Travel Tech for Blind Travelers: A Practical Toolkit (Apps, AI, and Digital Systems) for Airports, Transit, and Cities

Description

This practical workshop is for blind and visually impaired travelers (and companions) who want to move more independently and confidently, from airports and train stations to public transit and unfamiliar city streets. We’ll build an “assistive-tech travel toolkit” that combines everyday accessible features on phones (iOS/Android), reliable navigation and orientation tools, and camera-based assistance, plus smart ways to use AI through mainstream products to solve real travel problems. The focus is not on perfect accessibility in theory, but on what actually works under pressure, that is finding the right entrance, locating gates/platforms, reading changing screens, handling last-minute rebookings, checking into hotels, and navigating safely at destination.
We’ll also cover how to keep your travel life fully digital and organized so documents, reservations, and backup plans are easy to access offline and fast to share when needed, along with simple strategies for safety, battery/connectivity, and “what to do when the tech fails.” The session is grounded in lived experience from a blind traveler who has visited 17 countries, often solo, with a guide dog.

Speaker

Milagros Constabel

Milagros Costabel is a blind journalist, keynote speaker, and inclusion consultant from Uruguay. Despite numerous barriers, she graduated from the prestigious Harvard University and worked as a journalist—paths that no one thought she could take as a blind woman from South America.
Today, she is an international speaker and supports organizations in overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges and breaking new ground. In her lectures and workshops, she encourages young people in particular to see their individual differences as strengths and to tell their own stories with confidence.
A particular focus of her work is the promotion of inclusive tourism. With her guide dog Indio, she has already traveled to 17 countries—she was the first guide dog team to work legally in Egypt. She advises tourist destinations, hotels, and organizations on how to create genuine accessibility for guide dog teams and establish sustainable change.
Milagros Costabel impressively demonstrates how to not only overcome barriers, but also create new opportunities—for herself and for others.