MANY tourism facilities such as hotels and offices remain inaccessible to persons living with impairments despite there being a large number of them needing to access these places.
Some of the aids in the hotels, streets and other service facilities do not necessarily meet the requirements of people with impairments.
Many facilities around the country have been constructed without the concept of accessible design.
The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both ‘direct access’ that is unassisted and ‘indirect access’, meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology for example, computer screen readers.
Accessibility is an individual’s ability to access and benefit from a system or entity without the assistance of another.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least 900 000 individuals in Zimbabwe, out of the total population of 13 million have some form of impairment.
World Health Organisation estimates that 15 percent of the country’s population is made up of persons with impairments and of this figure, 10 percent are women.
The prevalent types of impairments are related to seeing, walking, hearing and remembering.
Section 83 (b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe speaks extensively on the rights of persons with impairment, especially on their participation in social, creative and recreational activities.
A recent tour of various hotels in Harare revealed that while some have managed to put up structures to suit those with impairments, many need to step up their game.
Senator Anna Shiri said inaccessibility of these facilities was a disregard of the rights of people with impairments.
“All public buildings and hospitals have to be accessible to all people with impairments as this will help increase tourist arrivals into the country,” said Senator Shiri.
“There is need to recognise that people with disabilities have equal rights to tourism services and opportunities such as independent travel, accessible facilities, trained staff, reliable information and inclusive marketing.
“There is also need for adjacent rooms to allow for privacy as the aide and person with disability also needs privacy.”
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Anastancia Ndhlovu said the provision of safe and convenient infrastructure was necessary for the success of tourism.
“With the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day being ‘Tourism for all – promoting universal accessibility’, UNWTO is convinced that accessibility for all tourism facilities, products and services should be a central part of any responsible and sustainable tourism policy,” she said.
“Mainstreaming issues as an integral part of relevant strategies of sustainable development will ensure that tourism policies and practices are inclusive of people with impairments, giving rise to equitable and accessible tourism for all.”
Secretary for Federation of Disabled Peoples of Zimbabwe, Taurai Kadzviti, said there is still more that needs to be done to consider the impared persons.
“We expect that public facilities should be accessible to persons with disabilities with such features as automatic water knobs, low level sinks, tiles that are not slippery and lots of space because it is important for those in wheelchairs to be able to move around freely,” said Kadzviti.
Rainbow Tourism Group’s Trythings Mutyandasvika said of the 304 rooms they have in Harare, two have been set aside for the disabled persons.
“Besides rooms on the 2nd and 15th Floor, we have managed to order new elevators that will be able to accommodate people with impairments,” said Mutyandasvika.
“Hotel staff is able to assist those with impairments upon arrival making sure they take note of the specifications they may require.”
RTG boasts Braille touch elevators which have been recently acquired to accommodate those with visual impairments. Rooms specific for this particular clientele have grab bars in the bathrooms, adjustable beds and lower couches.
Meikles Hotel manager, Tinashe Munjoma, said they had had, among other things, scraped off the room service charge for those with impairments.
“We are putting up a report which we will be able to use in order to know how we can improve the hotel in terms of accessibility,” said Munjoma.
“We have scrapped off room service charge for those with impairments.”
Meikles Hotel has most of its floors carpeted, while the rest rooms have some grab bars and are spacious for those with impairments.
Munhumutapa Hotel boasts a paraplegic room ideal for persons with impairments.
This room has bigger doors, a distress code linked to the hotel reception as well as safety features within the bathrooms.
Cresta Lodge and Holiday Inn also have features that include ramps, grab bars, designated handicap parking lots with a priority location in the parking lot, adjustable beds and other features.
Things such as mobility access, wheelchair accessible transportation, reserved parking and accessible lodging, among others, enhance the lives of people with impairments as they make them less dependent on others.
Critical are automated door opening, ground level or lobby level accessible washroom, elevator to above ground accessible accommodation and level or ramped access to public areas.
Recommendations for rooms include wider entry and bathroom doorways – external 80 cm, internal 75 cm and easy to open and mid-height light switches and power outlets.
There should also be maneuvering space on each side of the bed (90 cm), roll in shower, wheeled shower chair and/or wall mounted shower seat, grab bars in bathroom, raised toilet and lower hanging space in closets.