TUI, a leading travel and leisure company, has partnered with SignLive to become the first tour operator in the United Kingdom to offer consumers the option of having their conversations with the company interpreted into British Sign Language (BSL).

Deaf customers can sign up for free with SignLive (signlive.co.uk) and contact through the online directory to have their phone conversations with TUI Accessibility teams interpreted in real-time.

Sue Bradley, TUI’s Director of Customer Experience, stated, “At TUI we want to make travelling with us as easy as possible for everyone. SignLive has come to us with an amazing solution for our customers who use British Sign Language (BSL). This service means that these customers can have conversations with our team to ensure they book the perfect holiday for them and get any additional support they might need.”

Sue added that customers may reach  contact centre team about new or existing bookings by signing up for free to SignLive for assistance with hotel information, airport navigation, and booking accessible transfers in resort.

Fiona Mackay, chief operating officer of SignLive, stated, “We’re delighted to be working with TUI to make travel more accessible for Deaf people. This partnership makes communication smoother and the overall experience of going on holiday much easier for British Sign Language users. Customers can travel with confidence knowing they can communicate via an interpreter throughout their journey.”

The service went live earlier this month, and a video has been produced to explain the partnership and SignLive service.