Accessible Tourism In India

15/05/2024

This Picture Teaches us One important lesson. ..

Today you are Flying up the sky, tomorrow you will need someone on the ground to carry you.
So be Humble, Love people, make friends and Invest in people.

LESSONS: And Remember - No matter how big flying object you are, Something can carry you that can never fly, don't Underestimate People below you, the weak, poor, less educated. Respect and Support All.
Support the one's in need, support the deserving, carry them above if you can and Never push them down.
( by Harish Thakur, 15th May 2024 )

04/04/2024

Elections & People with Special Requirements
~ By Harish Thakur ( 5th Apr 2024 )

The biggest democracy, our motherland 🇮🇳India will be Voting to Elect a Government in the next few weeks.

A big problem that stops people with disabilities from voting is that many things aren't Easy for them to use.

The places where you vote, the papers you vote on, the machines you use to vote, and the information you get.

The right to vote is important
to empower and INCLUDE physically challenged citizens in the Society.

When people with disabilities are not able to vote there are many issues that follow.

Lack of opportunity and participation from people with disabilities.

Lack of representation of
the disability community in politics.

No Education Or Awareness about need's of Physically Challenged Citizens.

Discrimination, Prejudice, No Intent and Interest to Provide a better lifestyle for the disabled.

Representatives that Advocate for
Rights of people with disabilities,
needs and interests are not elected.

Prevents people with disabilities from deciding on policies and measures affecting their lives.

Lack of Opportunity, innovation and Support in Education and Employment for Physically Challenged Citizens will lead to a weak, vulnerable Society.

Accessible Tourism in India is working on providing accessible information about elections.

Email : [email protected]

04/11/2023

04/11/2023

ACCESSIBLE TOURISM IN INDIA
( - By Harish Thakur )

Tourism for Physically Challenged Tourists, Senior Citizen Travellers, Blind, Speech & hearing impaired, Visually Challenged, Pregnant women, women with infants in Travel, Wheel Chair Bound Tourist's & ALL are Tourist's with Special Requirements.

Benefits - WIFM -( What's In It For Me )

ACCESSIBLE TOURISM - Aims to Eliminate Psychological & Physical Barriers of Travel.

Accessibility benefits ALL as it enhances convenience, comfort, ease of travel, increase confidence, Motivates the disabled, Educate's the work force, increases revenue, Employment & assists a better Economy.

1. Long Term Benefits - The ramps, escalators or lifts, pavements, broad gates or doors, entrances at workplaces, Accessible mats at Beaches, hotels, Restaurants will increase Convenience and number of customers. The infrastructure can be well designed and implemented to provide long term benefits.
Age is a critical factor - Society - Everyone who neglect accessibity Solutions forget that they will need Accessible Infrastructure as they age.

2. Brand Image - The hotel's, Restaurants, Malls, park's and Destinations with Accessible Infrastructure will have a reputation and will be Recognized as Hospitable and comfortable.
3. Financial Benefits - Cost Effective Improvements will provide Products, Services and Properties that can be marketed and Sold.

4. Inventory Management & SALES -
More sales of Inventory and profits can be generated.
Hotel Accommodation, Homestay Room's, Campsites, Tent's, Lodging options, Airlines, Transportation Services, Car's and Buses etc are all Perishable commodities and cannot be Stored, sold and Encashed after date of Operations.
Accessibility will increase Market segment and Profit.

Lack of Professional Education to Support Requirements leads to weak infrastructure.

Request Friends to Read, Introspect and make Suggestions.
Thinking out of the Box, participation &
All Ideas are welcome

30/09/2023

17/08/2023

"Barrier-Free Travel Destinations"
~By Harish Thakur ( 17th August 2023 )

What are "Barrier-Free Travel Destinations"?

When we hear the phrase "Barrier-Free Access", the first thing we think of is removing everyday obstacles on behalf of wheelchair users and persons with limited mobility. Availability of Multi-Lingual Signboards for Speech and Hearing Impaired Accessibility Support.

Essentially, this means checking whether a building, railway station, mall, pilgrimage site, monument, can be accessed via a ramp, whether there is lift access to other levels and whether Wheelchair-Accessible toilets are available.
Freedom from barriers actually starts with the understanding and acceptance of barriers. For example, is the pathway to an impressive viewpoint suitable for wheelchairs, and is the path easy to walk? Or are there obstacles in the way caused by the state of the ground?

Families with pushchairs, pregnant women in travel, women traveling with infants and older people also depend on our destinations being barrier-free wherever possible.

27/01/2023

22/01/2023

Here is one of the Memes from the Series

When you see a Disabled Person in your vicinity, helping them comes almost instinctively.
And, to be honest, helping is not bad; helping without consent is.
So the next time you see a disabled person going about their day, don't rush in to do anything for them unless they ask you to do that.
Remember, for a disabled person, doing little things holds a lot of importance, and when someone does something for them without being asked, it impedes on their independence and makes them feel invisible, demotivates and dependent.
Now you know.

Happy weekend, folks! ❤️🐼

16/01/2023

Heard of Sightseeing by sound? Meet India’s visually challenged travellers.
What’s it like to skydive when you can’t see, feel and touch Stonehenge to imagine it? Find out...
Updated By : Harish Thakur
Writer for Accessible Tourism India


1. Ekinath Khedekar went paragliding during a trip to Amsterdam.
2.Satish Navale met Indian soldiers at a Kargil base camp.
3. Joaquim Rapose poses on a mountain bike in Himachal Pradesh.
4. And Delhiite Pranav Lal who has travelled everywhere from Uttarakhand to Iceland taking photos with an artificial eye sensory substitution device.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your last vacation? Chances are, it’s a beautiful view, an art work, perhaps your luxurious hotel room. Essentially, an image. So what is it like to travel when you cannot see?

That is the most common question visually challenged travellers face, they say. ‘How does a blind person sightsee?’

“Sightseeing is not really everything, because Tourists can have a multi-sensory experience by just listening to a buzzing city and its local languages, taking in the various smells that make a lane distinct or just feeling the vibe of a quaint town,” says corporate executive Ekinath Khedekar, 32, who is visually challenged.

Take the time Khedekar jumped from a plane over the Swiss Alps. “It was exhilarating,” he says, of his skydiving trip last year. “I really don’t feel I missed out on anything because every minute sensation — the free-fall, air pressure, wind on my face, was there.”

Khedeker discovered his love for travelling after living in London as a post-graduate student.

While travelling with disability can be daunting, blind travellers say it’s all about getting over the initial inhibitions and fears.

Mumbai-based visually challenged couple Joaquim and Padma Rapose travelled as a family while raising their children, and their daughter now often acts as their guide.

Pranav Lal from Delhi even uses an ‘artificial eye’, in the form of a sensory substitution device, to capture snapshots of his journeys. And Satish Navale from Kolhapur learnt that his 'Journey with Luxury -Accessible India' tours across the country were a great way to make new friends.

TIPS FROM THE TRAVELLERS
Trust people, but don’t trust them blindly.
Utilise Professional Services of Travel Agencies like Journey with Luxury who are pioneers of Accessible India Tour's for Senior Citizens, Wheelchair Accessible Tour's, Babymoon's, Tactile Tour's for visually impaired, Pregnant women in travel and Tour's for Speech and Hearing Impaired.
When asking for directions, for instance, keep an ear open for changes in tone or changes in the environment. – Satish Navale.
When traveling internationally, research the paper currency well. And learn at least some sign language or you really may not be able to communicate. – Pranav Lal.

Be inquisitive and don’t feel shy to ask if you can touch things like carvings. – Joaquim Rapose.

Always try and connect with others with visual impairment in the city you want to visit. They will give you the best advice on mobility and accessibility. – Ekinath Khedekar.

Also look out for travel concessions. Some airlines give up to 50% off to the visually challenged.

Some travel with the help of sighted companions provided by travel agencies; others go on solo tours.

Mumbai & Kolkata -based Journey with Luxury, curates International and Domestic trips for people with disabilities, offering customised family vacations, solo trips and group tours that often include enthusiastic abled travellers, companions and family members too.

Journey with Luxury - a recognised international tour operator, launched in 2010, works on a model that pairs sighted with non-sighted travellers on luxury tours, in exchange for generous discounts for the former.

“Accessible Tourism has a psychological barrier,” says Harish Thakur, 42, who works to help Tourists with Special Requirements like Senior Citizens, visually challenged, speech and hearing impaired and wheelchair bound tourists.

That’s starting to change. Some monuments now have Braille signs, others have 3D touch models of art works.

And where the technology hasn’t kept up with the travellers, there are travel buddies like Nirupama Dcosta, from Time Traveller Holiday Experts, Kolkata, who provides solutions and services whenever Tourists with disabilities are doing a tour of North East India (7 Sister's Accessible Tour's Specialists )

THE EXPERIENCE
“It’s very fulfilling,” says Harish Thakur. “During a trip to Qutub Minar in 2017, I finished describing the architecture to a visually challenged boy and he said, ‘I can feel what you see’. That really made my day. Such trips have also changed the way I see places. I’ve started noticing minute details like sounds and smells.”

FROM UTTARAKHAND TO ICELAND

As a child, Pranav Lal loved the sci-fi classic Journey to the Centre of the Earth. He listened to the audio book again and again. And he swore he would one day descend into a volcanic crater. In 2011, the cyber security consultant stumbled upon a package to Iceland by TravelEyes, a Leeds-based tour operator that organises trips for the visually challenged. It was time to make his dream come true.

“I was the only Indian among 15 people from around the world, challenged and sighted,” says the 38-year-old Delhiite. At TravelEyes, a sighted person is paired with a visually-impaired one for each day of the trip.

“It was 11 days of pure bliss,” says Lal, who ‘sight-sees’ using a partial vision sensory substitution device that converts images to sound. “From capturing a photo of the Skógafoss waterfall complete with a rainbow to standing at the edge of the Kerid crater, feeling the sculptures at the Einar Jónsson sculpture garden and navigating through rocks and streams in the Thingvellir national park, I experienced a whole new world there.”

Lal is an avid photographer, capturing images with his phone using a special device called vOICe, which works as an ‘artificial eye’ and helps him frame his shots. And he loves to trek.

His most daunting trip was a Himalayan trek to Dayara Bugyal in Uttarakhand, organised by Journey with Luxury with expert tour manager Mr Budhi Sagar, an Ex-Indian Army man. “At one point we were all exhausted and it was getting dark fast. My sighted guide was panicking and wanted us to head back. I had a hard time convincing him to keep moving, and I eventually started leading the group,” he says. “It was an exhilarating experience. The toughest part was avoiding the pine trees, and keeping an ear out for the warning bells of mule trains that gallop towards you at great speed.”

Next on his list: Leh-Ladakh, the north-east, Austria and Germany.

Favourite spots: The Heritage transport museum in Tauru, Haryana, where I could feel things like stage coaches and sit in bullock-carts. I finally understood what Charles Dickens meant by ‘stage coach’.

SWAPPING MARATHI JOKES IN PRAGUE

Khedekar visited Stonehenge while studying for a post-graduate degree in the UK.
Corporate executive Ekinath Khedekar had never given travel much thought until he went to Thailand with 'Journey with Luxury' in 2015.

“ At the Bangkok airport, standing in queue to get my visa on arrival etc, taught me that there was nothing to be anxious about even when travelling abroad,” says Khedekar, 32.

Then, in 2016, he gained admission to an Environmental Economics course at University College London, and that opened the floodgates. “On daily walks around my campus, exploring new parks and alleys, my confidence grew one block at a time,” he says.

A solo trip to Ipswich, about 100 km away, followed. “I hopped onto a yacht and went sailing,” he says. “The captain and his daughter taught me to use an accessible compass and gave me tips on steering a yacht. It was so much fun.”

Khedekar has since been to Amsterdam, Budapest and Prague with two visually challenged friends from Delhi, a trip that he calls mind-opening.

“Prague is ideal for people like us,” he says. “There are tours for the visually challenged, special guides for historical walks, underground ghost tours. We even went river zorbing and tandem-biking.”

Google Maps is a big help, he adds. “But Maps is not always right and we got lost several times, but we were never stranded. People always helped us out.”

At one point in Prague, he says, laughing, the architecture had them really confused between doors and walls. “We kept struggling to find a place to get dinner and ended up bumping into walls while joking in Marathi, and someone called out to us in Marathi!” he says. It turned out to be an Indian from Mumbai, who helped them out and stayed for dinner.

Favourite place: London, because of its accessible pavements and transport, disabled-friendly recreational centres, restaurants, theatres etc.

‘I TRAVEL TO MAKE FRIENDS’

Satish Navale, 35, has been to 40 cities across India, mostly with Journey with Luxury. One of his favourite trips is the one he made to Kargil to meet the soldiers posted at the Indian army base.
The first time Satish Navale travelled solo, he was 21.

“The trip from Pune to Mumbai left me shaken. It was my first time on a train alone and I walked right off the platform and fell face-down on to the tracks,” says the education researcher from Kolhapur.

Navale, now 35, has been to 40 cities across India since then, mostly by himself on Solo and Group Tour's with professional services and Tour's designed by Journey with Luxury.

“I worry about my safety, about losing my way, about being mugged or made fun of because I dare to go on journeys on my own. But that fear is not greater than my love for exploring new places and experiencing a new place through its sounds and smells. So, every few months, I dip into my savings, select a place and set off.”

His favourite trip so far has been to the Badami Bagh Cantonment area in Srinagar district, in 2006. “Everyone told me I was silly to go off on my own to a troubled region,” he says. “But little do they know the joys of making new friends along the way, excitement of finding your way through unknown lands.”

He remembers how a soldier offered him a lift from the bus stop. “People usually readily help you when you say you are disabled. Rarely have I come across someone who tried to take advantage of me,” he says.

He says the biggest drawback of travelling with visual impairment is not being able to see colour. “When people describe places to me, they mention the bright, blooming flowers or golden tops of temples, which I cannot imagine,” he says. But he is quick to add that his other senses pretty much make up for this. “The sounds of a waterfall, the way the air smells at a tea garden… each trip becomes special in its own way.”

Navale feels the number of friends he has made on his journeys is reason enough to continue. A diehard cricket fan, he went to Chennai in 2002 to cover the India-Pakistan Blind Cricket world cup for All India Radio. “The high point of the trip was meeting Pakistani cricketers, one of whom even gave me his watch, which remains a prized possession.”

Favourite spot: Dajipur Wildlife Sanctuary because of the sensory wildlife experience project started by my NGO Prerna in association with the Kolhapur wildlife department. It has information written in braille for those with visual impairment and has its own radio system that helps tourists identify the sound of the birds and detect medicinal plants through their smell.

COLLEGE SWEETHEARTS TURN TRAVEL BUDDIES

Bank executives Joaquim Rapose, 57, and his wife Padma, 54, met in college in 1982.

“We had a common reader and Joaquim was always making wisecracks that made me laugh,” recalls Padma. “I knew this man would make me laugh all my life.” They married in 1986 and then started their travels across the country.

They’ve been to Jammu and to Kanyakumari, Dharamsala to Wagah border. Sometimes they travel on their own, sometimes with their two children.

“In Kodiakanal, we couldn’t see the beauty of the pine forests, but the cold wind on my face and the fresh smell of greenery and chirpy birds made it extremely romantic,” says Padma.

On a Leh Ladakh Tour Operated by Journey with Luxury

“Ladakh, I had heard, was so beautiful. I felt that beauty when I was sitting on some snow and it was freezing… and then I felt the rays of the sun on my head. And that feeling of being in two worlds at the same time, is the feeling I still carry in my mind.”

Their daughter Pearl, 29, who often serves as their guide, says her parents are ‘inquisitive tourists’. “I remember asking a monk at Dharamsala if my mother could touch his robe to feel the cloth… and he happily obliged,” she says, laughing. “People are usually very cooperative.”

Some are very curious. Joaquim says people come up to him and express bewilderment about how they manage to travel. “Sometimes, we become the centre of attention, which is part of being a visually challenged tourist,” he says. “But usually, people take it upon themselves to warn us about a step or a low ceiling ahead, and that is extremely heart-warming.”

Favourite spot: Himachal Pradesh. “I remember riding pillion on a mountain bike near the Rohtang Pass,” Joaquim says. “The vrooming engine, the speed, the chilly breeze on your face, it was an experience of a lifetime.”.

Please Note : The above article can be availed in Braille by Contacting Harish Thakur - Tourism Writer & Accessible Tourism India Promoter.

04/10/2022

𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌 𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀

𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐎 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 - 𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚, 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚, 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐚, 𝐆𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐚, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐌𝐎𝐓 ( 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦) 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 & 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄.

𝐘𝐞𝐬 - 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝'𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 ( 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 - 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Indigo Airlines - As In the short Video - Leads the way.

It's Time that Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Hoteliers, Tourist Transportation Service Operators, Restaurant Owners, Cruise & Ferry Operators - Acknowledge the Importance of Accessible Infrastructure.

Aap Excellent Service Dijiye➡️➡️ Customer Confidence ( Aap per Bharosa) Increase Hoga ➡️➡️ Customer Apni Family Aur Senior Citizens - Parents - Mata Pitah ke Saath bhi Travel Karenge ➡️➡️ More Customer -- Means More Income

07/02/2022

The Good, Great, Accessible India..

Appreciate Citibank Khar West, Mumbai..

The Ramp, Handlebars Assist - Help Senior Citizens, Wheelchair Bound, Women with Infants, Physically Challenged to enter the bank and the ATM comfortably.

The Wonderful understanding & attempt at Inclusion..

07/01/2022

💦👍👌👌
एक पुत्र अपने वृद्ध पिता को रात्रिभोज के लिये एक अच्छे रेस्टोरेंट में लेकर गया। खाने के दौरान वृद्ध पिता ने कई बार भोजन अपने कपड़ों पर गिराया। रेस्टोरेंट में बैठे दूसरे खाना खा रहे लोग वृद्ध को घृणा की नजरों से देख रहे थे लेकिन उसका पुत्र शांत था।

खाने के बाद पुत्र बिना किसी शर्म के वृद्ध को वॉशरूम ले गया। उनके कपड़े साफ़ किये, चेहरा साफ़ किया, बालों में कंघी की, चश्मा पहनाया, और फिर बाहर लाया। सभी लोग खामोशी से उन्हें ही देख रहे थे।

फ़िर उसने बिल का भुगतान किया और वृद्ध के साथ बाहर जाने लगा। तभी डिनर कर रहे एक अन्य वृद्ध ने उसे आवाज दी, और पूछा - क्या तुम्हें नहीं लगता कि यहाँ अपने पीछे तुम कुछ छोड़ कर जा रहे हो?

उसने जवाब दिया - नहीं सर, मैं कुछ भी छोड़कर नहीं जा रहा।

वृद्ध ने कहा - बेटे, तुम यहाँ प्रत्येक पुत्र के लिए एक शिक्षा, सबक और प्रत्येक पिता के लिए उम्मीद छोड़कर जा रहे हो।

आमतौर पर हम लोग अपने बुजुर्ग माता-पिता को अपने साथ बाहर ले जाना पसंद नहीं करते,
और कहते हैं - क्या करोगे, आपसे चला तो जाता नहीं, ठीक से खाया भी नहीं जाता, आप तो घर पर ही रहो, वही अच्छा होगा।

लेकिन क्या आप भूल गये कि जब आप छोटे थे, और आपके माता पिता आपको अपनी गोद में उठाकर ले जाया करते थे। आप जब ठीक से खा नहीं पाते थे तो माँ आपको अपने हाथ से खाना खिलाती थी, और खाना गिर जाने पर डाँट नही प्यार जताती थी।

फिर वही माँ बाप बुढ़ापे में बोझ क्यों लगने लगते हैं?

माँ-बाप भगवान का रूप होते हैं। उनकी सेवा कीजिये, और प्यार दीजिये क्योंकि एक दिन आप भी बूढ़े होंगे।

अपने माता पिता का सर्वदा सम्मान करें।🙏🚩

22/09/2021

Dr. Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow.

A University with Inclusive Programmes, Courses & Vocational Guidance for Physically Challenged Students.

21/09/2021

Don't Let any Physical or Psychological Barriers Stop your Differently Abled Family Members, Friends, Colleagues, or Relatives....

✔Motivate, Encourage, Support and Promote an Equitable Distribution of Benefits of Life for the Human's with Special Requirements..

✔ Understand Distinct Requirements and Provide Specific Resources..

✔ Industry, Society, Business, India 🇮🇳and you will reap the benefits..

20/09/2021

Accessible Tourism in India
- By Harish Thakur, 20th SEPT 2021

We Appreciate, Support and Promote - RAJASTHAN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ( RTDC) for wonderful offers of Discounted Rates for Physically Challenged Tourists, Senior Citizen Tourist, Women in Travel. & Govt. Employees
( PSU - Bankers, Servicemen, All Govt Employees)

Accessible Tourism in India Highly Recommends these Hotels & Service's of RTDC.

Service's & Hotels can be booked at :

http://rtdc.tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/Pages/SpecialOffers.aspx

A few details of Special Offers are :

Special Offers :

Senior Citizen - 20% Discount
Discount on accommodation if at least one of them is a senior citizen (above 60 year)

Woman Traveller - 25% Discount
This discount is on Room tariff to lady tourists, traveling single or in a group of women not accompanied by male member.

Divyaang - 30%
( Physically Challenged Tourists)

This discount is available on room tariff and accompanying attendant shall be allowed free of charge in the same room.

Officers/ Employees -30%

This discount is available on accommodation part to All Government and PSU's employees on his official / private visit as per availability of rooms in RTDC Hotels/Motels.

http://rtdc.tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/

Accessible Tourism in India - can Provide assistance & suggestions.
Contact : 9833888413
** Service's & Assistance is Free **

08/07/2021

BENEFITS - - More Sales
by ACCESSIBLE TOURISM IN INDIA

Accessible Tourism in India - Aims to
INCREASE Benefits for Tourism & Hospitality Industry

More Profit & SALE'S for Hoteliers, Transportation Owner's, Tour Operator's, Restaurants, Retailers in India.

What is/ Kya Hai Accessible Tourism in India ???
Tourism for Physically Challenged Tourists, Senior Citizen Travellers, Blind, Speech & hearing impaired, Visually Challenged, Pregnant women, women with infants in Travel, Wheel Chair Bound Tourist's & ALL are Tourist's with Special Requirements.

Benefits - WIFM -( What's In It For Me )
** Mera Kya Profit Hoga ?? **
** Kya Mera Business Badega ?? **

1. Accessibility se Customer's ka convenience, comfort aur Confidence Increase Hoga .
MATLAB - Customer's Ka Aaram Increase Hoga

2. Motivates the disabled - Senior Citizens, Physically Challenged Travel Karne se Nahi Darenge. Aur Log / Families / Customer's Travel Karenge.

3. Increases revenue - More Business for Restaurants, Shop Owners, Hotels, Accommodation.

4. Employment & assists a better Economy.

5. Aap Ka Reputation - Brand Image - Promotion - Advertising - Aur Increase Hoga.

6. Financial Benefits - Cost Effective ( Low Investment Kar Ke ) Improvements will provide Products, Services and Properties that can be marketed and Sold.
Aap Aur Customer's ko Apne Homestay, Hotel's, Restaurants aur Transportation Services main Services de Sakte Hain.

7. SALES Increase Hoga / Profit Badega

Yeh Overseas Customer's India Aate Hain.
Yeh Humaare Mehmaan hai .
Logon KO Naukri, Kaam, Paise Milte Hain - Ghar Chalte Hain - Jab Yeh Aate Hain aur Bharat ko Pasand karte Hain.
Devo Bhava # Ko Samjho.

Request Friends to Read, Introspect and make Suggestions.
Thinking out of the Box, participation &
All Ideas are welcome

09/03/2021

It's Time - 🇮🇳 Indian Innovators, Students, Businesses & the Society puts their hands up and Contributes Sincere Efforts to Bring more Accessibility.
A Super Innovation!!!

https://www.mobilitycare.net.au/buy/light-drive-wheelchair-power-assist/

The Light Drive is a power add-on device that turns your manual wheelchair into an ultra-light, high performance electric wheelchair in 20 seconds!

27/02/2021

The Hidden Billion dollar opportunity in tourism industry knocking at India’s door
- By Harish Thakur

In India, the Ministry of Tourism included select provisions to improve the Accessibility of the tourism industry in the Draft National Tourism Policy 2015.

India offers a bouquet of varied travel experiences – religious and heritage destinations, medical tourism, wellness, adventure sports, rural tourism, etc., yet many of these experiences remain inaccessible for millions.
Several families, such as Raj and Pooja’s (names changed) face challenges when planning their vacation. The couple’s twelve-year-old son lives with a visual disability and Raj’s mother recently underwent a hip replacement surgery.
They struggled to find a destination, which would be both ‘accessible’ and enjoyable for the entire family.

‘Accessible Tourism’ caters to the needs of a full range of consumers including Persons with Disabilities (PwD), Senior Citizens, Pregnant Women and cross-generational families.
The concept addresses institutional and attitudinal mindsets that drive the tourism ecosystem to ensure that all individuals are able to access all tourist locations. It also benefits pregnant mothers, parents travelling with kids, senior citizens, persons with temporary disabilities or chronic illnesses, etc. who all have varying degrees of accessibility needs. Given the large population of persons with unmet accessibility needs today, there is an urgent demand for tourism to be made more accessible.

India’s tourism industry offers tremendous potential :
In 2018, India recorded 1.85 billion domestic tourist visits. Further, the country welcomed 10.56 million foreign and 6.87 million NRI tourists.
However, pan India, there are millions of persons living with a disability, senior citizens, and other travellers who face unique challenges right from trip planning to finding suitable accommodations.
The overall tourism sector has contributed around $206.8 billion to the Indian economy by 2016. With more than 26.8 million people with disabilities living in this country, this is a huge underserved market and the industry is still missing a billion-dollar opportunity in the form of ‘accessible tourism’.

In India, accessibility challenges surface right from the first step – trip planning. Transport operators, hotels, tourist destinations, etc. often fail to provide information about accessibility in their advertisements, websites or communication.
This forces one to engage in time-consuming direct outreach for clarifications such as:
Does the hotel have a ramp?
Is there any wheelchair accessible transportation available in a city?
Will sign language interpreters be available?
Is there any audio guide to enable a person with blindness to experience a heritage site?
Despite the outreach, travellers still face breakdowns or unanticipated inaccessible sections during their trip. Furthermore, the customer-facing staff although hospitable, often lacks adequate training or exposure to provide accessibility-related support. This ordeal, inadvertently, negatively impacts the entire travel experience of persons with disabilities.

Raj and Pooja’s experience described above represents a largely untapped market.
According to the 2016 Census, there are 104 million senior citizens (aged 60 or above) with around 27 per cent of households having at least one senior citizen in their family.
Similarly, India is home to around 26.8 1 million PwDs and 8.31 per cent of households have at least one PwD member.
This is likely to be a conservative figure with non-government sources estimating the PwD population to be 5-8 times of the Census 2016 figures.
Furthermore, in 2018, India hosted 3.03 million foreign tourists (nearly 30 per cent of all foreign tourists) who were 55-years or older. It is time that the tourism industry factor in these statistics.

Globally, ACCESSIBLE tourism is big business.
According to a 2015 report by Open Doors Organization, this segment was estimated to be worth US$ 34.6 billion in the United States.
Similarly, in 2015, the European Network for accessible tourism (ENAT) valued the European accessible tourism market at €150 billion (US$ 166 billion).
Many cities such as London and Paris, even with their mix of old and new infrastructure, have managed to improve accessibility while maintaining a ‘sense of place’ and ‘identity’. These examples are worth emulating.

In India, the Ministry of Tourism included select provisions to improve the accessibility of the tourism industry in the Draft National Tourism Policy 2015 and the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India 2016.
Increasingly, many Indian entrepreneurs are working to make tourism accessible for all.
Journey with Luxury, Time Traveller Holiday Experts & Few Tour Operator's organise domestic and foreign accessible tours. They provide innovative facilities such as mobile ramps to make heritage sites accessible for persons with locomotor disability, and 3D models of monuments to enable tourists with visual disabilities to experience the architecture.
However, there is a lot more that needs to be done by the Government and other actors within the industry to nurture accessible tourism.

Based on international best practices and discussions with frequent travellers with accessibility needs, here are seven recommendations to improve the accessibility of the Indian tourism industry:

1. Increase AWARENESS about accessible tourism OPPORTUNITIES amongst industry actors.

2. Formulate Universal Design and accessible tourism standards for travel and tour operators, accommodation providers, and tourist destinations.

3. Encourage service providers to invest in accessible tourism by highlighting its economic impact .

4. Publish a roadmap to improve the accessibility of top 15 tourism circuits in India.

5. Conduct TRAINING, Education and sensitization programs for the industry professionals and enable them to provide world-class service to travellers with accessibility needs.

6. Encourage industry actors to promote accessible tourism through their marketing materials.

7. Most importantly, proactively engage with women, Senior Citizens, PwDs, and other stakeholders right from user needs discovery and design to implementation and assessment phases of the above six recommendations.

With increasing life expectancy, there is a higher likelihood that many of us will experience living with a disability at some point in our life.
Additionally, senior citizens will continue to be a part of the family unit as young adults are expected to care for their old parents. We all will have varying levels of accessibility needs at different points in our lives. Therefore, accessible tourism will improve the quality of travel.
India has an opportunity to double-down on accessibility and improve inclusivity within the industry. In the process, India can unlock a billion-dollar growth driver.

(Harish Thakur is a Tourism Journalist & Writer specialising in Accessible Tourism. The opinions expressed are his own.)