Amar Latif - the Blind Scotsman Who Shows People the World - Founder of Traveleyes

Online, March 25, 2010 (Newswire.com) - When Amar Latif lost 95% of his eyesight at the age of 16 due to a genetic condition, he did not allow himself to sink into a depression, indulge in self-pity, or rant about the unfairness of life. He had after all set up his first business at the age of 13, a stall selling candy to fellow pupils at his high school in Glasgow, and he was determined blindness wouldn't limit his enjoyment of life. He realised the way to succeed was to get a good education and work hard.

He did well at school and went on to gain a BSc in Maths, Statistics and Finance from Strathclyde University in Scotland, for his third year he studied in Canada at Queens University in Ontario. After graduation, he joined the UK's largest telecoms company and trained as an accountant.

By 2004, at the age of 28, he was in a senior position managing a team of accountants, and flying around the world to give motivational speeches. However, as his overwhelming passion was for independent travel he was preparing to launch Traveleyes, his travel company. Six years since its launch he has led hundreds of trips, giving thousands of blind and slighted people the chance to sample the delights of the planet.

From 9 to 11 April 2010, Amar Latif the founder of Traveleyes, will be at the Abilities Expo at Stand 715 at the Los Angeles Conference Center. Traveleyes may be headquartered in the United Kingdom, but blind and sighted people travel from America to join Amar and the group on vacations around the world. He is at the Abilities Expo to bring Traveleyes to the wider American market. And not just to the 21.2 million blind people in America, also to sighted Americans.

Amar Latif said "I set up Traveleyes as from a very young age I wanted to see the world. I knew there were so many things out there to be experienced, but as I found that what I wanted in terms of a travel aspiration didn't exist I decided that either I do without, or build it myself. So I built it. A lot of the time a vacation for a blind person is tagging along with family and friends, who mean well but dictate schedules and activities. That is something that does not happen on a Traveleyes holiday, as everyone is independent.

"The company is called Traveleyes as 50% of the travellers are blind and 50% sighted. The blind and sighted travellers form pairs and the sighted person provides a visual description as we explore cities, art galleries, take part in adventure activities, or dine in restaurants. In return, the sighted traveller receives a significant discount on the cost of their vacation.

"I knew Traveleyes would be popular with blind travellers, but I've been amazed by the amount of sighted travellers who return, as they say they couldn't go back to the old, less friendly and less interesting type of vacation. Solo travelers, couples, and people in groups feel equally at ease on our tours.

"Already in 2010 we have visited the Valley of the Kings and seen the Pharaohs Tombs and cruised along the Nile in Egypt. We have explored Cape Town and Table Mountain, and walked the Braille trail in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in South Africa. We have skied in Austria with our sighted guide's ski-ing behind giving instructions when to turn, or stop.

"I create the holidays for their sensory experiences and plan them using a tactile atlas. As a blind person, walking the Braille Trail in South Africa is incredibly liberating as I can walk uninterrupted for hours. Ski-ing I am totally free, as guided by my sighted ski-ing partner it is just me ski-ing down the mountains for eight hours each day. Vacations last from 5 to 14 days and usually include up to 20 people, an equal mix of blind and sighted."

Places are available on Traveleyes vacations. This includes two trips to Croatia in April and May. Two trips to Tuscany in June to explore the Italian cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa, taking time to do an Italian cookery class. During a tour of the Yorkshire Dales in England in July, made famous by Charlotte Bronte's Wuthering Heights, they will visit the Bronte Parsonage in Howarth. On a journey to Peru in September, the group will follow the Inca trail. In October, there is a vacation to Turkey.

In November Amar is back in America to lead a group through Las Vegas - visiting the Grand Canyon - then on to Palm Springs and LA, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. The final trip of the year will be to visit Japan in November and December staying in Kyoto, Takayama and Tokyo. There will be the opportunity to travel on the bullet train and take part in the ritual of a Tea Ceremony.

To find out more, or to book a Traveleyes holiday, visit: www.traveleyes-international.com, or telephone +(646) 867 3937.

To find out more about Abilities Expo visit: www.abilitiesexpo.com

Traveleyes holidays in 2010 are to:

Croatia: 28 April - 5 May and 12 - 19 May
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $449* and visually impaired (VI) or blind travellers pay $1154*

Tuscany: 8 - 15 June and 22 to 29 June 2010
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $599* and VI or blind travellers pay $1999*

The Yorkshire Dales: 23 - 27 July 2010
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $449* and VI or blind travellers pay $749*

Peru: 14 - 28 September 2010
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $1499* and VI or blind travellers pay $2549*

Turkey: 4 - 11 October 2010
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $449* and VI or blind travellers pay $1274*

California and the Golden West: 2 - 12 November 2010
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $1199* - VI or blind travellers pay $2849*

Japan Land: 22 November - 6 December
Cost: Sighted travellers pay $1799* - VI or blind travellers pay $3899*

ENDS

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For further information, or to arrange an interview or meeting with Amar Latif, please contact Catherine Goodier, Director of CGPR Limited, on telephone: UK +44 (0)20 8663 2935, cell: UK +44 (0)7717 573060, or email: catherine.goodier@gmail.com

EDITOR'S NOTES

*All prices shown exclude the cost of flights

Amar Latif has the genetic condition Retinitis Pigmentosa, characterized by progressive degeneration of the retina, resulting in night blindness and decreased peripheral vision, leading to blindness.

He featured in Beyond Boundaries, shown on BBC America. He trekked the 220 miles across the Nicaraguan jungles armed with only a Braille compass, limited rations and a tent. For the journey he also had to push a wheelchair user.

Abilities Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015-1399

March 2010