3 reasons why Kerala is an ideal vacation spot for disabled people

Kerala is known as God’s Own Country for a reason. The beautiful landscape and hospitality of the people cannot be missed by a tourist who visits the state. What makes Kerala an ideal tourist spot for disabled people is that most of the tourist locations in the state are accessible. With the holiday season coming up, here are four reasons why Kerala is an ideal vacation destination .

Kerala, known as ‘Gods Own Country’, is one of the most beautiful tourist locations in the world. The lush greens, mouth-watering cuisines and hospitality of its people makes the place an ideal holiday spot. The Kerala government has often received praise for their many programs and schemes for disabled people in the state. Recently, the state even won an award from the central government for their many policies and empowerment work for disabled community.

Jomy Joseph, a disability rights activist from Kerala says that the state is leading in many projects for disabled people. But no correct census has been done on it.

An accessibility audit has not been fully done in Kerala. Unless we get a clear data comparing to other states, we cannot say Kerala leads in accessible tourism. In fact, I feel the state government can do better when it comes to making tourist places accessible- Jomy Joseph, Disability Rights Activist from Kerala

The vacation season is round the corner. If you have a disabled family member, friend or colleague, here are some reasons why you must visit Kerala

Fortkochi gets title of disabled-friendly heritage site– Fortkochi is one of the most iconic and beautiful towns in India. One of Kochi’s oldest buildings which were built by the British, Dutch, Portuguese and Jews still add to the beauty and splendor of this town. Fortkochi will soon be Kerala’s first disabled friendly heritage site. In most of the tourist spots, the state government has worked towards making facilities like wheelchair ramps, disabled friendly toilets and sliding doors.

Travel assistance centers will be set up– Reports state that the state government is all set to build travel assistance centers for disabled and elderly people. So tourist locations will have walking sticks, wheelchairs, crutches and other facilities. Support staffs will guide disabled and elderly people to tourist locations.

Kerala’s ‘Barrier-free’ tourism project has received praise– Kerala is the only state in India to implement the ‘Barrier-free’ tourism project to make all tourism places disabled friendly. Being a popular tourist location, thousands of people from across the world visit Kerala every day. That is precisely the reason why the Kerala government wants to make all the tourist locations also barrier-free.

Krishnakumar PS, a wheelchair user from Kollam, is an ardent traveller who has travelled across most places in Kerala. “Some of the prominent locations that I feel needs to be made disabled friendly are Varkala cliff, backwater tourism, Athirappally and Munnar. Basically, a person who has limited mobility must be able to check out all the places just like a regular tourist. That is what inclusion is all about”

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• Kerala Tourism’s disabled-friendly project gets UN attention