What makes these tours so special?
Kutter: Our program appeals to all the senses, though least of all the sense of sight. Our tours focus on taste, for example, while walking through a market and trying the different, sometimes exotic fruits. In addition, all tours include a lot of tactile sensations. We try to organize tours where people can touch artwork for example. In cities, we also look for architectural details typical of a country or region that our guests are able to touch. For example, Portugal has amazing door knockers. Smell also plays an important role in our travels. We visit herb farms or rose distilleries in Bulgaria for instance, where guests can smell different products.
Generally, we are out in nature a lot. Our cultural trips also include excursions into nature because there are far more impressions you can gain here – even if you are unable to see. We study the plants, whose leaves we can touch or explore the stones or shells on the beach.
What are the benefits for travelers, who are able to see on your trips?
Kutter: Our sighted guests benefit from the fact that this is an entirely different way to travel the world. The main focus is on all the other senses. By supporting or spending time with a blind guest during the trip – meaning, to help guide these travelers and move about – you also have to describe exactly what you see more often. And to be able to describe things, you have to take a much closer look. Many of our sighted guests attest that they perceive everything more acutely and that they pay more attention.
Our sighted guests also appreciate that a large percentage of our travel program includes visits of initiatives and facilitates encounters with local people. This is always interesting – regardless of whether you are able to see or not. It’s simply wonderful to visit an orange farmer or a school in Costa Rica and the pupils take you on a tour through the rainforest.
Another criterion is the cost. Sighted guests are traveling at a slightly reduced rate because they are actively involved in the trip. Having said that, people should be aware of the fact that blind people are certainly very independent. That is also why the primary focus is to help them navigate during the program. That means, they link arms with the sighted guests or are warned when there are steps or stairs in their way.
How do travelers with visual impairments benefit?
Kutter: Obviously, the customized program is already a positive experience. Yet something that is far more important for some travelers: blind guests can register to travel alone – and don’t have to rely on a companion, family member or friend to come along. We provide a companion for them. We change companions daily for our guests. In other words, a sighted person is not in charge of the same visually impaired person for an entire week. That way, everybody gets to know everyone fairly quickly, creating a very friendly ambiance. There is always a lot of communication in our groups.