In this article, we will talk about how blind and visually impaired people can travel. At the same time, we will search for answers to questions like how blind and visually impaired people buy flight tickets? What is the hotel experience of blind and visually impaired people? How do blind and visually impaired people enjoy the trip while traveling? Are there special travel possibilities for blind and visually impaired people? What are the problems that blind and visually impaired people experience while traveling?
If the travel is performed by airplane, first the blind and the visually impaired person have to buy a ticket for the flight.
So, how does a blind and visually impaired person buy a ticket for the flight?
Blind and visually impaired people, just like everyone else, can buy tickets from the website of the tourism company or the airline company.
If the site is accessible, then there won’t be any problems for the person. The person can perform the ticket purchase by filling in the information to the website, such as their first name, last name, ID number, with whom they travel (if any), where will they travel, etc.
The person can get a discount for the flight if they have\a document showing his or her disability e.g. Identity card stating disability, disability report, etc. If there is a discount stated in the document for the accompanying person and there is an accompanying person with the individual, then their guide can as well use the discount.
Now, let’s move on to the next stage and take a look at how a blind person uses the airport.
How does a blind or visually impaired person use the airport?
Airports are crowded, large, noisy, and complicated places. Because of this, even though blind or visually impaired person uses their other senses rather than the eye to orient themselves, they can have difficulty in the airports. For example, they might have difficulty finding the gate for departure. They need to get help from either their guide or from the security of the airport about this matter.
So, how is the flight experience of a blind or visually impaired person?
After getting onto the flight, the attendants can take special care of the blind or visually impaired individual. For example, they can hand them a braille copy of the flight safety booklet. This way, a blind or visually impaired person learns the security precautions during the flight by reading the booklet.
Also, if the blind or visually impaired person gets out of the plane before everyone else, and the security helps them again. This is important for the comfort of the person and for the easy exit of the person, as the plane might be crowded.
Say, the blind and visually impaired person got their ticket and has arrived at the place where they will go by plane for travel or holiday. So, how is the hotel experience for the blind or visually impaired person?
The as blind or visually impaired person is out of their comfort zone when they travel for the first time somewhere, this experience could be confusing for them.
If there aren’t any special services for the disabled in the hotels, the person might need the help of the attendants or someone else for activities like finding their room, going to the restaurant or the hotel, etc. Of course, the person has the possibility to find the places that they will go by going on their own, but this can take longer than normal at first.
How does a blind or visually impaired person enjoy their travel?
As blind and visually impaired people use other senses except for vision while traveling, the scenery is created in their minds of sounds, smells, and the shape of the ground. Having the scenery described to the person complements this scenery which is in the person’s mind.
If a blind or visually impaired person wants to visit a museum, how can they do this?
As museums are mostly visual places, blind or visually impaired people can ask the guide of the museum to describe everything for them, or they can get prior permission to touch materials in the museum. This way, a blind or visually impaired person learns what the materials in the museum mean and thus enjoys the trip to the museum.
Let’s look at another interesting question. Are there special trips for blind and visually impaired people?
Some companies organize special trips where the blind and the sighted people travel together. In these trips, blind and sighted people are matched, and sighted people describe to blind and visually impaired people what is around and at the same time, they socialize. These trips are also a different experience for sighted people, because as describing is more detailed than explaining what is around ordinarily, the point of view of the person who is describing expands.
Now, let’s take a look at which problems the blind and visually impaired people encounter while traveling..
Which problems do the blind and visually impaired people encounter while traveling?
For example, it is a big problem that while walking independently and asking for help at the airport, blind and visually impaired people are made to sit in wheelchairs. Blind and visually impaired people can walk on their own, but as the airports are very complicated and unorganized places, they might not always know where to go. For this, the blind and visually impaired person should be guided properly, and they shouldn’t be treated as orthopedically impaired people.
The inaccessibility of the websites of the airlines or the websites of the tourism companies also creates a problem for blind and visually impaired people. If the blind or visually impaired person can’t buy a ticket from the website of the airline company, then they can buy a ticket from the phone or face to face directly.
In this article, we talked about how blind and visually impaired people travel, which problems do they have and the recommendations for solutions to these problems.
As BlindLook, our purpose is to help blind and visually impaired people move freely and confidently in the tourism field as in any field. As the BlindLook team, we work hard every day for everyone to travel freely, safely, and comfortably.
Author: Fatih Yüksek / BlindLook Team
