City tours in sign language

Vanda Šagovac is the first licensed guide for deaf people in Europe. For the second year in a row, she is introducing deaf tourists to Zagreb’s landmarks and legends, which are nowhere as interestingly described in travel brochures as they are in reality.

Aside from numerous city landmarks, unique customs and traditions, Zagreb has another original offer: sightseeing tours of the city for the hard of hearing, with explanations in sign language. Vanda Šagovac is one of the first licensed tour guides for deaf people in Europe and she has been familiarizing hearing impaired tourists with Zagreb’s landmarks for the past two years.

Although there are many tourist brochures that feature greatly descriptive text and numerous pictures, actual sightseeing tours with explanations in a language understood by the hard of hearing are invaluable. Moreover, this service has been used by many groups of tourists over the course of the past two years.

The tour lasts approximately three hours, an hour longer than usual, because apart from viewing the sights, such a specific group must also be allowed some extra time to watch the guide as she speaks. Since sign language is universal, such a specific sightseeing tour is suitable for tourists from all over the world.

Vanda Šagovac knows sign language very well because she too is deaf. However, she is also a highly trained specialist and holds a degree in tourism from the Zagreb School of Management, which, apart from being a tour guide, is her other job. Thus far, only Zagreb is benefiting from her services, where dozens of groups have already embarked on tours in sign language, but she has grand plans to expand the offer to other attractive destinations across Croatia, from Istria to Dubrovnik. The importance of this specific programme has been recognized by tourism officials in Croatia and, as a result, Vanda Šagovac will, from now on, be the main promoter of Croatian tourism at fairs and performances intended for tourists with impaired hearing.

At the first such fair, DeafNation World Expo, held late in July in Las Vegas, she already successfully promoted Croatia. It is estimated that the fair was visited by some 50,000 deaf tourists from all over the world. Keeping in mind that it is a fairly large population, news of such a service in Croatia will surely spread quickly worldwide.

According to Vanda Šagovac’s plans, backed by the leading tourism experts, by 2013 Croatia should have several more licensed guides for the hard of hearing. The arrival of a large cruise ship with hard of hearing passengers has been announced for 2013 so, in the manner of a great tourism destination, Croatia believes they too must receive an adequate service.