Accessibility education for hospitality industry takes place Oct. 26 at AC Hotel by Marriott
LANSING, MICH. – Oct. 19, 2023– Choose LansingTM will host its first Tourism Accessibility Summit on October 26 from 2-4 p.m. at the new AC Hotel by Marriott in Lansing. Attendees will hear from national and local experts on how to implement best practices to be welcoming to all guests. Choose LansingTM President & CEO Julie Pingston will also give a preview of the new accessibility inventory and accessibility page on the Choose Lansing website.
“One in four people identify as having a disability and want to travel,” says Julie Pingston. “Our goal is for Greater Lansing to be welcoming to all visitors, which is why we’re excited to help our local hospitality businesses implement best practices to become more accessible.”
The event’s keynote speaker is Kristy Durso, national accessibility advocate and owner of Incredible Memories Travel. Other speakers include Cathy Blatnik, treasurer for the Mid-Michigan Autism Association, and Meegan Winters, founder of AbleVu.
Members of the media are invited to attend. Contact Julie Pingston (jpingston@lansing.org) for media inquiries and see below for more information about the event’s speakers.
Keynote Speaker: Kristy Durso, National Accessibility Advocate and Owner of Incredible Memories Travel
As a full time wheelchair user and mom to three kids with disabilities and food allergies, Kristy understands the complexities of accessible travel on a personal level. Kristy is passionate about helping others with disabilities travel. Kristy’s work aims to improve accessibility options for travelers with disabilities, and to also help travel advisors better communicate with potential clients and destinations so that the travelers’ needs are met, and expectations of the level of accessibility are accurate. As a member of the advisory board for Travelability, Kristy also works directly with DMOs, tourist boards, resorts, and others to increase awareness of disability travel, and to help them improve their accessibility. Kristy’s ultimate goal is to inspire change in the travel industry to make a more inclusive atmosphere, so that travel is accessible to all.
Julie Pingston, Choose Lansing CEO/President and Certified Autism Travel Professional
Julie is a passionate leader spearheading the charge to establish Lansing as the most sensory friendly and welcoming destination to all who visit. Julie will present current data on the importance of accessibility and local perspectives on accessibility efforts. She’ll also give a preview of the accessibility inventory study conducted by The MSU School of Hospitality Business. That information will be housed on the accessibility page on the Choose Lansing website. She’ll also share Choose Lansing’s future plans to be welcomingto all.
Cathy Blatnik, Mid-Michigan Autism Association
Meegan Winters, AbleVu
Meegan is an accessibility and autism educator in addition to being the owner of AbleVu, utilizing virtual tours to help people of ALL abilities access the community and travel space. Meegan will share the state-of-the-art technology and tools available that you can implement to help guests prepare before their visit.
About Choose LansingTM The vision of Choose LansingTM is to inspire everyone to celebrate and love Greater Lansing as much as we do! Which goes hand in hand with our mission, to positively impact our community’s quality of life by developing the region as a visitor destination. Learn more at www.lansing.org.
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Here’s a recent MBN Michigan Business Beat interview with Julie Pingston!
Watch Julie and Chris discuss the branding change for the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Lansing Sports Authority to Choose Lansing, and Lansing Sports Commission in the YouTube video shared below:
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