About the project
Born to enhance social and work inclusion for deaf and hard of hearing people, FEEL IT aims to create a training curriculum to give persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing the possibility to become travel agents. Being a Deaf or hard of hearing tourist is very difficult, because of communication barriers and lack of consideration for their requirements in the design of tourism services.
In order to give them the opportunity to have touristic experiences tailored to their needs, the FEEL IT team is creating an online community where users can share knowledge and give or receive feedback for their trip. It will also create a VR game that lets hearing persons have the chance to understand how it feels to be a visitor with hearing impairments.
Making tourism inclusive is a small but vital part of the pathway to an inclusive world.
OBJECTIVE
- Offer a better understanding of the requirements of tourists with hearing impairments as a valuable share of the tourism market (referring to physical access, accommodation, food, activities, attractions and transport).
- Create employment opportunities for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing to work as travel agents, creating accessible vacations for their peers.
- Train travel agents in how to serve Deaf customers and customers with hearing impairments. Staff who are well-trained with a ‘can-do’ attitude are important in improving travel enjoyment for these groups of customers.
- Create a European online community of Deaf and hard of hearing people that will advise peers to on how organize their trips in the countries they wish to visit.
ACTIVITIES
- Experimenting the FEELIT methodology with users;
- Increasing the understanding of the tourism experiences of deaf or hard of hearing people through interactive activities;
- Developing an inclusive and interactive handbook;
- Creating a network of certified activities offering inclusive experiences for deaf and hard of hearing people;
- Disseminating the FEELIT methodology.
R1
A curriculum on entry-level travel agents basics adequate for people with hearing impairments. b) A curriculum on design accessible vacation for Deaf and hard of hearing people (both for existing travels agents and also for people with hearing impairments followed .
The need analysis to explore deaf and hard of hearing visitor experiences
R2
An online e-learning platform with the course materials in all consortium languages and all countries sign languages.
R3
A certification scheme for both target groups to acquire the FEELIT certification.
R4
A VR and PC 3D game and a handbook with infographics for tourist providers to understand how it feels to be a visitor with hearing impairments in a foreign country.
R5
An online community of FEELIT operators ready to support visitors with hearing impairments that want to visit their countries.
R6
To raise awareness of the project results, offering the game (for free) to the tourism industry.
R7
To enhance sustainability by (a) illustrating the added value of the services offered by the FeeliT Operators, (b) providing a convincing argument to decision-makers through dissemination and communication of the results of the project activities, and (c) supporting the online community of FeelIt operators in expanding the services offered.
News
Uniting Communities: Launching an Inclusive Online Community of Practice in Tourism
The FEELIT community has been developed as a virtual place in which participants can actively partake in dialogue, giving the change to deaf and hard of hearing tourists to discover countries through the accessible tourism basis, and together with travel agents, seek...
Highlights from the third meeting in Palermo
The third meeting of the FEELIT project, held in Palermo on 28-29 November 2023, marked a significant step forward in its mission to empower deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in the tourism industry and to promote accessible tourism. One of the major...
The Italian event at ENS
The Italian partner, CEIPES, presented the project aims and results to the ENS (Deaf National Institution) members on 12 October. Deaf and hard of hearing people participated with the willing to know more about accessible tourism, sharing with CEIPES the love of...
Partners
