Kerala tourist spots to be ‘differently-abled friendly’ by 2021: Minister

A host of facilities, including special parking areas and toilet facilities will be made available for differently-abled tourists, says State Tourism Minister

Eve's Beach at Kovalam. File

Tourist destinations in Kerala are all set to go “differently-abled friendly” by 2021, State Tourism Minister Kadamapally Surendran said here on Tuesday.

A host of facilities, including special parking areas and toilet facilities will be made available for the differently-empowered tourists to enjoy barrier-free holidaying in the State, he said in the State Assembly.

The Minister was replying to a question raised by MLA Veena George (CPI-M) in this regard.

A total of 120 tourist spots had been identified across the State in the first phase to implement the project. “Of them, 98 destinations have already been made completely differently-abled friendly.Work in the others centres are progressing,” Mr. Surendran said.

The government’s objective is to make all tourist destinations completely differently-abled friendly by 2021, he said.

Besides this, special tourism packages for the differently-abled were also being implemented under the ‘Responsible Tourism’ initiative, the Minister added.

According to the State tourism department, accessible ramps, special toilets, wheelchairs, walking sticks, folding walkers, crutches, special signages, tactile walkways, touch screen kiosks, Braille brochures and audio guides were some of the features provided at the differently-abled friendly destinations.