A message from the founder
Welcome to Traveleyes! My name’s Amar Latif. Before you explore our exciting new range of group holidays for the coming year and beyond, please allow me to explain why I founded this unique travel company – taking blind and sighted travellers around the world together, to share the adventure.
I’m the blind guy who wants to show you the world. Growing up, I was always passionate about travel. But when I was only four years old, doctors broke the news to my parents that I would become permanently blind.
By the age of 18 I had lost 95% of my eyesight. Yet I knew beyond the mist that now surrounded me, was a world just waiting to be discovered. So I spent the third year of my university life in Canada. This was my first taste of a travel adventure.
Not long after this, I found myself crossing the jungles of Nicaragua on foot, along with 10 other disabled people, in the making of the documentary series ‘Beyond Boundaries’ (BBC2). After climbing volcanoes, sleeping to the sounds of the jungle, and crossing crocodile infested waters, 9 to 5 corporate life never felt the same again.
I set out to explore more of the world as a solo traveller, but faced rejection. No travel company would accommodate an independent blind traveller. I soon realised that if you want something in this world, which does not exist, you either go without, or you build it yourself.
So I launched Traveleyes in 2004, with the determination to make the world more accessible for blind and visually impaired travellers. Our holidays focus on experiencing the world with all five senses. The great thing is that sighted people enjoy our holidays too, sharing their sight with others and seeing the world from a new perspective.
Traveleyes has now grown to become a team of travel experts, all sharing a real passion for travel. As we are so unique, each member of the team is specially trained to give you the best experience possible. Together, we lead blind and sighted travellers across the globe, making memories of a lifetime along the way.
We established this new and alternative way to experience travel. Many people return to us time and time again for a group holiday with a difference. I hope Traveleyes inspires you to do the same. Travel is more than just the seeing of sights, and when you start looking with your other senses, the world becomes more alive.
Founder & Director,
Awards
Amar Latif has received the following business awards for his work with Traveleyes:
- The Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs
- The Outstanding Young Person of the World (T.O.Y.P. award), Business Entrepreneurial category, Chamber of Commerce International (JCI)
- Lifetime Achievement Award, The Institute of Directors
