Your Stories Travelling Abroad Many Young People Want To

your stories: travelling abroad many young people want to travel abroad and the number of opportunities for solo travel is increasing all th

Your stories: Travelling abroad
Many young people want to travel abroad and the number of
opportunities for solo travel is increasing all the time. But what is
available for young people who are blind and partially sighted?
In many cases families and young people will be apprehensive about
organising a first independent trip abroad, but there is a growing
number of blind and partially sighted people doing just that.
Blind and partially sighted young people we spoke to were
overwhelmingly positive about their experiences. Study, work and
volunteering are all good ways to explore new places and could be used
as a starting point for exploring travel possibilities.
Start off slowly
Finnish student, Tytti Matsinen (24) recommends that people who are
new to independent travel start off slowly.
"I started off by visiting friends alone because then you only have to
tackle the journey, and you have someone helping you at the
destination," she explains. She also suggests being realistic about
your aims: one sight per day can be enough.
On a three day trip to London, Tytti explains: "I went to a giant
Tesco's, I walked a bit along the Thames and went to Portobello Road
to have a coffee. Some friends would have seen tens of sights and
museums in that time but for me that was the best way to experience
London."
Jessica Cook (21) took her first independent trip to Romania to
volunteer with a charity for blind and partially sighted children.
"The experience of travelling independently has been a huge confidence
boost," she says, and it has given her the desire to travel alone
again.
The value of expert advice
Traveleyes is a company devoted to arranging trips for blind and
partially sighted people. The travel industry is not geared towards
people with sensory problems, says Traveleyes founder Amar Latif. He
believes there remains much that can be done to improve accessibility
in facilities and systems. "For example, the travel industry would do
well to use a 'mystery shopper' approach, sending in a blind person to
test out current processes and reveal the inadequacies in both systems
and assumptions".
One common problem facing travellers is that many tour operators have
no experience of blind and partially sighted people travelling without
a sighted companion. Travel counsellor, Jo Osmond, told us: "This
means having a good working relationship with experienced and flexible
travel suppliers is essential. And despite the fact that many airlines
and train companies will provide free assistance, there can also be
extra costs to consider when arranging suitable guides and transport
in the destination."
"Extra costs can be incurred when arranging a private guide for
example. Meet and greet services are useful to take you to your hotel,
and cost varies enormously between locations", says Jo.
She said that a recent client's Inca trail trip cost them about £1,100
more than a sighted traveller as guides and meet and greet services
are a requirement of blind and partially sighted travellers, as
opposed to optional extras for sighted travellers.
Deciding where to go
Traveleyes insists that there is no such thing as an "unsuitable"
destination for blind and partially sighted people. "However, it is
important that access is arranged appropriately", says Amar. "Health
and safety is of importance he says, but a culture that plays it safe
is not necessarily beneficial either."
Traveleyes recently took a group of blind and partially sighted
travellers to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge. They also offer jet skiing
holidays and walking breaks in the mountains.
Planning ahead
Book ahead to get assistance at the airport, advises Jo. "Carriers
provide free assistance from the check-in desk to the aircraft and
from the aircraft to the arrival terminal."
Traveller, Charlie Coyle (20) says, "Booking assistance at the airport
can be done online ahead of arrival as many of the websites of major
carriers are accessible for screen readers." But he advises young
people to be reasonable with their requests of people who are
assisting them. "It would be foolish to ask them to do too much unless
you are desperate. Shopping sprees around the departure lounge are
out," he says.
Traveleyes agree that the free assistance only goes so far. "Airlines
in Europe and those outside of the EU have similar obligations with
regard to providing assistance to blind and partially sighted people,
but this only covers help between the plane and the terminal," says
Amar. "This means that the blind traveller does not access the full
facilities and experience of the airport in a way that a sighted
person is able to and will instead spend long periods sitting in
waiting rooms."
"If you need help, asking the most official person you can find is
probably the best bet", says Jessica. "Try your best to ask someone
official, who can point you in the right direction. They may even come
with you to find the guide or arrange an airport buggy to take you
somewhere. You will never know if you don't ask."
Jessica Cook: My travel story
When I travelled on my own from the UK to Romania, I was very happy
with the assistance I received at London Heathrow airport. An
assistant walked with me to my departure gate and took me swiftly
through all of the security, passport control, and boarding stages. He
left me at the departure gate and I got myself onto the plane where
the stewardesses were also very helpful.
However, when I arrived in Bucharest, I was greeted by a Romanian
assistant with a wheelchair. My instant reaction in my head was: "I
don't need this! Yes I am visually impaired and hearing impaired, but
that doesn't mean I am mobility impaired!"
I was quite upset. I tried to explain to the assistant that I did not
need a wheelchair but thanked him anyway. However, the assistant was
so adamant on me getting into the wheelchair that I was forced to use
it after being almost reduced to tears. I think that the airline was
told by the charity I was visiting that I was disabled and to them
"disabled" meant "wheelchair".
* Amar from Traveleyes says a number of airports have started to
insist that blind and partially sighted people use wheelchairs on
safety grounds. Although this is useful for people with mobility
issues, it is not acceptable for airlines to insist on this purely to
avoid litigation, he adds.
Useful contacts
Jo Osmond, Travel Counsellors, 0845 058 7436,
[email protected]
Traveleyes, 08448 040 221 www.traveleyes-international.com
Further information
Disclaimer
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personal perspective of the author and as such, RNIB will not accept
liability for any loss or damage or inconvenience arising as a
consequence of the use of or the inability to use any information or
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