Chapter 9. Blind People’s Tourism Experiences: An Exploratory Study

Poria, Yaniv; Reichel, Arie; Brandt, Yael

doi:10.21832/9781845411626-012

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 0 publications

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“…Travel can be stressful and daunting for people with visual impairments. Poria et al (2011) showed that managers of tourism services should provide services tailored to visually impaired people. Con sideration needs to be made for the chal lenges that people with visual impairments face every time they decide to go some where new.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The logistics of travelling and tourism ac tivities can be difficult for people with vi sual impairments (Small, 2015). Individuals with visual impairments want access to all tourist experiences and want their human rights to be acknowledged (Poria, Reichel, & Brandt, 2011). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 2010) prohibits discrimination against people with dis abilities and requires facilities such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, museums, sporting arenas, and recreational areas to take reasonable steps to ensure that their spaces are accessible to them.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers found that difficulties and barriers were linked to the physical design of the envi ronment as well as to the behavior of staff members. They noted that participants felt unsafe in both the hotel general areas and in guest rooms (Poria et al, 2011;Richards et al, 2010).…”

Section: Earn Ces Onlinementioning

confidence: 99%

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Accessibility of Hotels for People with Visual Impairments: From Research to Practice

Tütüncü

Lieberman

2016

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

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Introduction Standards are available to guide tourism facilities in providing barrier-free environments for the independence, convenience, and safety of people with disabilities. These standards can be especially beneficial to individuals who face many barriers in daily life and tourism activities, such as those with visual impairments. On the other hand, some barriers faced by individuals with visual impairments in this arena are specific and may not be improved by only these regulations. Purpose The purpose of this study was to find the main barriers in hotels and evaluate the accessibility of hotels for people with visual impairments. Methods Qualitative research methods were used to explore determinants of barriers to the accessibility of tourism facilities for people with visual impairments. Semi-structured, open-ended questions were distributed to individuals with visual impairments. Results Sixty-six participants with visual impairments shared their experiences with hotels. Themes that emerged from the data were categorized into three settings: entrance, guest rooms, and other hotel settings. People with visual impairments discussed all hotel settings with regard to signage; braille; lighting, color, and contrast; and layout. Discussion Those with visual impairments expressed needs that related specifically to their own disabilities. Their problems are clear and can be solved if hotel managers focus on their needs. Standards and checklists can be helpful to solve many problems, but they are not meaningful without real audits. The needs of people with visual impairments do not require considerable investments but rather a transformation in existing attitudes and policies. Implications for practitioners From the findings, an accessibility checklist was developed for hotel managers to address barriers for people with visual impairments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accessibility of Hotels for People with Visual Impairments: From Research to Practice

Tütüncü

Lieberman

2016

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

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“…The literature indicates the great value of leisure travel to disabled people (Blichfeldt and Nicolaisen 2011; Pagán 2014) and the low tourism participation rates of blind people in particular (Small, Darcy, and Packer 2012). However, most of the limited studies of disabled people’s experiences have focused on wheelchair users (Poria, Reichel, and Brandt 2011), and literature on deafblind travel and tourism is particularly limited. The results reported here contribute to filling this gap and increasing understanding of the travel and tourism requirements of deafblind people.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though interest is increasing, tourism by disabled people is still understudied (Freeman and Selmi 2010; Richards et al 2010) and most of the limited studies of disabled people’s experiences have focused on wheelchair users (Poria, Reichel, and Brandt 2011). Research on travel and tourism for deafblind people is very limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Deafblind Travelers’ Experiences

Hersh

2014

Journal of Travel Research

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This article draws on the experiences of 28 deafblind people in six different countries to discuss accompanied and unaccompanied independent travel for deafblind people. These experiences were obtained from interviews carried out as part of a larger research project on travel issues. The research aimed to improve understanding of their travel behavior, including preferences for the use of travel aids or sighted guides, their spatial representations and the need for accessible information systems and public spaces, as well as cross-country comparisons and the changes required to facilitate both everyday and tourism travel for (deaf)blind people. The analysis of their experiences was used to develop recommendations in the areas of communication and access to information, international standardization to support international travel, crossing (indicators), street furniture, orientation and mobility training, and public transport, as well as suggestions for further research.

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