Research article - Interconnecting mobilities on tour: tourists with vision impairment partnered with sighted tourists - Tourism Geographies -

Taylor & Francis Online :: Interconnecting mobilities on tour: tourists with vision impairment partnered with sighted tourists - Tourism Geographies -




An excellent article by Dr Jennie Small exploring a specialist tourism company who matches people with vision impairment with sighted guides.


Abstract

While there has been a developing interest in mobilities amongst tourism scholars, the notion of immobilities has often been ignored. Yet, there are many people who do not participate in tourism or, if they do, only experience partial mobility. This study focussed on a tour to Italy byTraveleyes, a company which provides holiday opportunities for people with vision impairment as well as for sighted tourists who act as guides for those with impairment. The research examined the experiences of both tourist groups and the intersection of their mobilities. The methods of study were autoethnography and questionnaire survey. The findings suggested that mobilities were facilitated in the partnership. For those with vision impairment, facilitation of mobility allowed them to enjoy some of the rights to citizenship and quality of life experienced by those who are sighted while the sighted guides learned new ways of mobility. At the same time, mobilities could also be constrained by the personality, interests and motivation of the sighted guide or the person with vision impairment. At times, different tour members had control over mobility and thus control over space; power was relational. Social barriers that affected the experience, combined with the evident embodiment of the tourist experience, suggested the appropriateness of ‘embodied ontology’ as a means for understanding the experience for tourists with vision impairment and their sighted guides.

Photo 1: City of Sydney Braille street signs 2016 Source 

Keywords: 
• vision impairment, 
• sighted guide, 
• mobilities, 
• immobilities, 
• embodiment, 
• walking, 
• tourist experience
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• Jennie Small is a senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of Technology, Sydney. Her specific teaching and research interest is tourist behaviour from a critical tourism approach, focusing on equity and social justice issues in tourism. Her research publications relate to embodiment, gender, disability (vision impairment), obesity, age and the life course.
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Australian research study recruiting participants: Private vehicle access, modification and trip planning by people with disability

Research Study:

Private vehicle access, modification, and trip planning by people with disability.

This is a notice about a research study being conducted by the University of Technology, Sydney & OT Solutions for the NSW Department of Family & Community Services on private vehicle access, modification, and trip planning by people with disability.

Your participation in this study is highly valued whether you are driver with disability, have a modified vehicle for yourself or a family member with disability for private transport purposes or would like a modified private vehicle but have been unable to obtain one. 

This part of the study involves a questionnaire to gather your experiences in driving, having a vehicle modified, finding funding for the modifications, trip planning, and your service and parking station access.

The questionnaire has been developed in collaboration with the Physical Disability Council NSW.

The information provided will be used to better position the Department for future development and provision of information in this important area of citizenship.

The questionnaire will take approximately 15-25 minutes to complete depending on whether you are a driver, owner of the vehicle or somebody who wishes to own a private modified vehicle. 

To begin the questionnaire please click on the following link to the questionnaire

http://utsbusiness.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cOXonyWdHig8lcV

For further information about the research project or any other inquiries please contact the project coordinator:

Prof Simon Darcy (02) 9514-5100 simon.darcy@uts.edu.au

ETHICS
All responses are anonymous and confidential. The project has been approved by the UTS Human Research Ethics Committee 2009-404P[3] and any ethical issues arising from the research can be discussed with the UTS Research Ethics Manager on Ph: 02 9514-1279

Photo: Simon Darcy's Paravan hand controls on a low floor Chrysler Voyager

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