Accessibility Takes Center Stage at Emerging Markets Summit

With over 200 attendees from across the travel industry, this year’s Emerging Markets Summit (EMS) in beautiful San Francisco was a total success. Hosted by TravelAbility, an organization dedicated to making travel more accessible and enjoyable for everyone, EMS offered travel pros a “big-picture view and concrete strategies for tapping the growing market of accessible travel” through thought-provoking sessions, inspirational stories and an abundance of networking opportunities. Setting EMS apart from other industry events was the way it enabled disabled travelers and industry professionals to have one-on-one conversations, planting the seeds for lasting change in coveted destinations and among beloved brands.

While educational sessions at the event spanned the gamut, a few notable topics as outlined by TravelAbility’s website included how to design and market inclusive travel products and services, how to connect with and engage travelers with disabilities, how to create accessible and inclusive destinations and experiences, how to leverage tech and innovation to enhance accessibility and inclusion and, finally, exploring the intersection between accessibility and destination stewardship. 

Another common theme throughout the conference was empathy, with event organizers pointing to Maya Angelou’s famous quote: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And as attendees sat in on 43 sessions, listened to 72 speakers and learned about 10 assistive technologies, they learned the bottom line is disabled travelers want to be treated just like everyone else. And now, after a week of coming together to brainstorm, encourage and support one another, the real work begins as travel pros shift into the role of ally, setting off to make the industry more accessible to all.

Feeling inspired? TravelAbility will host its next Emerging Markets Summit in southern Oregon at the Sunriver Resort in 2025. Keep an eye on the company’s website for more details.