Thuringia’s holiday areas are often already a topographical challenge for people with physical disabilities. Accessibility is also out of the question in many holiday accommodations.
Erfurt (dpa/th) – According to industry estimates, Thuringia still has some catching up to do when it comes to barrier-free holiday accommodation. Of the around 1000 accommodations recorded in the official statistics – hotels, guesthouses, holiday apartments, inns or youth hostels – a little more than one in ten are prepared in different ways for the needs of guests with disabilities. Peggy Fauss, who is responsible for this area at Thüringer Tourismus GmbH, told the German Press Agency. Among them are 33 accommodations that are certified with the Germany-wide quality seal “Travel for everyone”.
“It’s not just about wheelchairs, but also about certain facilities for the visually impaired or deaf,” explained the expert. Especially the latter would have to offer the fewest accommodations. It is difficult to implement accessibility, especially in old buildings, in which many holiday apartments and guesthouses in Thuringia are housed. This also poses challenges for many restaurants, especially in the rustic traditional houses that are popular with holidaymakers. In some cases, accessibility collides with monument protection. In the case of new hotels or holiday apartment complexes, on the other hand, disabled facilities are usually taken into account, for example access for wheelchairs, walk-in showers or toilets with grab rails.
The TTG has recorded a total of 312 tourist businesses that meet certain accessibility criteria. In addition to 114 accommodations recorded in the reservation system, these are primarily leisure facilities such as thermal baths and museums, such as the Leuchtenburg near Kahla. Of the excursion areas, the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park was the most recent to receive the “Travel for All” certificate.
According to figures from the State Statistical Office, almost 1.4 million guests came to Thuringia in the first half of the year, booking around 3.8 million overnight stays.
