What Disability Pride Month Means To Me—And What It Should Mean to DMOs
Curtis Thompson
SVP Technology
July 21, 2025
July is Disability Pride Month. Sadly, I am not proud to be disabled. As the saying goes, if you’ve met one disabled person, you’ve met one disabled person, but I feel fairly safe in saying that my opinion is probably shared by more than one person like me.
Pride in the Progress—And in Ourselves
That’s not to say that there isn’t pride surrounding my disability. I am proud of what I have achieved despite it, and despite what at times has been unfavorable treatment from others around me. It is a continual battle to move forward (both literally and figuratively), and I am proud of myself for still being willing to do it as best I can after all these years. And I am proud of every other disabled person who does the same each and every day. Those struggles can be visible or invisible, but they are real, and they are at the heart of the meaning of being “disabled.”
Because of the industry I work in (spoiler alert: it’s destination marketing), I also see disability from other vantage points. I have written in the past about inclusion going beyond compliance for travel websites, and I talk with clients all the time who truly do want to be inclusive to disabled people. Considering that the World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion people—about 16% of the global population—currently experience significant disability, perhaps that is driven by the idea that there’s money to be made in tourism dollars. But even if so, I see genuine interest, and appreciate and want to encourage that. Seeing people recognize and want to be inclusive of people like me makes me proud of all the people before me who worked so hard to bring attention and respect to people with disabilities.
But when that marketing is not genuine or truly thoughtful of how the people to whom the marketing is aimed at, there’s a lot less pride to be found. I love seeing people who look like me in movies, television, advertisements, and just about everywhere else. (Ok—everywhere else.) But when “looking like me” means an able-bodied person playing a disabled person, or a token effort to check a proverbial box, there’s anything but pride. On the other side, watching R.J. Mitte in Breaking Bad, or Lauren Spencer in Give Me Liberty, or Stephen Hawking just be one of the most amazing scientists of our time brings me so much pride in them and the community. Everybody likes to see themselves reflected in what they enjoy, and tourism marketing is no different. I am proud of what Jake Steinman, the founder of TravelAbility, and John Morris, the creator of WheelchairTravel.org, do for helping people like me find ways to navigate travel and come back in one piece.
“Disability doesn’t change our minds, and hearts, and desires—it just changes the way we have to account for our needs and access the world.”
John Morris
The Formula for Inclusive Marketing Isn’t Complex—It’s Compassion
So how can those great people who genuinely want to be inclusive of people with disabilities market to them and help feel that pride along with all of us? It’s the same (simple?) formula that applies everywhere else— listen and incorporate. Understanding that you don’t know something is easy, but saying it out loud is hard. But when you can get to that place when you want to achieve a goal of genuine inclusive marketing, you are where you need to be. Disability comes in endless varieties, and understanding what that means when you want to be inclusive of an entire community is critical. For example, I referenced two actors before. I don’t have cerebral palsy or ALS, but I can be proud to see someone with those conditions being a face for all of us. But assuming that you’ve covered all folks with disabilities by having a blog post that talks about getting around a community in a wheelchair? That’s too broad of a brush. Disabilities aren’t always visible—mobility is one piece of a much larger picture that includes sensory, cognitive, mental health, and chronic conditions. Listen to how different people want to be represented, and incorporate them however you can. Have people with disabilities help create content and help teach what it means to be a disabled traveler. Listen to their challenges, their victories, their dreams, and their wishes for being able to travel more easily, and then help them do that where you live.
And don’t just listen to them. One of the most amazing resources for learning what it’s like to be disabled is a loved one or caregiver for a disabled person. I cannot count the number of stories that I have heard from people who—for the first time—traveled with a disabled relative or friend on a trip and suddenly realized how stacked the deck is in so many cases. These are people who might not have experienced disability in the past until they met someone with one. They have powerful stories that they, too, can share. They go through not only all the emotions that we do, but their own set unique to them. I know my wife Kathleen loves me dearly (and I her) and she does so much to help me each and every day. Ask her someday how she’s seen me be treated by people out in the world, and she’ll have an earful for you. Some really good, some really bad, but all real and genuine feelings. All these stories and listening can help marketers ensure a genuine and truly inclusive marketing message to all disabled people.
Inclusion Builds Pride
Inclusivity means empathy, and empathy means inclusivity. And being included brings people pride. So as you think about this month and disability pride, know that the true pride that some of us feel might be something you can help be a part of. And that pride can be something you own and take with you throughout your life. There’s not much better than can come out of what is ultimately not something that most people take a lot of pride in to begin with.
