How one wheelchair user’s journey from hotel barriers to global adventure is helping transform luxury travel for disabled people and their families

What if the trip you thought was impossible was simply waiting for the right access?

For many disabled travelers, dreaming about a destination comes with an immediate second thought:

But can I actually go there?

In Episode 154 of Pushing Forward with Alycia, Alycia Anderson sits down with Karen Morales, luxury travel advisor, speaker, wheelchair user, disability travel advocate, and leader within Fora Travel’s accessibility initiative, for a conversation that may completely change the way you think about accessible travel.

Karen lives with limb girdle muscular dystrophy and began using a wheelchair full time in 2020. But losing mobility did not mean losing her identity as a traveler. Instead, it pushed her to rethink what independence, adventure, and possibility could look like.

And she went exploring.

Japan. Morocco. Sicily. Costa Rica. France. Canada. Africa.

Karen discovered that some of the destinations disabled travelers assume will be impossible can deliver extraordinary experiences when the right people, information, creativity, and hospitality come together.

Her work is also proving something the travel industry cannot ignore. Fora’s accessibility initiative has been associated with $75 million in accessible travel sales, showing that accessible hospitality is not merely about regulations or checking an ADA box. It represents a significant and underserved business opportunity.

Karen’s philosophy is refreshingly simple: Travel is travel. Hospitality is hospitality.

Whether someone needs a roll in shower, a specific bed height, allergy accommodations, a medical refrigerator, sensory support, a service animal accommodation, or simply a different pillow, great hospitality begins by understanding what that traveler needs before they arrive.

This conversation goes far beyond accessible hotel rooms.

Alycia and Karen talk about accepting mobility devices, reclaiming independence, traveling with progressive disability, universal design, raising expectations, the power of lived experience, and why disabled people should not have to beg to participate in life’s most beautiful experiences.

And Karen leaves us with one invitation:

Stop assuming the world is closed to you before you explore what might actually be possible.

🌎 Passport to Possibility: What We Explore

💬 Postcards Worth Keeping

I don’t want people to feel like a burden. I don’t want people to feel like they’re begging for access.

~ Karen Morales

Travel is travel, and travel should be inclusive of anyone.

~ Karen Morales

We can usually find greater peace when we assume the best intentions.

~ Karen Morales

Key Takeaways

1. Accessibility and luxury belong together. Disabled travelers should not have to sacrifice quality, beauty, service, or adventure to receive accommodations.

2. Information itself is an accessibility feature. Photos, measurements, room details, shower configurations, and proactive communication reduce uncertainty before a traveler ever arrives.

3. Mobility devices can expand freedom. Karen’s wheelchair initially represented something she resisted, but eventually became the tool that restored independence.

4. Accessible travel is a major market opportunity. Fora’s initiative demonstrates meaningful consumer demand for better accessible travel planning and hospitality.

5. Do not eliminate destinations based on assumptions. Karen’s experiences in Morocco, Sicily, Japan, and elsewhere demonstrate that infrastructure tells only part of the accessibility story.

✈️ Your Accessible Travel Itinerary

Connect With Karen Morales

Ready to stop wondering “Can I go?” and start asking “Where next?”

Karen Morales combines extensive personal travel experience with the lived perspective of navigating the world as a wheelchair user. Through Joyward Travel and Fora Travel, she helps individuals and families plan trips around their actual needs, preferences, abilities, and dreams.

Karen’s Links

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Stay tuned for more inspiring conversations on Pushing Forward with Alycia. Open hearts, clear paths. Let’s go.

About Pushing Forward with Alycia

Pushing Forward with Alycia gives disability a voice through conversations about accessibility, inclusion, ambition, resilience, leadership, advocacy, and creating a more inclusive world for all people.

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