Blindfolded tourism (also cecitourism) is a form of

experimental travel Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, consisting of a

guided tour A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, relig ...

in which the tourist is

blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the human eye, eyes to disable the wearer's visual perception, sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a ...

ed while being talked through the visited areas, as opposed to traditional sightseeing. A blind tour is a different experience owing to the absence of one vital sense, sight, thereby stimulating the other relevant senses, namely hearing, feel and smell. The concept has been related to that of the dark restaurant, where there is no light for diners to see what they eat.Robin Esrock (28 February 2012)
''Portugal: Blindfolded sightseeing in Lisbon''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

. A "blindfold tour" to savour the smells of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

was proposed as far back as 1970. More recently, blindfolded tours have been offered in a range of mainly urban locations, including tours of

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kin ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

in Albania,''The Blind Tourism Project''
TrendHunter

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and the

Alfama The Alfama () is the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, spreading on the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the Tagus river. Its name comes from the Arabic ''al-ḥamma'' (), meaning "hot fountains" or "baths," akin to "hammam" (). The district i ...

quarter of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. The German artist

Christian Jankowski Christian Jankowski (born 1968 in Göttingen, West Germany) is a contemporary multimedia artist who largely works with video, installation art, installation and photography. He lives and works in Berlin and New York. Work Jankowski's work has be ...

has undertaken two blind tours: one in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and one in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, where he led a group of blindfolded journalists.''Christian Jankowski''
Proyectos Monclova, accessed 12 October 2014 In some cases a blind tour may involve offering the tourist a video of their tour following completion of the tour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blindfolded tourism Adventure travel Tour guides Types of tourism

See also

References