Traveling while disabled can be difficult without access to assistance or inclusively built spaces, and for the more than 2.3 million adults in Michigan who have a disability, the challenges that arise can often discourage them from taking trips. In light of these challenges, online travel agency Wheel the World is dedicated to helping those with disabilities find accessible hotels, attractions and restaurants. Destination Ann Arbor announced that the Ann Arbor area had become “Destination Verified” by Wheel the World in a Nov. 18 press release.
Chad Wiebesick, director of public affairs for Destination Ann Arbor, told The Michigan Daily in an interview that the group chose to work with Wheel the World to support visitors with different types of disabilities.
“We recognized that accessibility was a growing need in the travel industry, and we wanted to make sure that Ann Arbor and all the communities in Washtenaw County are a quality destination for travelers of all types, regardless of the physical or cognitive or invisible disability that they might have,” Wiebeseick said.
To support Ann Arbor’s goal to become “Destination Verified,” Wheel the World trained members of Disability Network Washtenaw Monroe Livingston, a local disability advocacy and service group, to conduct assessments of local businesses. According to the press release, the evaluation team collected more than 200 data points, including bed heights in hotels and other aspects of accessibility that exceed the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Wiebesick said many Ann Arbor businesses and University of Michigan attractions already had accommodations for a wide range of disabilities.
“A common misconception is that accessibility is just physical needs, but it also means sensory needs and communication needs, for example,” Wiebesick said. “The University of Michigan Natural History Museum, they have sensory kits available for people that are on the autism spectrum — same with the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum. … Another cool thing that we saw was with the Michigan Theater and State Theatre. They offer sign language interpretation for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
As a “Destination Verified” locale, evaluated businesses in Ann Arbor can sign up to participate in the Wheel the World Academy, a training program that shares the best practices to accommodate visitors with disabilities. In addition, Ann Arbor now appears as a landing page on the Wheel the World website, sharing suggestions for accessible activities to participate in and attractions to visit while in town.
The Ann Arbor initiative was supported by the Pure Michigan Accessible Traveler Grant. The grant utilizes a $1 million portion of the federal funds awarded to Michigan in 2021 from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s State Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation program Destination Ann Arbor was recommended to receive $57,500 by the application review committee.
In an email to The Daily, Kelly Wolgamott, vice president of Pure Michigan, wrote that the Accessible Traveler Grant was created to support destination marketing organizations in promoting accessibility in their communities.
“The Accessible Travel Grant program utilized funds from the EDA State Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation grant to support statewide travel destinations in creating a more accessible and inclusive environment in their communities,” Wolgamott wrote. “The grant provided the added resources to elevate the important work of destination websites (from) meeting the needs of the visually and hearing impaired to conducting community accessibility audits.”
Ann Arbor is the first location in the state to receive the “Destination Verified” status from Wheel the World. Wiebesick said he hopes the initiative will continue to expand across Michigan.
“What we recognize is that this is a journey,” Wiebesick said. “There are next steps as we continue to promote accessibility in our region, and so we’re hoping to expand the number of businesses that are involved in our accessibility initiative. … We hope that ultimately, through this process, we’re encouraging our local businesses to prioritize accessibility.”
Wiebesick added that accessibility resources could also benefit others with mobility challenges or assistance needs, such as families with strollers or the elderly. Pharmacy student Kareem Hussein, vice president of student organization KinectAbility, which supports children with disabilities, told The Daily in an interview that the issue of accessibility should be meaningful to everyone due to the complexity of disabilities.
“It’s very easy to separate yourself from (the disabled community) and think that, ‘Oh, I’m not disabled, so this doesn’t apply to me,’” Hussein said. “But the nature of disabilities is that it can happen to anybody at any point in time. … By creating an accessible and equitable place to live — which I’m happy to say that I think Ann Arbor is, but obviously, it could be better — by doing those kinds of things, we create a better environment for everybody to live and grow.”
Alex Gossage, the executive director of DNWML, wrote in an email to The Daily that the “Destination Verified” status may highlight accessibility in new, more prevalent ways to the entire Ann Arbor area.
“From the perspective of someone who is disabled, becoming “Destination Verified” is an opportunity to raise awareness of accessibility as an important issue in our community,” Gossage wrote. “It demonstrates that there are many in our community who are already taking accessibility into account and see its value. Being “Destination Verified” is also a way to generate greater interest in making our entire community accessible to people with and without disabilities and to foster a culture of accessibility that we can all (unite) around.”
Wiebesick said he believes travel is important for everyone regardless of disability status, and hopes to continue expressing the importance of accessibility when traveling to Ann Arbor.
“Every person, regardless of ability, deserves the human right to travel and experience and explore the world regardless of their ability,” Wiebeseick said. “Travel is important to people. It creates memories, meaningful relationships. It breaks down boundaries and makes our world a more open-minded place. And so everyone, I believe, has a fundamental right to experience and explore the world, regardless if you are in a wheelchair or if you have some other disability.”
Daily Staff Reporter Marissa Corsi can be reached at [email protected].
This post was originally published on here
