First Accessible Trekking Trail in Nepal is going to be launched on 3-Day long International Conference on Accessible Adventure which is planned to be held on March 29-31, Hotel Shangri La in Pokhara. The conference is organized by US-based International Development Institute. The conference will focus on international best practices in inclusive tourism for “slow-walker” senior and mobile disabled travelers leading to improved tourism facilities, services, and marketing that will attract a new segment of visitors to Nepal and create new opportunities for Nepal’s disabled for employment and experiencing the country’s wonders.
This special trekking trail is created for travelers with physical and mobility difficulties. The total length of the trail will be 1.3 KM.
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Chief Executive Officer, Deepak Raj Joshi said, “The conference is the first of its kind in Nepal and will seek to promote accessible holidays for the differently-abled and people with physical limitations that remain vastly underserved due to inaccessible travel and tourism facilities and services.”
This new product has been developed for the new travel segment that couldn’t have imagined trekking,” said Joshi. Accessible tourism is an ongoing endeavor to ensure tourist destinations, products and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age. There are over a billion people with disabilities worldwide.
“The objective of the conference is to spread the message that Nepal is accessible to all people, regardless of physical limitations, disabilities or age,” said Deepak Raj Joshi.
According to Lonely Planet, 50 percent of people with disabilities would travel more if suitable facilities were available to them wherever they traveled. Studies show that around 88 percent of people with a disability take a holiday each year. In the US, the Open Doors Organisation estimates that $17.3 billion is spent by adults with disabilities on travel each year.
As Nepal is targeting to attract large number of visitors through different promotion campaign. Accessible Tourism can be a great potential area for boosting the tourism industry in Nepal.
