The city of Columbus, Ohio announced a new city guide for travelers with disabilities. The city is hoping to make travelers with disability feel welcomed and comfortable during their stay. With more than 20 attractions, restaurants (including outdoor options), hotels, and transportation options, to choose from travelers can better plan for their stay.
Related: Traveler Story: Being A Black Queer Disabled Woman In London Is Where It’s At
Beyond Wheelchair Ramps
Accessibility goes beyond adding wheelchair ramps. It must also include how people with disabilities are able to interact with the space. This seems to be something the city of Columbus kept in mind when creating the guide. The guide includes Columbus’ accessible attractions and options in several categories: mobility, vision, hearing, and cognition. For example, in the Vision guide, they list a restaurant option with a Braille menu. Furthermore, the city wrote Tips for Planning an Accessible Meeting in Columbus, which shares resources with those looking to make their business meetings more inclusive and accessible to everyone.
Travel Industry Trend
Columbus joins several others in the travel industry that are working to become more accessible. Last week, Six Flags introduced a specialized restraint harness for rides that caters to guests with physical disabilities and earned accreditation as a Certified Autism Center at each of its theme parks. And earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation published the first-ever bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities.
As more companies and cities continue to move towards these initiatives it’s going to be important that they include people with liabilities in the conversation, being that they know best what’s needed.