Blind and visually impaired people’s experience at the Helsinki airport
Kozlova, Nikita Aleksandra (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023113032961
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023113032961
Tiivistelmä
This project is a research-based thesis that focuses on the air travel of blind and visually impaired people. The report starts off with an introduction, where the author described her choice of topic. The author states that the thesis is offered to Finavia and services partners, and to the companies that work for the welfare of blind people. The objective of the report was to improve the experience of blind and visually impaired people at the Helsinki airport.
The theoretical framework of the report has three dimensions: the airport environment, visual impairment, and customer journey. The author begins by describing the history of civil aviation and how the International Air Transport Association was born. Afterwards, proceeds to write about airport’s ecosystem. The topic of visual impairment is crucial for developing results. Navigation within airports was found to be the most challenging, as well as getting knowledge about the environment. Furthermore, disabilities that lack visibility impact the trip.
Articles used for the theoretical framework suggest that what is currently needed is awareness and assistance of the navigation needs for the travelers with visual impairment despite the availability of required infrastructure. Since the project is related to experience, theories on customer journey are mentioned. For example, mapping and sorting. The author also talks about the customer journey at the airport from the pre-travel stage until the boarding and disembarking stage.
The author has chosen to use the semi-structured interviews for the qualitative research. There was a total of six respondents and two sets of questions. The author explained how the inter-views were conducted and how the data was managed. The answers during interviews were somewhat similar and did not have many discrepancies. As an additional research method, the author has decided to use benchmarking. There was a comparison of the Helsinki airport and the Dubai International airport. The author concludes that Helsinki airport has many opportunities for development and suggests getting inspired by the way Dubai International airport works with disabilities.
To analyze the results content analysis was chosen. Based on theory, the writer has divided the answers into four themes that ran across most of data. The themes were experience, accessibility, issues, and airport.
Through thorough analysis and the choice of methods for the project, the research outcome has been reached with the implementation of the purchasing stages theory. The author described how the stages of the purchasing process affect each other and what should be done in each stage. Moreover, to conclude, the author raised awareness about inclusivity being a part of sustainability because the creation of inclusive travel should be a normalized occurrence in tourism
The theoretical framework of the report has three dimensions: the airport environment, visual impairment, and customer journey. The author begins by describing the history of civil aviation and how the International Air Transport Association was born. Afterwards, proceeds to write about airport’s ecosystem. The topic of visual impairment is crucial for developing results. Navigation within airports was found to be the most challenging, as well as getting knowledge about the environment. Furthermore, disabilities that lack visibility impact the trip.
Articles used for the theoretical framework suggest that what is currently needed is awareness and assistance of the navigation needs for the travelers with visual impairment despite the availability of required infrastructure. Since the project is related to experience, theories on customer journey are mentioned. For example, mapping and sorting. The author also talks about the customer journey at the airport from the pre-travel stage until the boarding and disembarking stage.
The author has chosen to use the semi-structured interviews for the qualitative research. There was a total of six respondents and two sets of questions. The author explained how the inter-views were conducted and how the data was managed. The answers during interviews were somewhat similar and did not have many discrepancies. As an additional research method, the author has decided to use benchmarking. There was a comparison of the Helsinki airport and the Dubai International airport. The author concludes that Helsinki airport has many opportunities for development and suggests getting inspired by the way Dubai International airport works with disabilities.
To analyze the results content analysis was chosen. Based on theory, the writer has divided the answers into four themes that ran across most of data. The themes were experience, accessibility, issues, and airport.
Through thorough analysis and the choice of methods for the project, the research outcome has been reached with the implementation of the purchasing stages theory. The author described how the stages of the purchasing process affect each other and what should be done in each stage. Moreover, to conclude, the author raised awareness about inclusivity being a part of sustainability because the creation of inclusive travel should be a normalized occurrence in tourism