Our Story

In 2018 North American Journeys received a “Travel Agent of the Year” award from the City of Sausalito, California, where we are located. Though we are not a travel agency we started to receive a trickle, then a stream, of individuals stopping by our headquarters seeking help in planning and implementing a trip with a disabled family member.

With little in the marketplace to provide help or offer referrals, we embarked on a two-month listening tour to better understand the travel challenges and needs of travelers with a disability.

Our findings were eye-opening.

We discovered that the accessibility-in-travel world has largely been driven by top down legislation. While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Airline Carrier Accessibility Act (ACAA) set standards that make transportation, hotels, restaurants, and airlines accessible to people with disabilities, implementation was at a bare minimum and, in many cases often not enforced or thoroughly thought out.

In effect, rather than seeking to serve travelers with disabilities in a way that enables and even enhances the travel experience, the mindset has become litigation avoidance.

In response, we have found a quiet groundswell of innovators dedicated and determined to offer a more robust travel experience to travelers with disabilities. These trailblazers have developed products, services, and other initiatives that reduce the barriers to travel for those with physical, behavioral and cognitive disabilities and offer enhanced experiences of the places they visit.

With over 20 years of experience in the tour and travel industry, and with a vast network of destination marketing organizations, tour operators and other industry players, we invite you to join us in our mission to make travel more accessible, enjoyable, and equitable for individuals with disabilities.