TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Vision

Visit Florida partners with UK Travel Industry Mag to Offer Online Accessibility Training Seminar for Agents

by

Information about the webinar on accessible travel, which includes a reference to a free on-demand viewing option

London-based TTG hosted its first webinar on accessible travel last month in association with Visit Florida. An on-demand recording of the webinar is available for free download. Speakers included:

  • Lynne Kirby, managing director, Enable Holidays
  • Monique Jarrett, model, influencer and diversity advocate
  • Richard Thompson, co-founder, Inclu Travel
  • Narelle McDougall, general manager, Amilla Maldives

The opening session featured a presentation by Visit Florida detailing what the Sunshine State is doing to make its tourism industry more accessible and inclusive. Read more.

Our TakeAway: Smart idea for Visit Florida to tap into the reach of TTG to share their insights and experience on the journey toward more inclusive travel. 

Belgium Destination Launches Plate-like Brochures for Deaf and Blind Visitors

by

Our Takeaway: This groundbreaking technology enables blind or deaf visitors to access videos with professional level audio descriptions and sign language interpreters that can be accessed by hovering the phone over a QR code on each page. Attendees at The Emerging Markets Summit in Savannah will be able to feel and touch the actual English language versions of these books as well as the meet the developer, Alain Cloet founder of Picture Live, in person.  

The city of Ghent has launched a hardbound tourist itinerary book for hearing and visually impaired visitors, as reported by Belgian news outlet VRT. The campaign includes special booklets which contain tactile pictures of seven attractions in the historic center of Ghent, along with an audio description that people can listen to via their cell phones. There is also a version with sign language.

“It is a booklet with plates of seven Ghent sights you can touch,” Alain Cloet, who came up with the idea, told VRT. “Tactile plates are photos covered with a tactile layer. The tactile plates include an audio description that people can listen to using their mobile phones. There is also a version using sign language. A video will appear on your mobile with a sign language interpreter explaining the sight.”

The walks include a QR code to activate audio description and a link to videos in Flemish Sign Language. On the smartphone, visitors can listen to a description or watch a movie in Flemish Sign Language. The designers will continue to develop and refine the product so that it becomes even more accessible and user-friendly. Read More.

First Person: Meet Amar Latif, the Adventurer Making Adventure Travel More Accessible For The Blind

by

photo of the legs of a person with a white cane

Our Takeaway: This is a tutorial about how a blind seeker of travel exhilaration is able to visualize what he’s missing through the use of his other senses and adroitly crafted descriptions from his colleagues

I lost my sight at 18 due to an eye condition. By the third year of my college degree, I’d decided that enough was enough — I wasn’t going to tiptoe through life wrapped up in cotton wool. Against the wishes of my lecturers and parents, I headed off to Canada to study in Kingston. I went there alone — just me and my blindness. That taught me your world becomes bigger when you push your limits.

In 2005, I took part in a 220-mile trek across Nicaragua alongside 10 other people with disabilities for a BBC documentary series called Beyond Boundaries. We had to work as a team to go across tropical rainforests and a shark-infested lake, as well as up a 5,000ft volcano. I was pushing a wheelchair through dense jungle; no amount of exercise could have prepared me for it — it became all about mental resilience. Each time you push yourself, it helps you get ready for your next challenge. You begin to crave that feeling of uneasiness; when it’s tough, when it feels awkward — that’s when you know you’re growing. Read More.

Planes vs Trains: Which is Best for Blind Travelers?

by

Woman looking out the window of a train- her face is reflected in the glass of the window

If you can’t see, you can’t drive. It’s that simple. However, throughout the ages, blind people have found many ways to get around. They are adapters and problem solvers. It’s in their DNA. For long trips, it boils down to just about two options: planes and trains. Throughout this post, the author unpacks three categories for both travel options: price, accessibility, and time required. Let’s see which one comes out on top from the Blind Wanderer.

Our Takeaway: For the Blind Wanderer, here are our pros and cons at a glance. Read More.

Meet the new A.I. “Virtual” Volunteer for the Blind

by

photo of 3 smart phone screens showing the Virtual Volunteers screen of BE My Eyes app

Be My Eyes’ mission is to make the world more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Since their founding in 2015, Be My Eyes has worked to connect their 6.3 million volunteers to users to assist them with everyday tasks. Their new Virtual Volunteer tool, currently in beta testing, will push them further toward achieving their goal to improve accessibility, usability, and access to information globally, and aligns them with OpenAI’s stated principles of developing safe and responsible AI.

This technology will be transformative in providing people who are blind or have low vision with powerful new physical resources to better navigate physical environments, address everyday needs, and gain more independence.

Our Takeaway: Be My Eyes has built a huge volunteer force that helps blind and visually impaired people negotiate everyday challenges via smart phone cameras that can help them read a milk label or distinguish between shampoo and conditioner in a hotel room.  OpenAI technology will allow users to take greater control of their decision making and free up volunteer time for more nuanced requests . Read More.