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Society
for Accessible Travel and
Hospitality SATH
held its 5th Annual
World Congress at the Fort Lauderdale Airport
Hilton in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January
24-28, 2001. The event commemorated SATH's 25th
Anniversary as a non-profit dedicated to promoting
barrier-free travel worldwide. SATH joined Africa
Travel Association to co-host its 26th World
Congress in Cape Town South Africa, May 20-25
2001. The main purpose of the
Congress was to educate the travel and hospitality
industry about the needs of travelers with
disabilities and the benefits to be derived from
reaching out to this large and dynamic, but still
underserved market. At more than 20% of the
American population, persons with disabilities are
indeed our largest minority, and one that will
continue to grow in the new millennium, in numbers
and buying power. Disability awareness, like
the travel industry itself, is spreading rapidly
worldwide. One of the most exciting aspects of the
SATH World Congress will again be the coming
together of receptive tour operators from all over
the globe. More than 20 countries are likely to be
represented, not only from North America and
Europe, but also Central and South America, the
Mid-East, Asia, Africa and New Zealand. For
specialists in accessible travel, the World
Congress provides a unique opportunity to network
and develop new business relationships, as well as
to catch up on the latest developments in the
field. Expert speakers,
transportation and hospitality panels, updates from
government regulatory agencies, and workshops on
all sorts of topics--from medical needs to
disability etiquette to hotel accessibility to the
newest wheelchair-friendly destinations--all go to
make up the rich learning experience of the
Congress. Once again, the Internet will be a hot
topic, with more and more detailed access
information finding its way online and more
e-business being conducted. MESSAGE FROM SATH FOUNDER
MURRAY VIDOCKLER, CTC In 1976, with some thirty
years of experience in the travel industry as a
travel agent, international tour operator and
airline executive, I realized that there was one
Final Frontier which had not been recognized as an
important goal by our industry as a whole-namely,
the enormous untapped market of the then 40 or so
millions of Americans with Disabilities who were
largely excluded from the possibilities of
tourism. The industry was growing
fast and much new investment was available for the
expanding infrastructure. At the same time, Civil
Rights and Equality of Opportunity were in the air.
Changing lifestyles and medical advances were
increasing the life expectancy of the population as
a whole, but people who were unfortunate enough to
have a disability were being excluded from much of
the benefit this new society had to
offer. So I, together with a few
people who thought as I did, decided that we had to
do something to redress the situation. On the one
hand, we needed to educate the travel industry as
to the economic possibilities of this
underdeveloped market. On the other hand, we needed
to inform the population with disabilities that
they could join the mainstream in travel, as well
as in other aspects of their everyday life. We
offered them Dignity and Opportunity, not Charity
or Welfare. Our mottos were "No Discounts for the
Handicapped," "Charity No, Services Yes," and
later, "Jobs by Ability not Disability." The result was that
airlines and other forms of transportation made
millions of dollars, people with disabilities were
able to expect to travel with dignity, and the
market in travel expanded exponentially with each
increase in the rights of persons with disabilities
to be considered as normal travelers. For years the travel
industry organizations tried to avoid dealing with
the problems that travelers with disabilities
presented, but, even before the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, they had begun to
see that this was an opportunity that they could no
longer ignore. Finally, in 1996 the American
Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) at its World
Congress in Bangkok conferred on me, representing
SATH, their highest award, and induction into their
Travel Hall of Fame. Concerning the work that SATH
had done, they said, "Yesterday's travel goals are
today's floor." However, there are still many new
goals which have to be reached before we are able
to say we have obtained the level playing field we
set out to create. At the same Congress, ASTA
announced its sponsorship with American Express of
SATH's World Partnership in Awareness. This will
meet annually at the ASTA World Congress to deal
with the problems of participating nations in
respect of their receptive services for travelers
with disabilities and mature travelers. Around the
world, new initiatives are being developed to open
tourism to all. So today, we invite all these
nations to join with us in insuring that well
before the new millennium this will become a
reality. The United States has led
the way to the future by creating the most open
society for those with disabilities, and Florida,
where we are meeting, has been among the leaders in
this field. We welcome you all to this, our first
SATH World Travel Congress for Travelers with
Disabilities, and hope that you will return home
determined to carry the message of this meeting
with you. Everyone gains from opening the doors for
people with disabilities who want to travel like
everyone else. Murray Vidockler, CTC |
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The
Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality is
closely associated with our partner group, the
Africa Travel Association. Both SATH and the ATA
will be sharing the program at the ATA 26th
International congress in Cape Town, South Africa
from May 20 -25, 2001. 