Accessible Wine Country - Sonoma Spiel Episode 10

Breaking away from talking specifically about Sonoma Valley, we are joined by Jake Steinman of TravelAbility, the organization that explores the nexus of travel and disability, and provides resources for companies and destinations to make sure they provide good information and are strategic in how they make their experiences more inclusive. 

Big takeaway - eventually many people will "age into a disability." Have we created a world that is inclusive and ready for this?

Jake got into this by accident.

As Jake relates, "The journey that led us to the creation of TravelAbility Summit started with a bogus award!

In 2018 North American Journeys received a “Travel Agent of the Year” award from the City of Sausalito, California, where are located. Though we are not a travel agency we started to receive a trickle, then a stream, of individuals stopping by our headquarters seeking help in planning and implementing a trip with a disabled family member.

With little in the marketplace to provide help or offer referrals, we embarked on a two-month listening tour to better understand the travel challenges and needs of disabled persons today.

Our findings were eye-opening."