The Bauchi State Government has introduced a special tourism package offering persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their caregivers discounted access to tourist attractions and accommodation across the state.
The initiative, implemented through the Bauchi State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC), is aimed at promoting inclusive tourism and improving access to tourism facilities.
The corporation’s Managing Director, Muhammad Nasiru Yusuf, disclosed this on Monday in an interview in Bauchi.
Yusuf said the package, introduced under the Bauchi 360 Tourism Touch-Up Network, offers a 50 per cent discount on entry fees and accommodation for PWDs and one accompanying caregiver.
He added that groups of PWDs from schools and associations would be offered free guided tours on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
According to him, the corporation is upgrading facilities at Yankari Game Reserve, Sumu Wildlife Park and Bauchi lodges to improve accessibility.
The upgrades include wheelchair ramps, accessible rooms and toilets, reserved parking spaces and information boards in braille.
Yusuf said some of the facilities were already operational, while others were still being installed as part of the corporation’s last-quarter project to improve accessibility across the state’s tourism destinations.
He added that the corporation would provide sign language-trained tour guides and low-floor shuttle buses for safari and city tours.
Special assistance desks would also be established at the corporation’s headquarters and hotels, he said.
“Conservation without inclusion is incomplete. We are opening Yankari, Sumu and all our tourism assets to everyone, regardless of ability,” Yusuf said.
He described Bauchi as an emerging destination for inclusive tourism and reaffirmed the corporation’s commitment to making tourism accessible to all.
Yusuf urged associations of PWDs, non-governmental organisations and schools to register for the package at the BSTDC headquarters along Maiduguri Bypass, Bauchi.
