On 19th June, a team of municipal organisations and tourism officials, led by the Krabi Governor Lt Col ML Kittibodee Prawit, inspected a pier at Pak Klong Ji Lard in Muang Krabi, with a view to making Krabi a city of ‘Tourism for All.’
Specifically, this project entails developing facilities for disabled and elderly persons, to improve access to one of Thailand’s key tourism locations. The pier is a popular point of embarkation for tourists heading to Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta by boat.
The initiative is being led by Governor Lt Col ML Kittibodee, who is currently confined to a wheelchair due to an injury sustained whilst playing football. Whilst wearing a splint, he attended the inspection as a representative of the disabled community of Thailand and the many tourists with physical disabilities, for whom such locations can be a troubling source of inconvenience and even danger.
In a statement, the governor said: “today’s inspection was (intended) to check the standard and usability of utilities and infrastructure for our ‘tourism for all’ campaign. Tourism should be available for any gender, disability or age. We have invited some disabled people who are also elderly, blind or deaf to test those facilities. We are expecting, and hoping, that in the next few years, more disabled and elderly people will be travelling in Krabi because of the initiatives we’re putting in place.â€
The project is a step in the right direction for Thailand, which has previously been accused of falling behind in the global drive for improved disabled access at tourist locations. For some detailed advice for disabled or elderly travellers in Thailand, click here.
