The Department of Tourism will launch a project to develop tourism for people with disabilities and older persons by removing barriers that prevent them from enjoying travel. The Director-General of the Department of Tourism, Mr. Supol Sripan, said that the project seeks to make the physical environment favorable to barrier-free tourism for not only people with disabilities but also the elderly, families with young children, pregnant women, and sick people.
Mr. Supol said that the market for this group of tourists has great potential for further growth in the future. According to a research study, the number of travelers with disabilities and older persons in Europe is between 134 and 268 million. If Thailand can capture 2 percent of the market share of this group of tourists, its earnings from tourism income are likely to increase by 78.2 billion baht annually.
He revealed that the Department of Tourism had sought cooperation from the Disabled Peoples’ International Asia-Pacific, the Thailand Association of the Blind, and the Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand in encouraging hotel, restaurant, and souvenir shop operators to pay greater attention to this group of tourists. In the initial stage, the project will be carried out in four pilot provinces, namely Bangkok, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.
Source: Thai Government Public Relations Department
Does this mean pavements will be properly repaired and maintained and ALL street vendors stopped from blocking such? Will more road crossings with traffic lights be installed-and motorists ignoring such severely punished?
Not holding my breath!
I think what it will mean is that more attractions and hotels will be accessible to people in wheelchairs and with walkers. For example, in the picture at the top taken at Siam Niramit Phuket, that is the first time I’ve seen a urinal for elderly people. The sink basin too. However, none of this is any good if they cannot get to them from public areas. Like you said, footpaths being uneven and having obstructions.
One begins to appreciate the “holes” in Thailand, coz anyone who has been to Burma will tell you that the size of the holes there are enormous !! Entire bicycles and motorcycles can fall into them, yes, even in the heart of Rangoon….
Right on Bogyoke Aung San Road
**sigh **
Perhaps they might start by getting some wheelchairs that fit down aircraft aisles, at Suvarnabhumi (like they had at Don Muang). While wide bodied aircraft carry these, narrow bodied planes often do not, and wheelchair users who fly in on these planes must be carried bodily down the aisles. If they arrive at the domestic terminal (eg. from Kl), there is no accessible transport to the main terminal – just buses, and vans that the person must be lifted in to. And perhaps they can fit their transit chairs with detachable armrests so people do not have to be lifted into and out of them.
And set standards for hotels – which can claim they are accessible, but often have narrow bathroom doorways (Westerners are often larger than the locals), a step into the bathroom, and extremely low toilet bowls. Fix a few of the major problems, so that people with disabilities can enjoy the more minor challenges and inconveniences.