Published on : Friday, June 29, 2018
The state government knows that tourism is the highest potential source of revenue and hence venturing into such new projects and schemes would boost tourist inflow, he said.
Under the barrier-free Kerala project, the department will team up with responsible tourism mission to make 200 destinations barrier-free in the first phase. He said that these tourist destinations will be made barrier-free by developing necessary infrastructure for easy accessibility.
Specially-designed ramps, wheelchairs, special restrooms and better facilities will be set up at selected destinations. Guides will be trained in sign language for providing travel information and special arrangements will be provided for people to have food at these destinations.
Surendran said that though barrier-free tourism was the main agenda at responsible tourism summit in 2008, the state could implement the same now. The government intends to make all tourist destinations in the state barrier-free by 2021.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 9 crore for the first phase of this project. This fund would be utilised for the construction of ramps and purchasing related equipment. Responsible Tourism Mission has been asked to formulate guidelines for making destinations more-accessible and conduct packaged tours connecting nearby destinations.
Tags: kerala tourism