See every sight in a new light
28 June 2012
This month’s nominee Gail Cillie (58) has done her bit for tourism by drawing from own experience. As a partially sighted person herself, she knows how difficult travelling can be as the hospitality industry does not always have the necessary skills to cater for tourists such as herself.
“That’s what I do – I train people, within the tourism industry especially, how to cater for partially sighted and blind tourists and guests. The workshops focus on amongst other on the creation of a more accessible environment for partially sighted tourists by highlighting specific steps that can be taken to ensure that these guests have an enjoyable experience and still maintain their dignity and independence,” said Cillie.
A representative of Retina South Africa, Cillie believes one’s eyes to merely be the vehicle of sight, “It’s a common misconception that partially sighted tourists can’t enjoy the ‘sight’. We do, we all see in our own way. The idea of the workshops is to empower and train people such as tour guides, hotel front line staff, waiters and so on to optimise the travelling experience for “differently” abled visitors,” she added.
She recalls a former trainee thanking her for the insights on how to treat such guests, “a partially sighted German lady who was staying at the hotel she works at, complimented her, asking whether she had experience working with people like herself.
“It is a lovely honour being nominated for this award. I think it is important for our city to be accessible to all types of tourists. I have recently been approached by a partially sighted touring group from Cape Town that would like to experience Nelson Mandela Bay,” she added.
Cillie also has partially sighted guides who can accompany sighted guides when needed and has a guide-dog, Togo, who assists her in efforts to better tourism.
“Visually impaired people (VIP) should be encouraged to be tourists knowing that there are trained sighted guides available at all service providers in the tourism industry – accommodation, eating establishments, transport industry, tour guides, etc.”
The award looks for someone who is determined on sharing the city’s beauty, friendliness and great features in a tourism capacity. The nominee can range from someone who has a bed and breakfast, a doorman, a friendly local or even a group of bloggers, like last month’s ‘Travelling Tribe’.
“It is wonderful to see the devotion Gail has shown in making our city more accessible to all our visitors and their individual needs. This is exactly the type of thing we are acknowledging with this award,” said NMBT chief executive, Mandlakazi Skefile.
As the tourism body of the city, NMBT is looking for unique stories of tourism service beyond the call of duty and tourism experiences that highlight how people have gone the extra mile in making Nelson Mandela Bay a better and brighter destination for tourists.
“The attitude embodied can be anything from a helpful waiter who made your day, a local who stopped to help with directions, to a doorman picking up a wallet for a hotel-guest or a tour guide giving an exceptional tour of the city. Anyone is welcome to share their stories and experiences. We want to show off our tourism gems, not only the places – but also the people.”
Any person or organization can nominate candidates for the award, as long as they are send it in before the 20th of each month. Each month a winner will be selected who will get mentioned in the monthly newsletter syndicated to over 2 000 readers, on the NMBT facebook page and are in the running for the title, announced at the final NMBT membership meeting.
Send all ‘walking the extra tourism mile’ nominations to Reuann Smith at membership@nmbt.co.za or phone 041 582 2575.
Contact Gail on 082 788 2796.
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