ACTA’s Accessibility Advisor Directory: A Step Forward But a Long Way to Go

Many years ago, at 23, I worked as a publicist for the late David Onley, who was then a reporter with Citytv and would later serve as the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Onley was mobility challenged and used a scooter after having polio as a child and was a passionate disability rights advocate.

Part of my job was to arrange for our on-air personalities to speak at events. I unknowingly arranged for David to speak at a venue that wasn’t accessible. Rather than get mad, he took me aside afterwards and gently explained what questions I needed to ask when I was vetting him to attend an event; is the washroom on the main floor? Are the doors at the venue wide enough for his scooter? How many steps is it to get onto the stage?

He opened my eyes to a world that I, as an able-bodied person, hadn’t given much thought to. And I don’t think many people do. 

That awareness is likely what ACTA is trying to achieve with its new Accessibility Advisor Directory – and kudos to them for starting a conversation that somehow keeps having false starts.

For its part, ACTA says it created the new Accessibility Travel Advisor Directory as an starting point leading to something more. The Directory is a first-of-its-kind resource that connects Canadians with travel advisors specializing in accessible travel for both visible and non-visible disabilities.

“ACTA created this initiative to better understand how many of our member travel agencies and travel advisors in Canada specialize in accessible travel, Suzanne Acton-Gervais, President, ACTA told Travel Market Report Canada.  

“Our DEIA Committee identified accessibility as a key focus — and as we explored it further, we realized how many different areas it actually touches.”

“I’m thrilled to see this initiative come to life! I’m part of the ACTA DEIA committee that helped bring this initiative to life,” Tanya Rabe, Travel Consultant & Accessibility Specialist, told Travel Market Report Canada.

“As I’m a person with a physical disability, and an advisor that specializes in accessible travel, I can tell you this is a significant and welcome step forward for accessible travel in Canada. For too long, travellers with accessibility needs haven’t known where to turn for knowledgeable support, and advisors who want to serve this community better haven’t had clear pathways to connect.”

The launch of The Accessible Travel Advisory Directory initially appeared to be a separate, completely new directory. However, currently on the ACTA site there are advisors listed as accessible specialists, just as there are wedding, sun or group specialists. They can be identified as an accessible specialist by the check of a box.

That lack of vetting is an important concern for Accessible Travel Expert and Advisor David Lyons-Black. What truly defines an “accessible specialist,” and how and by whom is that standard determined?

“If you’re asking somebody who’s able bodied to put in place a program for accessibility, I’m sorry, but you don’t know anything about what my life is like, what I go through every day in terms of being non-ambulatory. You don’t know until you walk a day in our shoes,” Lyons-Black said.

“There are a lot of advisors who want to be an accessible travel specialist, but don’t know the fundamentals.”

Lyons-Black is calling for ACTA to create an education program for advisors to become certified as an accessible specialist.

“If ACTA wants to do this the right way, make it a course and get people who live this to lead it. We’ve been fighting for change in this industry, and the industry has not changed and isn’t listening to the stakeholders, which is the accessibility community,” says Lyons-Black.

“You can’t have somebody that’s able bodied create something for the accessible community. It’s like asking somebody to write a diversity program around the indigenous community when they’re not indigenous. This is my fear in this industry.”

Rabe says she hasn’t been directly involved in developing the criteria for the vetting process and it’s a topic of discussion on the table at the DEIA committee meeting next week. But she is hopeful that ACTA will listen to her, Lyons-Black and other Accessible Travel Advisors to ensure the Directory is created properly.

“What excites me most is that this isn’t a one-and-done initiative – it’s a movement,” Rabe tells us. “It keeps the conversation going, creates accountability, and shows that ACTA is committed to making REAL CHANGE in Canada when it comes to accessible travel. The travel industry as a whole can do better and be better, and initiatives like this show we’re committed to leading by example. We are just getting started.”

“The specializations we’ve outlined are a starting point — and we’ll continue to build on them as new areas emerge,” says Acton-Gervais. “It’s all about creating an industry that welcomes everyone and ensures every traveller can explore the world with confidence.”

“I just want to make sure to be listed as an Accessible Travel specialist, that there is a course advisors must take,” says Lyons-Black.

“And that an advisor can’t just, all of a sudden, put a wheelchair symbol on their business card and say they’re accessible.”