world of travel that could-and should-be more accessible
for all travelers.

 

"I got into all of this because I travel a lot, and people would always ask
me very specifically, 'How can we help you get on the airplane?'" said
Rains.

 

He believed that someone had to start answering these questions not just for
the airlines, but for hotels and tour operators as well. 

 

"My motto: As much as possible [the travel industry should] operate on the
presumption that we are experts in our own experience," Rains said. "That
gives us the respect of being treated like consumers and shows that we have
paid attention to how our lives are different.

 

"It's mutual learning. Respect is the best general advice that I can give."

 

Universal design

Rains' work has taken him to 27 countries. He traveled to South Africa in
2009 to help a local tour operator assess the accessibility of the locations
for the 2010 World Cup. He's also conducted a workshop for the World Bank in
Mozambique and consulting work in Thailand. 

 

One of his specialties is the adoption of universal design by the worldwide
travel and hospitality industry.

 

"It goes by several other names - design for all and inclusive design,
depending on what part of the world you're in," he said.

 

It's the idea that facilities should be designed for the broadest range of
people under the broadest range of conditions so that everyone is included.

 

Advocating for the blind

Cheryl Echevarria of Echevarria Travel in Brentwood, N.Y., has become a
leader in blind travel through her role as president of the National
Federation of the Blind's Travel & Tourism Division. 

 

The division has local chapters throughout the U.S. and advocates for blind
travelers and employees in the travel industry on a local, national and
international basis. 

 

Echevarria organizes monthly division conference call meetings, a national
meeting scheduled for Orlando in July, and a bi-annual fundraising trip. 

 

Among the issues the division is dealing with is getting the cruise lines to
install guide dog boxes on all the cruise ships.

 

"They're like big kitty litter boxes with wood chips in them," Echevarria
said. And they're a necessity for blind people travelling with their guide
dogs.

 

Members are also educating airport officials about the fact that having more
and more self-service flight-check-in kiosks hinder blind travelers. They
want to make sure that check-in desks with live agents don't disappear. 

 

Different challenges

The deaf have different challenges, according to Peggy Prosser of D-Travel
in Rochester, N.Y.

 

"When it comes to wheelchair users the tourism sectors can easily add ramps,
and for blind people they add Braille or give audio devices at famous
landmarks," Prosser said.

 

But she laments the fact that there are usually no sign language
interpreters available for deaf travelers. "It seems to me that because of
the unavailability of services for deaf travelers, we are either forgotten
or ignored."

 

Prosser hopes to ensure that deaf travelers become an integral part of the
travel industry by working with an NGO known as the International Deaf
Development Organization (IDDO).

 

IDDO is advocating for deaf rights in developing countries by encouraging
tourism that will employ deaf people as tour guides and consultants to tour
companies as they create itineraries for deaf people. 

 

The organization also plans to build hotels that would be run by deaf
people, as would auxiliary services like spas, restaurants and salons.

 

Among the destinations on which it will initially focus its tourism
development efforts are the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Kenya, where
Prosser knows many among the deaf community.