Recognizing the immense potential for growth and inclusivity in the travel industry, TAMS is committed to elevating the pain points faced by individuals with diverse accessibility needs.
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Travel and Meeting Society (TAMS), a leading organization dedicated to promoting inclusivity in travel, has embarked on an initiative focused on advancing accessibility in the industry. Over the past several months, TAMS has conducted a series of interviews with individuals representing a broad spectrum of accessibilities aimed at identifying their pain points when traveling. The organization’s mission is driven by the alarming statistic that only 3% of the 1 billion individuals with accessibility needs currently engage in travel.
“We firmly believe that by addressing the pain points experienced by individuals with accessibility needs, we can make travel more inclusive and open doors for a significantly larger portion of the population,” says project lead Andrew Slaiby, Travel Manager for Raytheon Technologies. “Our interviews will provide the necessary foundation to drive positive change and our advocacy efforts will ensure that these insights translate into tangible improvements across the travel industry.”
Recognizing the immense potential for growth and inclusivity in the travel industry, TAMS is committed to elevating the pain points faced by individuals with diverse accessibility needs. In the coming year, TAMS plans to release a series of interviews covering a wide range of topics, including mobility, autism, metabolic diseases, schizophrenia, cancer, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, HIV, PTSD, intellectual disabilities, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD and dwarfism, along with other relevant sources like TSA Cares.
TAMS had the opportunity to interview Kurt Sensenbrenner, an independent film producer who has two metabolic diseases, Phenylketonuria (PKU) and TYPE 1 Diabetes. “I hope that sharing my lived experience through TAMS will help make a meaningful change in how our community views and understands the travel and hospitality industries,” says Sensenbrenner. “Traveling can be very intimidating for the people in my community and the more we address it, the more likely it is to change.”
Stephanie Thomson Duller, Sales Manager at The Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland, coordinated the PKU interview with Kurt Sensenbrenner. She said that, “As a parent of a child with PKU, I understand how PKU is an unknown to most. By creating an important dialogue between PKU travelers and the travel industry, we are helping to make travel more accessible.”
As TAMS completes these interviews, they will publish a white paper inclusive of best practices and standards to be shared across the travel industry. This initiative includes advocating for standard searchable accessibility booking features based on the valuable insights gained from interviewees. Leveraging their influence among members working in airlines, hotels, online booking tools, travel agencies, distribution channels and travel buyers, TAMS seeks to foster a collective effort in improving accessibility standards and practices.
TAMS remains steadfast in its commitment to champion accessibility in travel. By sharing the learnings from their extensive interviews and actively engaging with industry stakeholders, TAMS aims to create a more inclusive travel environment for individuals of all abilities.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
