The Ministry of Tourism conducted a study on “Problems and Prospects of Accessible Tourism in India” in the year 2010.

According to the report, disabled tourists have to face many barriers at the time of booking and during the travel. Some of them are as below:

·           Poor understanding of their specific problem and requirement by the booking staff.

·           Lack of accessible taxis and local transport facilities.

·           Lack of proper information and sign ages at necessary point and intersection.

·           Lack of affordable and accessible accommodation.

·           Lack of accessible public conveniences at destination.

The steps taken by the Ministry of Tourism to promote tourist destinations and to make them more friendly for the differently abled are as below:

·           While submitting Detailed Project Report of a project under Swadesh Darshan or PRASAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) Schemes of the Ministry, State Government/Union Territory Administration has to submit an undertaking in the specified format stating that ‘barrier free environment for differently abled tourists has been incorporated in the design of the built up areas of the project’.  In addition to this, it is also specifically mentioned in the sanction order of the project that ‘the executing agency shall put in place the mandatory facilities for barrier free access by physically disabled persons’.

·           A new category of Award of Excellence for Most Barrier- Free Monument/Tourist Attraction in the country has been instituted to encourage the agencies responsible for maintaining monuments/tourist attractions to create barrier- free environment for the promotion of accessible tourism.

·           The condition of making the hotels accessible for people with different abilities by providing facilities like dedicated room with attached bathroom, designated parking, ramps, free accessibility in public areas and at least one restaurant, designated toilet (unisex) at the lobby level, etc. have been included in the guidelines for approval and classification of star category hotels.   

This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (Independent Charge) in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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Sanjay Kumar/jk/Parl. No. 1/29-03-2017