
John Sage
President
Accessible Travel Solutions
John Sage
John Sage is an industry leader in the large and growing accessible travel market. According to the World Health Organization, people with disabilities comprise 15% of the global population, and they are 20% to 25% of the population in developed countries and source markets. As Baby Boomers age, the population of people with disabilities grows.
In 2009, John Sage founded his first accessible travel company, Sage Traveling, which provides accessible vacations to disabled travelers. John Sage has personally traveled with his wheelchair to inspect accessibility in hundreds of cities around the world, and Sage Traveling currently provides accessible accommodation, transportation, tours, pre-trip consulting, and emergency assistance in more than 50 countries.
In 2016, Sage realized that no tour operator was focused on the accessibility market, so he founded his second company, Accessible Travel Solutions (ATS). ATS is now an industry leader in providing accessible travel packages to travel agents and has won Travel Weekly’s Tour Operator of the Year award. In 2017, ATS began providing accessible shore excursions to multiple cruise lines. ATS now offers accessible shore excursions in 140+ ports around the world.
In 2020, Accessible Travel Solutions expanded its services to help travel businesses and destinations succeed in the accessible travel market. The industry-leading services include accessibility 1) auditing, 2) certification, 3) marketing, 4) training, and 5) consulting.
John Sage is the first and only accessible travel company CEO who is a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). He was the primary author of the WTTC’s “Inclusive and Accessible Travel Guidelines”, and his “Top 10 Accessible Travel Tips for Europe” article has been published in Rick Steves' guidebooks. Sage received the Houston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award for executives and entrepreneurs. He is one of only a few individuals in the travel industry to have attained the IAAP Certified Accessibility Professional designation.
John Sage resides in the beautiful hill country town of New Braunfels, Texas with his wife and daughter where he enjoys handcycling, live music, and nature.