Positive experiences of visually impaired tourists.

Abstract

There is an emerging body of research that focuses on the experiences of tourists with visual impairment. This has established that such tourists face many barriers, difficulties and challenges, predominantly relating to the design of the physical environments of tourism or the attitudes of employees. However, the issue of positive and high-quality experiences among visually-impaired tourists has been neglected. To advance the debate, this paper examines such positive experiences. It adopts a qualitative, interpretivist approach and makes use of semi-structured interviews with (predominantly young) British people with a visual impairment. Five factors were identified that contribute to positive holiday experiences: excellent customer service; the kindness of strangers (both local people and other tourists); provision of audio and tactile interpretation at visitor attractions that allowed a sense of inclusion; the transformative potential of new navigational technologies; and the support provided by specialist companies which understand the particular requirements of tourists with a visual impairment. Therefore holidays for people with a visual impairment are not solely defined by challenges and barriers, and such tourists can have rich, rewarding and inclusive experiences.