In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of John Simon, Kefi Travel, and mature traveller Mona Crowley. 
Join a conversation about delivering travel and tours that are attractive to experienced and mature travellers.  This episode also has a special host, broadcaster Trish Hamilton.

Episode Guide
0:24 Welcome, John & Mona!
0:40 Kefi Travel
1:40 Free time on Kefi Tours
2:35 Approaching each trip individually
3:06 John & Mona meet on the streets of Dublin
4:13 How Mona likes to travel
5:06 Mona prepares for the mode of travel ahead of her trip
5:45 Putting in the sensory aspect into travel
8:07 Sensory-friendly travel
9:20 Finding what interests clients
10:09 Supporting small local hotels
12:23 Mona's best trip experience
14:10  Avoiding some of the busier destinations
16:40 COVID-19 and the impact on travel
20:16 What Mona looks for in a restaurant
20:55 A restaurant experience in Greece
23:00 The ideal hotel accommodation
25:42 Doing your homework 
26:48 Making a tour fit with travelers
29:05 Mona's tips to travellers
30:40 Making travellers comfortable
32:06 John recommends slower-paced destinations
34:49 Mona's next trip
38:58 Thank you, Mona and John!

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of experienced traveler Elaine Shannon.

Be inspired by the travel insights from Elaine Shannon as she shares how she spent her first paycheck on a cross-country trip and has been traveling for over 3 decades since, culminating in her launch of curated experiences for mature travelers at Fundy Vortex Tours. Elaine Shannon provides first-hand experience

Episode Guide

0:25 Welcome to guest Elaine Shannon

1:15 Elaine shares how she spent her first few pay-checks

1:45 Changes in Elaine's travel preferences

6:15 Preparing for your trip

8:08 How Elaine begins planning her travels

10:41 Pinterest: Look Books

13:25 Utilizing Social Media

16:15 Elaine's experiences with tourism operators

19:00 Customer Service

21:05 Operators should provide information in different forms

23:11  Fundy Vortex Tours

28:12 Elaine's approach for creating tours for mature adults

29:44 It's Important that everyone is able to hear or be heard

30:45 Appropriate wardrobes

33:02 There always has to be food!

35:17 Thank you, Elaine Shannon!

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving Audio Conference, hosted by Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger and guest hosts Sophie Yang, and Christopher Basmadjian, Occupational Therapy Students, we host two tourism industry experts:

Listen to Danielle Timmons, Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, and Carol Alderdice, Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, as they give expert perspectives on delivering exceptional customer experience.

Episode Guide:
0:48 Welcome to guest Danielle
1:40 Danielle's Role at Aquila Tours
2:35 Danielle's Role with Training
4:28 Providing tours and services
6:35 Travelers over the age of 55
8:38 Sensory Friendly Cruises for mature adults
11:48 Building in Time
12:50 Restrooms
14:28 Providing Information Verbally
15:23 The barriers
20:32  The Key to Providing a Positive Customer Experience
22:30 Finding a "Natural" Tour Guide
26:00 Multigenerational Travel
30:00 Vision Barriers & Accommodations
35:57 Preferred Excursions
41:05 Anticipating the Needs of 55+ Travelers
43:38 Welcome Carol
45:20 Primary Demographic
46:30 Travel for Older Adults Post COVID-19
49:05 The Importance of Training
51:31 Creating a Positive Customer Experience
53:38 Word of Mouth
55:20 Action Feedback
58:32 The little things
1:03:28 Thank you gues

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of Shelley Ann Morris, traveler with low vision.

Learn from the lived experience of Shelley Ann Morris, a traveler with low vision.  As the receptionist/administrator for the Canadian Council of the Blind and the host of the radio show, Welcome to My World, Shelley Ann has person-first advice to create exceptional experiences that include more people.

Episode Guide:
0:20  Shelley Ann Morris
0:46 Shelley Ann's role at the Canadian Council of the Blind
2:37 Shelly Ann's Radio Show
4:39 Shelly Ann's Experience with her Own Vision Loss
7:26 Traveling with Vision Loss
10:03 Clients of the CCB
10:34 Travel Accommodations for People with Low Vision
14:50 CAPTCHA's
15:40 bigger, brighter, bolder is always better.
18:15 Shelley Ann's Experience on the Train
20:33 Using Apps like BlindSquare
21:11 Airport and Train Signage
22:30 Shelley Ann researches locations prior to travels
23:10 Speaking to the Businesses Directly by Phone
24:25 One Size Fits all Approach Does Not Work
26:34 Shelley Ann's Tips to Travel or Tourism Operators
31:38 Talk to the traveler to understand their own personal needs.
33:25 Checking into a Hotel
35:10 Attending a Museum or Festival
37:40 Touchscreens provide barriers
42:15 Listen & Act Accordingly When Supporting Low Vision Travelers
45:42 Thank you, Shelley Ann Morris  

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving Audio Conference, hosted by Sensory Friendly Solutions, founder & CEO Christel Seeberger and guest hosts Sophie Yang, and Christopher Basmadjian, Occupational Therapy Students, we will learn from Sarah Nematallah, Xenia Concerts, on how to create musical performances and concerts an experience for everyone to enjoy. 

Hear Sarah Nematallah share how Xenia Concerts offers high-quality music and arts performances in an environment that welcomes everyone.  Sarah walks you through the simple steps that make the sensory experience a match for the audience.

Episode Guide:
0:20 Welcome to guest Sarah Nemahtallah!

0:45 Xenia Concerts and how it became what it is today

7:01The importance of feedback

8:10 Sarah's Role as Executive Director of Xenia Concerts

10:57 Resources that Xenia Concerts uses

12:40 sound.colLab

14:05 Accessibility Limitations of 55+ population

16:13 Creating a Quiet Space

16:50 Making sure the audiences voices are heard

18:31 Doing a Walkthrough in Advanced

23:05 Accommodating Seniors and Hearing Loss

24:58 Preparing the Audience

27:03 Welcoming all audiences

28:00 The Impact of COVID-19

31:37Creating a Sensory-Friendly Livestream

33:58 In-person performances & COVID-19 Measures

35:04 Always Room for Improvement

36:40 The future vision of Xenia Concerts & Acessibility

40:34 Sarah's key advice in making music and performances more accessible to older adults

41:50 Thank you, Sarah Nematallah!

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of Laura Caswell, Director of Education, Neptune Theatres.

Discover the joy in making a theatre location and its performances accessible and inviting to audiences of all ages from Laura Caswell, Neptune Theatre.  Get simple solutions that apply to any event or location.

Episode Guide
0:00 Welcome & Host Introductions

0:20 Welcome to Laura Caswell

1:05 About Neptune Theatre

1:54 Programs & Classes at Neptune Theatre

3:57 Song & Stories with Seniors

7:02 Improv for Anxiety

7:44 Other types of accessibility changes for performances

10:30 Barriers to providing accessibility

12:28 How Neptune Theatre listens to their audience needs

15:14 Small accommodations Neptune Theatres has made

15:43 Relaxed performances

17:50 Accessing the number of people at relaxed performances

19:35 Performances for seniors

22:14 Laura's advice to other theatre performances for the 55+ audience

25:05 Thank you, Laura Caswell!

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In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of Lynn Leblanc, Executive Director, New Brunswick Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Inc.
Lynn teaches listeners about the challenges of hearing loss along with the simple solutions that make communication easier for mature travelers.

Episode Guide
0:21 Special Guest Lynn Leblanc

0:49 How Lynn got involved with the Deaf Community

2:28 Lynn's role as the Executive Director of the NB Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services Inc.

5:16 Programs & Services Offered by the NBDHHS

8:01 Lynn's Experience Working at the NBDHHS

11:02 Avoiding Isolation for Deaf Individuals

13:16 Traveling with hearing loss: A Client Example

16:01 How owners & operators can make their guests more comfortable

18:05 The Baby Boomer Population

18:45 Creating a great customer experience

20:01 Airports and Hearing Accessibility

23:35 Significant challenges for hard of hearing travelers

28:38 Hearing aids don't always solve the problem

30:06 What's important for restaurants and businesses to know about hearing aids?

32:32 You are going to be including a whole lot more people by nature, by trying to include this one group.
36:30 COVID-19 and the impact on the hard of hearing

39:40 What are non-manual cues and why are they important

45:28 The difference between someone who is hard of hearing and someone who is completely deaf

50:50 Lynn's tips for tourism and restaurant operators.

56:15 Thank you, Lynn Leblanc!

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Welcome to the 55+ Travelers Arriving & Thriving audio conference brought to you by Sensory Friendly Solutions.
 
I'm Christel Seeberger founder and CEO of Sensory Friendly Solutions.

Traveling, touring, taking vacations, going on day trips and even going out to enjoy arts and culture in the local community is an important part of daily life at any age. Globally, the number of older persons is growing faster than the number of people in all younger age groups. Older, mature travelers want, need and expect different experiences when they travel, in particular as vision, hearing and mobility changes, as we all age travelers 55 years and older also want, need and expect different sensory experiences. 

Join hosts Sophie and Christopher, both McGill occupational therapy students and me as we interview a series of expert guests from travel, tourism, arts and culture for this audio conference. You will also hear person first accounts from mature travelers about the sensory experiences that they expect. 

We hope you enjoy and learn from this audio conference, a series of exclusive podcast conversations about how travel and tourism operators can deliver exceptional sensory from the experiences for the growing 55 plus traveler market. 

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