Tarryn Tomlinson, Founder: Able2Travel
What started as an idea for an accessible travel brand pathos has become a song (You Belong)
Cape Town, South Africa
“You Belong” is the new Able2Travel anthem, written around a simple message: you deserve to experience the world.
Able2Travel is an accessible travel concierge for people with access needs, including persons with disabilities, older travellers, and families with children. But the idea of belonging behind the brand is much bigger than access.
“I wanted to write something for anyone who has ever felt like they were standing on the outside looking in,” says Able2Travel founder Tarryn Tomlinson. “Someone who has felt too different, too complicated, too much – or simply not enough.”
“I know that feeling myself. So in some ways, I wrote this song for the people we serve, but I also wrote it for myself.”
The song encourages people to lift their heads, take the journey and experience the beauty around them – whether that means seeing the ocean, climbing a mountain, travelling to another city, trying new food or simply allowing yourself to be part of the world.
But there is another reason Tomlinson says the song is particularly meaningful.
She created “You Belong” using digital tools. She developed the concept and creative direction, worked through some of the lyrics and musical direction with ChatGPT, used Suno to create the musical composition, and created the music video in Canva using stock footage.
For Tomlinson, the technology represents something bigger than making a song.
“I’ve written lyrics, sung and composed music as a hobby since I was a teenager, so the creativity was already there,” she says. “What technology gave me was a pathway to actually create something.”
For a disabled person, accessing traditional creative spaces can come with a host of barriers — from getting to a recording studio to whether the building and bathroom are accessible. From a financial perspective, the costs associated with music production can be inaccessible to most.
“Look at what I was able to create in a day when some of those barriers were removed,” she says.
“The technology didn’t give me the idea. It gave the idea a pathway.”
That message feels particularly relevant as the tourism industry moves into a new digital era. The theme for World Tourism Day 2026 is “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.” For Tomlinson, the conversation should include not only how technology changes the way people travel, but who gets to participate in creating the future of tourism.
“Digital access can be creative access. It can be access to entrepreneurship, employment, communication and participation – not just information.”
Ultimately, “You Belong” is about permission to live fully.
“You belong. Your life matters. Your story matters. You are part of the diversity and the world is more beautiful because you are in it.”
And then, perhaps, the most important part:
Go see it.
Book the flight. Take the train. Take the road. Try the food. Make a new friend.
The world awaits.
