Promote tourism with universal design
Universal design and handicap accessibility may just be the key to Thailand’s evolution
For a decade, Assoc Prof Trirat Jarutach has evaluated facilities for people with disabilities in tourist attractions nationwide. The head of the Universal Design Research Unit of Chulalongkorn University found that only a handful of places can serve as role models for universal-design architecture.
“Universal design can benefit everyone, not only people with disabilities. It can benefit senior citizens, expectant mothers and toddlers,” he said.
Last September, the government announced its plan to promote “Tourism For All”. In his keynote speech, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stressed that tourism is a “right for all”, and the government will prioritise the plan to increase freedom for people with disabilities. The goal is part of the government’s policy to drive Thailand to become a fully developed country in the next 20 years.
Trirat speaks to us in detail about the need to push the concept of universal design more strongly.
How can universal-design architecture benefit the tourism industry?
A study in the United Kingdom found that around 134 to 268 million people with disabilities and elders in Europe generated about 3.9 billion to 7.8 billion baht for the tourism industry.
In Thailand, about 10% of the population is above 60 years old. We are becoming an ageing society and [the senior-citizen population] will reach 20% in 2021. Those senior people always travel in groups. People with disabilities and expectant mothers also travel with friends or relatives. They have time and money. These groups of people are valued customers for the tourism business. If tourist attractions have facilities for them, including ramps, toilets and car parks for those who use wheelchairs, this will encourage them to travel more.
How many tourist attractions have you and your team evaluated so far and what did you find out?
Our first evaluation was conducted in 2009. We surveyed 254 places including accommodation, attractions, restaurants and souvenir shops in big cities like Chiang Mai and Phuket. We found that 53% of the samples passed our test, which meant they had basic facilities for people with disabilities, such as toilets and car parks.
Two years ago, we worked with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to survey attractions as well as PTT petrol stations in big cities. Our latest survey was last year when the Tourism Department asked us to evaluate facilities for people with disabilities in the 12 hidden-gem cities. We selected six small provinces including Trang, Ratchaburi, Chanthaburi, Samut Songkhram, Nan and Loei.
We evaluated 87 attractions. None of them passed our evaluation, which was based on three criteria including facilities, services and management policy for people with disabilities. Some places got zero points while only three attractions achieved the top score at 18.5 out of 52 points. They were Kung Krabaen Bay Royal Development Study Centre in Chanthaburi, Siam Cultural Park in Ratchaburi and Ratchaburi National Museum.
Why did only man-made attractions achieve impressive results?
It might be difficult for natural attractions — say, a natural park — to have facilities for people with disabilities to reach, for example, a waterfall, but it’s not impossible. Those attractions can at least have a walkway with a ramp from the car parks to the point where those who travel with wheelchairs can admire the beauty of nature as close as they can.
One good example is Ban Khao Lak Resort in Phangnga. They offer a beach wheelchair for visitors with disabilities to be able to go over sand, to the beach and even into the sea. How do people know in advance if attractions, accommodations or restaurants have facilities for the disabled?
After evaluation, we rate each place with a number of wheelchairs ranging from one to four — one wheelchair means poor and four means good. We have also worked with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for eight years to give annual awards for places that have good facilities for people with disabilities.
We also wanted to set a good example for attractions to fully support visitors with disabilities. We gave 300,000 baht from the Tourism Department to Kung Krabaen Bay Royal Development Study Centre to upgrade their facilities based on our recommendations, such as adding a handrail extension for 30cm at the beginning of walkways, so those who use wheelchairs can grab the handrail and push their wheelchairs onto the walkway themselves. We also told them to add a ramp from walkways to a building entrance and to reduce the height of a washing basin in the restroom and the information counter to support a traveller with a wheelchair. Tactile paving stripes were added to walkways for the blind.
The project was completed within three months. Kung Krabaen Bay Royal Development Study Centre can be a role model for other tourist attractions.
It might be difficult for natural attractions — say, a natural park — to have facilities for people with disabilities to reach, for example, a waterfall, but it’s not impossible
What are the key components for improving accessibility at tourist attractions?
There are three major keys. First is the facilities. Second is people with a service mind. They should also be trained to know how to offer personal aid and services to visitors with disabilities. The last factor is assistive technologies and devices.
My team also provides consultations to new attractions such as Investory, or the Investment Discovery Museum of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The museum has facilities, technologies and services for those who travel with wheelchairs and for those who are blind, such as offering audio guides as well as human guides.
We also worked with Bank of Thailand to improve the facilities of its museum. We recommended they have information in Braille, apply QR code technology as well as have large replica coins to let those who are blind know details of each design of the coins.
In addition, we worked with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to improve the quality of life of the people in Koh Kret in Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district. We designed a ramp with a hydraulic system at a pier for those who travel with wheelchairs to be able to take a ferry to the island. We also helped them improve public toilets, rest areas and walkways on the island.
Apart from tourist attractions, do you evaluate other public facilities, like footpaths?
Improvement is much needed for our footpaths. If the full score for the friendliest footpaths for people with disabilities is 10, the score of our current footpaths is only one to two. The footpaths, especially in Bangkok, have uneven surfaces while some are too small for a wheelchair. Concrete footpath ramps are hard to find. If there is a ramp, it is used by motorcycles and foot carts. There are also obstacles on walkways such as telephone booths, trees, police boxes, advertisement boards and street stalls. Some footpaths are also too high for those who travel with wheelchairs. Chulalongkorn University will introduce the footpath of our dreams. We designed it for pedestrians. The walkway will be as wide as 7.5m and will run along both sides of a new 1.5km-long road linking Rama I and Rama IV Roads. The road will be 15m wide, and with pedestrian lanes on both sides, will be 30m wide in total.
Have you seen any improvements in facilities for the disabled?
I’ve seen much improvement over the past three years. It might be because more people are aware of it. There are also more campaigns to encourage people with disabilities to travel. Their demand can push tourist attractions, accommodations or restaurants to have facilities for people with disabilities.
In addition, we should be aware that we are heading to an aged society in the next six years and will be in the super-aged society, with 20% of the population at least 65 years old in 2035. We have a short time to improve facilities for elders. If we can’t speed up improvement, it is not the aged people of today who will suffer; it will be us.