Travelers with Visual Impairments
Travel tips and discussion for travelers who have visual impairments.
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Bridging the Gap: Living with Blindness and Enjoying a Vacation
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Bridging the Gap: Living with Blindness and Enjoying a Vacation
Loss of sight can be a difficult journey especially if the disability is relatively new. Visually impaired or blind people have to struggle with several coping mechanisms to make life easier for themselves. One of their biggest challenges is being able to move around independently without any helper and still feeling confident and safe. Most blind people rely on dogs to get them around, but most vacation spots and attractions rarely have the facility to accommodate this need of theirs. Nevertheless, blind people still are able to overcome all these weaknesses and live their lives equally well as sighted people.
With a little training and guidance, the visually impaired or blind does not have to be dependent on any dog or caretaker. Their loss of vision heightens all other senses enabling them to overcome many barriers. But the main question is; are sighted people putting in the same amount of effort as the blind people are to accommodate their needs? Although there has been some notable progress in national and international legislation’s for disabled people, its actual implementation still needs to go a long way.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 285 million visually impaired people worldwide. 246 million people have low vision whereas the remaining 39 million is blind. But, the number of blind people who are actually enjoying an equal quality of life as sighted people is unfortunately quite low. Thanks to the different societies and charities that are working hard to bring to light the accessibility problems blind vacationers face, more and more destinations are now including facilities like braille maps and braille instruction guidelines so the blind can easily find their way through, and more audio announcements everywhere tourists are going. Along with that, some vacation sites are also offering care and maintenance services for personal guide dogs accompanying the blind vacationers during their stay.
Seable is one such travel company that is working to offer blind and partially blind people, along with their care takers or families, the opportunity to enjoy a fully tailored vacation package that fits around their particular needs. But more than just offering blind people a fun holiday, Seable also includes stimulating activities in its vacation packages that can help blind people learn new skills, develop on their confidence, and most importantly have a great time.
If you are interested in enjoying a holiday, learning to scuba dive in the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea, horse riding in Lanzarote, petting Elephants in Thailand or enjoying the delicious food from Cyprus, contact us for more details on Seable’s holiday offers
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4 Replies
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Great to hear about your services!
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Yes, traveling with a guide dog in Japan adds a whole new level of complications as the only dogs recognized as a guide dogs must be trained in Japan! https://www.accessible-japan.com/visiting-japan-with-a-service-or-guide-dog/
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Thanks for the tip in Japan,
We are thinking of taking groups there from 2020/2021, any help it’s much appreciated!
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Keep in touch as you plan. 🙂
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