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NEW ORLEANS, LA – November 20, 2024 – New Orleans & Company is pleased to announce its partnership with Wheel the World, a leading platform and community for accessible travel, dedicated to helping travelers with disabilities find and book inclusive travel experiences worldwide. Wheel the World will perform an accessibility assessment on partnering hotels, restaurants and attractions in New Orleans.
New Orleans & Company is beginning outreach to have 60 hotels, restaurants and attractions participate in the initial Wheel the World assessment starting in December. The training platform will be available to all New Orleans & Company members. Through Wheel the World’s comprehensive accessibility assessment, each property will be evaluated for accessible rooms, entrances, amenities, and staff training to ensure inclusivity at every step of the guest experience.
“This partnership with New Orleans & Company represents a meaningful step towards accessibility and inclusion,” said Álvaro Silberstein, CEO of Wheel the World. “It’s inspiring to see New Orleans’ commitment to creating a welcoming environment for people with disabilities, both travelers and locals alike. We are confident that this collaboration will have a lasting, positive impact on our community by setting a standard for accessible tourism that other destinations can follow.”
Wheel the World has proven expertise in the field and is a trusted voice for the disability community. The organization helps travelers find and book accessible hotels, things to do, and multi-day trips of over 250 destinations with detailed information about accessibility and experienced customer support.
Once the assessments are complete, Wheel the World will provide our members with certified accessibility assessments and data-driven insights to help meet global standards and make New Orleans a leader in inclusive travel.
“This initiative is more than widening doors to fit wheelchairs …. it is about widening minds so that our disabled travelers truly feel welcome and included in New Orleans,” said Walt Leger, III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination marketing and sales organization for the New Orleans tourism industry. “We strive to be the most remarkable, unique and welcoming city in the world. Being more accessible and inclusive will make New Orleans a better place to live, work and visit. Our team and partners are excited to partner with – and learn from – the experts at Wheel the World.”
This partnership is in addition to the extensive efforts New Orleans & Company is continuing to work on in the accessibility space. Some of the resources include:
- New Orleans & Company has created a webpage dedicated to the city’s accessibility, visit https://www.neworleans.com/plan/accessibility/. This webpage includes a wheelchair-friendly guide for the city, resources for the deaf and blind, multiple video guides for wheelchair bound travelers as well as other FAQs.
- On neworleans.com, we have added the Recite Me web accessibility and language toolbar to our website to make it accessible and allow our visitors to use and view it in a way that works for them. With the Recite Me toolbar, users can read website text aloud, change font sizes & colors, translate text and more.
- Our team is also actively working on a French Quarter accessibility survey with the Department of Public Works.
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About New Orleans & Company
New Orleans & Company is the official destination sales and marketing organization for New Orleans’ tourism industry. Founded in 1960, our mission is to inspire, promote and encourage travel to our city for the economic, social and community benefit of New Orleans and its people. Our vision is to ensure New Orleans remains the most remarkable, unique, and welcoming city in the world. For more information, visit us at neworleans.com or on social media @VisitNewOrleans or @Neworleansandco.
About Wheel the World
Wheel the World is the leading platform for accessible travel, empowering people with disabilities to explore the world with confidence. Offering detailed accessibility information and seamless booking experiences for over 250 destinations worldwide, Wheel the World connects travelers with accessible hotels, activities, and multi-day trips. With a strong commitment to inclusion and a global community of travelers and advocates, Wheel the World is dedicated to making every destination accessible to everyone. For more information, visit wheeltheworld.com.