Deaf school groups often find themselves dealing with school group tour operators who are not aware of how to plan trips with an additional focus on the deaf in the country visited, such as the chance to visit deaf schools, interact with local deaf people/students, and meet illustrious deaf figures. This sort of experience adds so much to the trip value for the deaf students, yet in the past has not been utilized at all. We aim to change that, and offer deeper cultural integration such as teaching the local sign language and setting up icebreaking activities with local deaf students. That is something that our expertise and contacts permit us to do, as opposed to a regular tour operator.

Also, given the financial bottom line, we can stay competitive by making the trip value cheaper for the school, as organizing a tour independently in this regard removes much of the overhead costs that come with using an operator’s service. The bonus is that the tour ends up being more meaningful as independently planning a tour allows the school to carefully personalize it to their specific needs and desires.

Hands On Travel will be providing logistic support by arranging the trip itself with the necessary reservations—air, lodging, meals, ground transportation, finding local guides, and setting up a detailed itinerary. In addition, for those schools who would like to, HOT can provide a deaf tour manager who will travel with the group of students in order to be responsible for making the trip go smoothly by dealing with all necessary logistics, allowing the chaperones to focus their energies on the students.

Our consultation expertise comes from Jennifer Herbold, a staff member at the New Mexico School for the Deaf, who established an International Studies Program at NMSD and has successfully organized several independent school tours in Europe, Mexico and South America. Jennifer will draw on her experience to be of assistance with the administrative tasks that are required in order to make the trip a success—such as fundraising, insurance, general liability-legal issues, necessary policies/rules for dealing with students abroad, and dealing with administration/parents.

Contact us if you are interested in having ideas on what we can offer your school!