Wheelchair Accessible Travel

The 2005 International Conference on Accesssible Tourism took place in Taipei, Taiwan, May 4-8, 2005. Delegates gathered from around the Asia Pacific region to develop a coordinated approach to promoting Universal Design best practices in the travel and hospitality industry and to prepare for the 2007 conference in Patayya City, Thailand.

There have been three immediate outcomes from the Taipei conference:

1) Publication of the Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism
2) Announcement of the 2007 International Conference on Accessible Tourism location as Phuket, Thailand
3) Creation of the Working Group on Inclusive Destination Development

In addition, a regional grassroots education initiative on Universal Design (The 1:16 Alliance) is in the formation in order to highlight innovative Universal Design solutions developed by those rebuilding their homes and businesses following the tsunami. The goal of this initiative is to facilitate the inclusion of local citizens in the process of Inclusive Destination Development while introducing the concept of visitability(http://www.concretechange.org).

Quick Tips:

In Taipei, the action is at the Night Markets, the glitz is at the Taipei 101 skyscraper, and the food is great!

Best Way To Get Around:

The Grand Hotel lives up to its name in sheer size and detail. It dominates a small hilltop in a picturesque Chinese style.

See my review at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/18423/115892.

If you plan a vacation in Taiwan, be certain to give yourself time to enjoy the cultural variety of the original inhabitants. The Museum of Prehistory in Taitung offers a full day's worth of fascinating history, good food, and shows. But be certain to wander out into the extensive gardens in time for the synchronized fountains of the Dancing Waters show. The museum and gardens are all wheelchair accessible.

While in this part of Taiwan, visit the Bunun Aboriginal People. They have a cultural center, shops, hotels, and a wonderful spa with pools of various temperatures. While I was there (May 2005), efforts to make everything wheelchair-accessible were well underway -- perhaps due to the fact that the founder of the Bunun Cultural Foundation is himself disabled.