A man-made built environment in a tourism space.
Published in Chapter:
The Challenges of Accessible Tourism Information Systems for Tourists With Vision Impairment: Sensory Communications Beyond the Screen
Vicky Richards (Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK), Nic Matthews (Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK), Owen J. Williams (Wales Council of the Blind, UK), and Ziad Khan (Digital Accessibility Centre, UK)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 29
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6428-8.ch002
Abstract
Developments in accessible tourism and the provision of information and communication technologies (ICT), mobile, and assistive technologies have arguably not resulted in equitable opportunities for vision-impaired people. This chapter outlines accessible information needs of vision impaired tourists, drawing upon a small-scale project of nine telephone interviews conducted by Wales Council of the Blind. It considers user experiences in the context of ICT to help vision impaired tourists navigate information systems such as travel apps, social media, and websites, assessing how these technologies meet user needs. Interviews focused on information provision, pre-planning and travel stages of the tourism system, and the challenges for universal design. Designers and tourism providers have roles as facilitators of accessible tourism, enabling vision-impaired tourists to feel included in experiences. This requires collaboration across the tourism ecosystem from digital developers and marketers alongside disabled people as active stakeholders.