THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: From helping them experience the bliss of Shankumugham beach to listening folklore stories, the Tourism Department has been making the state accessible to the differently-abled through their initiative, barrier-free tourism. In the first phase of the project, the Tourism Department has been able to make beaches and other tourists spots in the city accessible to the differently-abled. In the second phase, they plan to introduce curated tours.
Apart from ramps and other facilities such as wheelchairs and crutches, the Tourism Department is also planning to appoint specially trained staff who can assist deaf people through sign language. Audio-visual guides and braille language will also be introduced in the other tourist spots in the city. As part of barrier-free tourism, ramps and even walkways have been made available in the Shankumugham beach. Special mats have been laid out for easy mobility of wheelchairs. Alarms will be installed for the differently-abled for further assistance. “Although instructions in braille are available in some beaches, we are also planning to introduce audio-visual aids in due course. All these facilities will be provided to the differently-abled people under the Responsible tourism Mission,” said Rupesh Kumar K, coordinator of Responsible Tourism Mission.
The tourism department will be launching curated tours to help the differently-abled. This is initiated in collaboration with the Responsible Tourism Mission. There will be customised tours which will ensure comfortable travel. “We have to finalise the packages for the curated tours and it can done only after the election results are declared. Moreover, we are also planning to give employment to differently-abled people and appoint them as tour guides,” said Rupesh.
He also added the tours will be customised based on the disability of vision, speech, hearing and locomotion. If such an option is there for the differently-abled and their caretakers, the tours will be much comfortable and memorable for them.
Through these initiatives, the tourism department also plans to encourage more volunteers to learn sign language. Besides beaches, museums across the city will also be equipped with disabled-friendly facilities such as ramps, braille, wheelchairs and audio-visual aids.