We are proud to announce that Traveleyes Founder and Director Amar Latif will be presenting a brand-new travel documentary for the BBC. The BBC Two show – ‘Travelling Blind’ – is due to air at 8pm on 7th March and will be available on the BBC iPlayer shortly after.
As a blind world traveller, Amar Latif has a thirst for adventure, he likes to get up close and personal with every destination he visits but he needs someone to be his eyes. Amar takes comedian Sara Pascoe on a trip across Turkey, from the lively markets in Istanbul to the outstanding landscapes of Cappadocia, as the pair show how travelling with someone that is blind will force you to experience a culture like never before.
Sara and Amar travel in different ways. Sara prefers to stand back and observe while Amar needs to be in the thick of things. Due to his lack of sight, getting close to people, cultures and experiences is the only way to bring a place to life.
Amar has said ‘travelling the world is something I have always wanted to do, being blind once hindered that passion but now I experience the world in such a unique way that even sighted travellers would enjoy it’
‘Travelling with Sara and sharing my way of exploring was so much fun and I hope to have imparted some of my lust for adventure onto her’ said Amar.
Amar’s Story
Amar lost his sight when he was 18 years old, but still wanted to explore the world. However, when he approached mainstream travel companies as a solo blind traveller, he faced rejection.
In the wake of this, and after a successful career as a Corporate accountant for large corporations, Amar decided to set up Traveleyes, to open up the world for thousands of blind travellers all over the world.
Traveleyes is the world’s first commercial tour operator offering independent group travel for both blind and sighted travellers. Established in 2004 by the Blind entrepreneur, TV presenter and world traveller Amar Latif, Traveleyes now runs over 60 trips a year to destinations all around the world, from Safaris in Africa and trekking in Machu Picchu to skiing in the Alps and exploring Europe’s most loved cities.
On each holiday, half the group are blind or Visually Impaired (VI), and the other half fully sighted. Each day, the sighted travellers guide and describe to a different blind partner, and explore the destinations we visit together. In return for sharing their sight, the cost of their holiday is subsidised up to 50% by Traveleyes.
Amar is available for interviews. To arrange, please contact Andrew Milburn – andrew@traveleyes-international.com – Communications Executive at Traveleyes.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Amar is the recipient of The Outstanding Young Person of the World accolade (Business / Entrepreneurial category) from the Chamber of Commerce International (JCI) and the prestigious Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Award, presented by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
- Amar has previously presented The Last Leg Down Under, How to Get Fit Fast, Thrifty Ways to Summer Holiday, River Walks – which is on BBC 2 16th Feb at 20:00 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002p1v
- More info can be found at amarlatif.com
- Twitter: @AmarLatif_
Travelling Blind was made by production company Spun Gold for BBC 2.