As much as people love to travel, navigating an unfamiliar place (between language barriers, different customs, etc.) can be hard, even for the most well-seasoned traveler.
As you could imagine, navigating an unfamiliar place is exponentially harder when you literally can’t see — but it isn’t impossible.
That’s thanks, in part, to Traveleyes: an award-winning British travel company that empowers visually impaired (VI) adults to travel independently by pairing them with sighted travelers on group tours worldwide.
How it started
It was founded in 2004 by Amar Latif, who by age 18 had lost most of his vision but still longed to see the world.
Despite the discouragement of others, who thought it dangerous and perhaps a bit pointless for a blind person to set out globe-trotting, Latif studied abroad in Canada during college and discovered what skeptics didn’t understand:
- Seeing the world wasn’t necessary to exploring it or reaping the benefits of travel.
But unable to find a tour company willing to accommodate him as a sightless solo traveler, he launched Traveleyes.
How it works
- Traveleyes offers 30+ tours a year, which are “designed to be experienced through all the senses,” to destinations ranging from the Galapagos to Tokyo.
- Groups typically consist of ~14-20 travelers, split evenly between VI and sighted individuals, who receive steep discounts for acting as “guides” — not caretakers — in exchange for describing surroundings and helping with navigation.
It’s enabled blind travelers to do things that might otherwise seem out of reach, like bungee jumping and skydiving, while providing sighted companions with new, often equally transformative experiences and perspectives.
“We’ve created a model that removes reliance on friends and family, allowing people to book and enjoy travel with the same ease and independence as anyone else,” Traveleyes told The Hustle.
Eyes on the future
The inclusive tourism market is worth an estimated $50B in the US alone.
When Traveleyes launched 22 years ago, as far as Latif knows, it was the only tour operator of its kind. Today, several others have entered the space.
- See Sea Trips facilitates cruise adventures for blind travelers.
- Platforms like Wheel the World, accessibleGO, and Travegali help people with physical disabilities, like wheelchair users, go kayaking, off-roading, and surfing in places like Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Spain.
Looking ahead, Traveleyes plans to grow its team and eventually expand tour offerings to ~70 locations a year.
But its ultimate goal is to reshape how travel is designed, so that “inclusive experiences benefit everyone” — blind or not.
