Key tourism stakeholders have sought prioritising of systems and designs that are easy to use and accessible to everyone, while planning and designing tourism projects.
The observations were made at a seminar organised at the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2026 venue here on ‘Inclusive and accessible tourism’.
Neha Arora, founder of Planet Abled, said it was important to design travel experiences that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. Guides should be trained and equipped to provide the same standard of experience to travellers with disabilities as they do to travellers without disabilities. “Videos about tourism destinations should take into consideration people with visual impairments, those with hearing disabilities, and those with intellectual disabilities,” she said, while pointing out that very few hotels have rooms that are convenient for persons with disabilities.
Thrissur District Collector and former Director of Kerala Tourism Shikha Surendran spoke of the need for tourism projects to go beyond ramps, wheelchairs, and special rooms for persons with disabilities, and to give due consideration to the needs of people with different physical and mental disabilities. “Awareness, training, and capacity building among officials of different departments are important in this regard,” she said.
Tour and travel operators, hotel owners, employees, taxi drivers, and other stakeholders in the tourism sector should be trained in disability-friendly practices. Accessibility should be ensured across public transport, toilets, hotel rooms, and other facilities. As a first step, tourism destinations should undergo audits. Gender audits have been conducted at 72 tourism destinations in the State, and they have been ranked. But in many places, only 16 to 20% of gender-equality standards are being met. The government and the private sector should work together to find solutions, she added.
Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society Chief Executive Officer Rupesh Kumar K. said responsible tourism focusses on ensuring that a destination is a good place for people to live in as well as to visit. “Of the 26,000 units under Kerala’s Responsible Tourism initiative, 18,500 are run by women’s collectives. This is a good example of putting the concept of inclusion into practice,” he added.
Published – September 25, 2026 08:38 pm IST
