Last month, Oregon became the first state in the nation to be verified for its accessibility for travelers with disabilities by the travel website Wheel the World. The company worked with Travel Oregon to assess hundreds of hotels, restaurants, tourism providers and state parks in seven regions across the state for their accessibility. That includes features like step-free entrances at museums or specialized wheelchairs available to venture onto a beach on the Oregon Coast. 

But the state’s efforts to promote its accessibility doesn’t mean that barriers don’t still exist for travelers with physical or neurocognitive disabilities. Small hotel owners and tourism operators may also lack awareness about best practices to engage with these travelers or struggle with how to become more accessible online and in person. 

To address these gaps, researchers at Southern Oregon University recently received a grant from Travel Oregon to develop and roll out training workshops at 12 locations across the state for travel industry professionals and other stakeholders. The training includes guidance on best practices and role-playing exercises where participants can experience, for example, what it’s like to navigate a carpeted hotel lobby in a wheelchair or to receive information during an emergency as a person who is hard of hearing. 

The goal of these trainings and the education they provide is to create a statewide network of “Accessible Tourism Ambassadors,” according to Pavlina McGrady, an associate professor in the school of business at Southern Oregon University. McGrady and Rebecca Williams, an assistant professor in the school of business at SOU, join us for more details. Ulysses McCready, a junior at SOU who is blind, also shares his perspective about inclusive tourism and the assistance he provided McGrady and Williams on their project.