Currently, no AODA standards require tourism to be accessible. However, the Third Review of the AODA recommends the creation of standards mandating accessibility in tourism. In this article, we will explore possible guidelines for tactile tours in Ontario.
Tactile Tours in Ontario
Tactile tours give tourists who are blind or visually impaired the chance to touch objects of interest that are otherwise only accessible visually. While few venues currently offer these tours because of COVID-19, many organizations offered these tours before the pandemic.
For example, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) offered tours where visitors could touch artifacts in museum exhibitions on many subjects, such as:
- Art
- World culture
- Natural history
Similarly, the Stratford Festival invited audience members to tactile tours before plays with audio description. Visitors could touch some of the costumes and scenery of a play they would be viewing later in the day.
Likewise, the Toronto Zoo offered tours in which visitors could touch and interact with some of the animals.
Each of these venues asked visitors to book their tactile tours in advance. Trained tour guides conducted the tours, and led visitors to things they could touch or interact with. In addition, guides provided detailed descriptions of visual elements, such as:
- Paintings
- Scenery too high to reach
- Animals that visitors could not touch safely
When venues begin to offer tactile tours again, guidelines in future AODA tourism standards could help them do so. For instance, guidelines in the standards could determine how much notice potential visitors should give when booking tactile tours. Moreover, requirements could outline how venues should alert potential visitors that tactile tours are available. Finally, guidelines about tactile tours within AODA tourism standards would alert staff from a variety of venues in the tourism sector about these types of tours. This growing awareness could encourage venue managers, curators, and other staff to offer tactile tours as valuable additions to their venues’ programs and services.