As  an active advocate for Internet access by blind Americans, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) today announced an agreement with one of the largest online travel agencies, Travelocity, to make its homepage more handy for blind people. The agreement entails more accessibility of Travelocity’s home pages and each initial Web page used for searching Flights, Hotels, Vacation Packages, Last Minute Packages, Cars and Rail, Cruises, and Activities, to blind people, as well as the following pages needed to complete a booking. This agreement is expected to take effect starting March 30, 2012.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The Internet is a critical means of access to business, education, information, and entertainment in the twenty-first century, and the blind must have equal access if we are to be equal participants in society.

“By making its popular online travel agency fully accessible to the blind, Travelocity is setting an example that should be followed by the entire online travel industry.  The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to have reached this important agreement with Travelocity, and we will continue to work tirelessly until the blind have equal access to the full range of products and services available to the public through the Internet and other information technologies.”

Also under the agreement, Travelocity will  develop a comprehensive accessibility program that will include an accessibility guidelines manual, as well an appointment of an accessibility coordinator and an accessibility committee. Travelocity will also work closely with the National Federation of the Blind to ensure the continuity of the programs. Moreover, Travelocity is obliged to submit its website to the NFB Nonvisual Accessibility (NFB-NVA) Web Certification program, a rigorous procedure by which Web sites and applications that have made efforts to be accessible to the blind can be identified and recognized.

The travel industry is a competitive one, and the main players are constantly seeking new ways to lure users.  Several of these players have updated services, launched mobile apps and offered a competitive advantage of some sort.  Acquisitions are always an option for feature and product expansion, with TripIt‘s recent purchase by Concure validating efforts on the mobile front.  Other startups like NileGuide and Stay have been making headway with their feature offerings, through partnerships, new executives and site upgrades.

On the other side of the coin there’s the underbelly of the industry’s competition, with a coalition forming against Google’s acquisition of the ITA’s database, which includes Travelocity, among others.  The suit really highlights the impact travel has had in search markets, with the team-up against Google and Microsoft‘s own efforts to incorporate more travel interactions into its Bing search.

In the end, though, this is a great update to a website in general, and we’re happy to see big companies making their content as accessible as possible.