Travelling with Hearing Loss Research

Travelling with Hearing Loss, commissioned by the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf, aims to establish what people with hearing loss want in terms of tourism products and services, and to offer a better understanding of Access Tourism as a legitimate tourism market.

In 2011, the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) commissioned the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI) to conduct research into the tourism, travel, and hospitality experiences and needs of people with hearing impairments.

Hearing impairment ranges from slight hearing loss to total loss. The research was led by Dr. Sandra Rhodda, Research Programme Leader in Access Tourism. The research included two surveys, one for residents of New Zealand and one for residents of countries other than New Zealand who are deaf or have hearing loss and who are 20 years old or older. The aim of the research was to find out what it is like to travel with hearing loss, and how the travel experiences of hearing impaired people can be improved.