While travel & tourism may not be the single most-sued industry in California, CA sees 800+/year ADA web lawsuits annually. Plaintiff attorneys are expanding their targeting beyond traditional high-risk industries, and travel & tourism websites in California are increasingly in the crosshairs.
Travel site ADA lawsuits
DOT enforcement actions
Travel sites failing WCAG
Under Unruh Civil Rights Act, travel & tourism businesses in California face specific liability for website accessibility violations. California's Unruh Act provides $4,000 minimum statutory damages per violation per visit, making it extremely attractive for serial plaintiffs. State courts have jurisdiction over any website accessible to California residents. This means that a single accessibility complaint against your travel & tourism website could result in statutory damages, attorney's fees, and mandatory remediation.
Travel services are public accommodations with complex, multi-step booking processes. The DOT also has specific requirements for airline and travel websites. Every step from search to confirmation must be accessible.
Test your entire booking flow — destination search, date selection, traveler count, payment, and confirmation — with keyboard-only navigation and a screen reader. Replace or augment mouse-dependent date pickers with keyboard-navigable calendars that include text input fallbacks for direct date entry. Add descriptive alt text to all destination and activity photos throughout the site. Ensure post-booking deliverables including confirmation emails and itinerary PDFs are in accessible format with proper HTML structure and tagged documents.
Multiple California courts have applied the Unruh Act to website-only businesses, with damages exceeding $100,000 in serial plaintiff cases. Travel & Tourism businesses in California should treat ADA website compliance as an urgent priority given the state's enforcement environment and the industry's high target profile.
Yes. Under both the federal ADA and Unruh Civil Rights Act, travel & tourism businesses in California that serve the public must ensure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
California sees 800+/year ADA web accessibility lawsuits per year across all industries. Travel & Tourism is increasingly targeted in CA. Lawsuits typically settle for $10,000-$75,000+.
The most common violations for travel & tourism websites include complex booking wizards not screen-reader friendly, date range pickers that require mouse interaction, destination photo galleries without alt text. These issues are the primary targets for ADA plaintiff attorneys in California.
Under Unruh Civil Rights Act, travel & tourism businesses can face statutory damages, compensatory damages, attorney's fees, and injunctive relief. Defense costs alone typically exceed $25,000, making proactive compliance far more cost-effective.
Free WCAG 2.1 AA scan. Get AI-generated code fixes before a CA lawsuit finds you.
Scan Your Site Free