Rwanda: Are tourist sites accessible by disabled people?

Whether all tourist sites are accessible by all people or not still remains a question with of debate today. Persons with disability like the rest of the people also have a right to travel and explore tourist attractions. Unfortunately they have continuously faced a greatest challenge especially when it comes to tourism whether in cultural, social or physical areas. In Rwanda, tourism is becoming a unique lifestyle each day especially after aggressive campaigns by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) through the Tembera u Rwanda that was accompanied by special packages which covered various sections of Rwandans.

With tourism, one gets a chance to widen his or her prospects, discover, have fun, explore more about various cultures and also get educated while on the other hand, plays a significant role on the country’s national treasury. Besides, it can even be more exciting especially where clients get satisfied beyond their expectations. When it comes to tourism, it all about enjoyment and where one doesn’t get satisfied, leaves a bad memory. Due to this, all travelers’ needs must be addressed including those with mobility impairments, wheelchair users as well as those with sight problems.

In an interview with one of the tourists from India ‘Babita Saroj’ she paid a visit to Rwanda for the first time and about 75% of her sight was lost. However, this never hindered her from achieving her dream in this stunning country and she explored one of the genocide memorial sites where she was taken through by a guide who explained to her and her colleagues more about what happened at a time. But some of the hotel facilities she happened to be only had stair cases that made it a little bit challenging for her to move. And due to the fact that the stair cases were of the same color, it became more challenging for her to detect where the next step starts given her poor sight. She further added that there is need for ramps especially in public areas.

On the other hand, the managing director of Karisimbi Ventures added that through collective efforts with the government, the private sector as well as tour operators, a new technology should be developed to ensure that persons with disabilities move and communicate freely while on their safari like other people. Roads should be accessible by all persons and tour companies on other hand need professional staff who can inform and advise more about accessibility aspects and also have reservation services and related websites as well as offer adapted and accessible hotel rooms, shops, toilets, public places, restaurants a mention but a few. Like any traveler, persons with disability equally need to have a comfortable safari holiday while on their dream destination. However, Rwanda is an open tourist destination despite the sex, age or physical impairment.

Worldwide, there are more than a billion persons with disabilities and over two billion are mainly children, spouses, caregivers of persons with disabilities and this represents about a 3^rd of the population in the world. This alone represents a big potential market for travel and tourism but unfortunately, little has been done to make them realize their dreams as most facilities still remain inaccessible. With accessible tourism, all people get opportunity to be part of exciting tourism experiences. Click here for some customized tours in Rwanda.

That said, a lot more still needs to be done to ensure that everyone is in position to enjoy not only the hospitality facilities but also the national parks as well as several tourist sites based on the tourism law.  As per the law, entities like restaurants and hotels need to have access ramps and toilet facilities for persons using wheelchairs. Usually, for visitors on gorilla safari in Volcanoes National Park, porters are hired at additional cost to help carry trekkers in a special sedan chair while those with hearing and visual problems are accorded a special attention by guides.

Those with visual problems, porters are there to assist them move in the park while those with hearing problems sign language is always used at no additional fee. Despite all this, there are still challenges with communication as most tour operators have not mastered sign language. In some cases, there are no interpreters to help simplify communication and yet it is costly for persons with hearing problems to hire private interpreters. However, guides can also explain various wildlife species and their sounds as well as how they look like. Others suggest that more molds of various shapes of wildlife need to be made for persons with visual problem to have a touch and help them have an idea on how they look like for instance lions, mountain gorillas, snakes, zebras, elephants a mention but a few. On the other hand, engraved maps should also be available in different tourist sites to help those with visual problems to understand how Rwanda looks like.

Rwanda features among a few most endowed African states and the notable attractions to explore while on your African safari include the genocide memorial centers (including the Kigali genocide memorial site, murambi memorial site, Nyamata memorial center), art centers, hotels, museums, volcanoes, forests, cultural sites (including Ndaba rock, Iby’Iwacu cultural village and others), waterfalls (for instance Rusumo waterfalls, Kamiranzovu falls, Isumo falls and others), national parks especially Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Akagera National Park and Gishwati-Mukura National Park a mention but a few.