[New-york-news] I did an interview for one of the Travel Professional online magazines and it was published March 9th, I wanted to share

Wed Mar 11 17:49:31 UTC 2015

Good afternoon:

Below is an interview I gave to Ms. Judy Jacobs of Travelmarket Report, she
had contacted me after hearing me speak at a recent travel agent seminar,
about Echevarria Travel and that I am legally blind. This is the story

MEET CHERYL: IMPROVING TRAVEL FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T SEE!

As president of the Travel and Tourism Division of the National Federation
of the Blind (NFB), Cheryl Echevarria has become a leading advocate for
blind-friendly travel.

She's also a travel agent and the owner of Echevarria Travel in Brentwood,
N.Y. 

Before losing her vision in 2001 at age 35 - she's now 48- as a result of
the Type 1 diabetes that afflicted her since birth, Echevarria did
administrative work. In her last position as an administrative assistant at
a Long Island sales firm she performed a variety of duties, including making
travel arrangements.

After enduring kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant, also the result of
diabetes, Echevarria went through a New York State Commission for the Blind
and Visually Handicapped training program, which taught her how to use
computer software for the blind.

A better use of talent

Two years working in medical billing using her new found skills, convinced
Echevarria that there might be a better use for her talents. 

Her husband encouraged her to write down everything she liked to do and
after looking at the list, suggested she become a travel agent. 

Echevarria hesitated but was convinced he was right when a travel agent who
was planning her trip to Walt Disney World in 2009, said, "Why do you want
to go to Disney World when you can't see anything?" 

"My husband said, 'You can help a lot of people, because you're not the only
one going through this.'"

So Echevarria reached out to representatives of the National Federation of
the Blind who introduced her to a couple of travel agents. They told her
about working with host agencies.

Soon after, Echevarria signed up with host agency Montrose Travel. 

Evaluating accessibility

Traveling without vision was a whole new form of travel for Echevarria, but
a year spent studying the travel industry and a couple of cruises taught her
how to evaluate the accessibility of places.

She began to work with Norwegian Cruise Lines to help it improve the way it
handles blind guests. 

"In the late 1990s or early 2000s, the National Federation of the Blind sued
Norwegian Cruise Lines," she said. "A couple had gotten married and planned
a cruise on the Pride of America and when they got to the port and tried to
get on board, the cruise line refused to let them sail unless they were
accompanied by a sighted person.

"They hadn't told their travel agent that they were blind." 

Things are different now.

Echevarria has encouraged Norwegian to create Braille menus, among other
things. She also meets with companies like Sandals as well as other cruise
lines, to encourage them to change the way they deal with disabled clients.

Although Echevarria will book travel for anyone, about 75% of her clients
are blind. Many of them come to her through contacts at the NFB or friends
of friends.

Of her blind clients, about 80% go on cruises, 10% on tours, and 10% to
all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. 

Careful qualification

Because her clients have varying degrees of vision loss, Echevarria must
carefully qualify them.

"I ask them, 'What are your mobility skills?' Some people have great
mobility skills with their cane and don't need any help or they need some
help, and others have greater needs," she said. 

Some blind travelers want to bring their service dog companions on trips,
but that can be problematic.

"You need to plan ahead," Echevarria said. "If you're going on a cruise you
can't bring your dog into Turks & Caicos or Jamaica, for example. Jamaica
will allow service animals from the U.K., but they won't allow service
animals from the U.S."

Echevarria has taken her own service dog Maxx, who is recently retired, to
the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin.

Advocating for blind-friendly travel

Besides selling travel, Echevarria devotes a lot of her time and energy to
her duties as president of the NFB's Travel and Tourism Division, one of the
organization's 75 divisions. 

The division focuses on improving travel for blind people in every area of
the industry - from airlines and cruise lines to busses, trains and hotels.

Its members have fought a long battle over airport check-ins. 

As check-in desks become fewer, kiosks have become the means by which most
people obtain their boarding passes. That's another hurdle for the blind,
since without vision they can't use kiosks.

A long way to go

The travel industry has a long way to go in accommodating those with vision
loss, but there are many things it can do, according to Echevarria.

"Listen to what we're saying and give us more respect," Echevarria advised.
"Blind people just need a tour of your property or cruise ship, and [after
that] they can get around.

"If you're offering [travel opportunities] to the general public and you
have someone who's disabled, you should allow them to come and enjoy the
experience just like everyone else. 

"You should let them come and be welcomed."

Cheryl Echevarria, President

National Federation of the Blind's Travel and Tourism Division

A proud division of the 

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND - "Live the life you want"

www.nfbtravel.org

631-236-5138

cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria 

Travel is our specialty and offering the best of meaningful travel for all
ages is our passion!

http://www.echevarriatravel.com

reservations at echevarriatravel.com

631-456-5394

Visit my website to get my FREE report, "Top 5 Good Reasons to Use a Travel
Professional"

I build my business on referrals. Please pass my details on to friends and

family members that deserve the best vacation that they can imagine

P.S. - Families of all sizes is my specialty. Whether you are just starting
out and looking for that romantic destination for your destination wedding
or honeymoon. Booking that planned family vacation to Walt Disney World or
that bucket list trip that Grandma  & Grandpa are planning for the family, I
would love to help you. 

We have partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her
braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama

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