Seven tourist hotspots in Ernakulam to get ‘barrier-free’ tag

Ernakulam district in Kerala is coming up with a new and innovative proposition of ‘barrier-free’ destinations. This means some tourist spots in Ernakulam, which are considered hotspots among tourist, will be tagged ‘barrier-free.’ These spots will be developed in such a manner that they will provide easy access to even differently-abled tourists.

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Ernakulam is one of the most popular travel destinations in South. With this initiative, this district is aiming to reach out to more and more tourists. Initially, the district is planning to designate seven destinations as barrier-free, which are Fort Kochi, Kuzhupilly, Munambam beaches, Cherai, Bhottathankettu, and Prakrithi Gramam Park at Ezhattumugham, along with Ernakulam boat jetty complex.

On this context, Secretary of DTPC Ernakulam S Vijaykumar said, “The tourism department recently gave final clearance for the project. The construction work will be initiated in a month’s time. We expect to complete the work within a few seconds. Other tourism destinations will also be soon under the barrier-free project.”
The inception of this project started on 2017 with 9 crore INR set aside for the state. The government also sanctioned around 44 lakhs INR for the destinations in Ernakulam. Initially, the plan was to give a make-over and provide barrier-free tag to around 100 destinations.


As per the reports of Tourism Department, around 3 percent of tourists, comprising both foreign and domestic visiting Kerala were differently-abled. Also, around 10 percent of tourists visiting the sate are senior citizens. Thus, a lot of tourist hotspots are not accessible to them. However, as per the records, in 2017, 1.46 crore tourists visited Kerala, as compared to 1.31 crore in 2016.