A Beyond Barriers Travel Co. campaign
Beyond 100
100 Countries. 3 Years. One Mission.
Is the world ready for wheelchair travelers?
I’m Wesley Hamilton. Over the next three years, I’m traveling through 100 countries, independently, in my wheelchair, so I can experience the world as it actually exists for disabled travelers. Not from a brochure, though. Nor from an accessibility checklist. Instead, from the ground.
Airports · Hotels · Sidewalks · Trains · Restaurants · Bathrooms · Attractions · Nightlife · Culture · People
The good · The inaccessible · And everything in between
I’m not traveling to 100 countries to prove that a wheelchair user can do it.
Rather, I’m traveling to find out whether 100 countries are ready for us.
The mission
This is bigger than travel.
In fact, there are millions of people with disabilities who want to experience more of the world. But traveling with a disability means researching things most travelers never have to think about.
Can I get inside?
Is the elevator actually working?
Will my wheelchair fit?
Can I use the bathroom?
Can I get on the train?
Will my wheelchair make it off the plane in one piece?
And finally, the biggest question is simply: Will I be welcome?
So Beyond 100 will document those answers, country by country, around the world.
I know these questions because I’ve lived them. During my first international trip, London, alone, they pulled me at the gate for an extra security check, going through my bags, even the sealed things I’d just bought. In a chair, you plan every transfer, every bathroom and every hour of a flight before you leave. Even so, that was the one thing I hadn’t planned for. Then I cried on that flight.
Later, flying LA to Tel Aviv, somebody missed the gate-check tag on my chair and sent it under the plane. I sat in a hallway for over an hour while they searched for it, living the fear every wheelchair traveler knows: is my chair gone?
Then I learned the system, and the system stopped scaring me. Beyond 100 is me learning it 100 more times, so the next traveler never has to start from zero.
100 countries
One global accessibility experiment.
Every country gets experienced, documented and evaluated through the lens of a wheelchair traveler, and then scored on the Beyond 100 Accessibility Index.
Index 01Air Travel
Airport experience and wheelchair handling.
Index 02Transportation
Trains, buses, taxis, rideshare and public transit.
Index 03Hotels
Accessible rooms that are actually accessible.
Index 04Infrastructure
Sidewalks, curb cuts, entrances, elevators and public spaces.
Index 05Bathrooms
Availability and usability of accessible restrooms.
Index 06Food & Entertainment
Restaurants, nightlife, attractions and experiences.
Index 07Culture & Attitudes
How disability is understood, represented and received.
Index 08Independence
How easily I can navigate the destination without assistance.
So every country gets a score. Not to shame destinations, but to show what’s working, expose what’s missing and help create a more accessible world.
The journey
100 Countries. 36 Months.
Thousands of Miles. One Chair.
Why 100? Honestly, it has a ring to it, and it also holds me accountable on a short clock. In truth, the real goal is every country. And yes, some legs make me nervous: I’ve been told parts of the world still see disability as a curse, and build like it. Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t go. Indeed, that’s exactly why I’m going.
Interactive world map, every country lights up as it’s tested
14 / 100
Countries completed
[ Country ]
Current country
[ Country ]
Next destination
The Beyond 100 world rankings
Every country, scored.
It’s a living leaderboard of how the world treats wheelchair travelers, updated as soon as each country is tested. In addition, each destination gets its own full guide page.
Sample scores for illustration only, real scores publish as each country is completedEarly signal from the first 14: Japan felt the most ready, priority elevators, step-free entries, transit that just worked. Because of that, I felt seen by the infrastructure. By comparison, Amsterdam had the most barriers, steps into almost every shop, bar and restaurant. Overall, that’s the spread the Index will measure.
Country guide hero, video still or photo
wesleyhamilton.life/beyond-100/japanExample: The Japan Accessibility Guide
- The full episode + photos
- What I loved
- What was difficult
- Hotel & airport reality check
- Transportation, wheels-on-the-ground
- Tips for wheelchair travelers
- The accessibility score
- Would I return? Yes / No
In the long run, 100 countries → 100 searchable destination guides living on this site. So that’s not just content, it’s an asset.
More than accessibility
Life is still the story.
Of course, this won’t be 100 videos of ramps and bathrooms. Disabled people don’t travel to experience accessibility. Instead, we travel to experience life.
The food. The people. The history. The nightlife. The art. The adventure. The mistakes, too. The unexpected moments. The places that change us.
Eventually, travel gave me something therapy, fitness and the stage never did: perspective. In reality, not every barrier I see at home is a barrier anywhere else.
Accessibility determines whether we can participate. But life is still the story.
Follow the journey
Every country becomes a new chapter.
Country #01 / 100Can I navigate it independently?
Country #02 / 100What surprised me?
Country #03 / 100What should wheelchair travelers know before coming?
Country #100 / 100How accessible is the world?
The Beyond 100 list
Get every chapter first.
Country announcements, new episodes and Accessibility Index scores, straight to your inbox as soon as they land.
Partner with Beyond 100
Help us move accessibility forward.
In essence, Beyond 100 is a three-year international storytelling project, an opportunity for global brands, tourism organizations and accessibility leaders to be part of the answer. Specifically, we’re looking for partners who believe travel should belong to everyone.
Meanwhile, the story is already global, featured by BBC · The Travel Show and CNN × Destination Canada and Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
Founding Partner
One or two major brands associated with the entire three-year project.
Global Campaign Partners
Annual partnerships across the full campaign.
Category Partners
Official airline, hotel, technology, mobility, luggage, apparel and more.
Destination Partners
Tourism boards sponsoring a country or city.
Episode Partners
Brands sponsoring individual destination content.
Content & Media Partners
Documentary, publishing and distribution collaborations.
Ask me what a destination should fix first, and it isn’t a ramp, it’s perception. Once an organization shifts how it sees disability, the infrastructure follows. Ultimately, that’s the shift this campaign was built to create.
For example, partners are integrated through documentary content, destination storytelling, accessibility research, social campaigns, speaking, events and the Beyond 100 Accessibility Index. In short, this isn’t sponsoring a vacation, it’s a global media, accessibility and cultural storytelling campaign.
The bigger question
What would the world look like if accessibility was expected, instead of requested?
100 countries · 3 years · One wheelchair · One mission
Beyond 100
Soon, the world is about to get tested.