Russia (bbabo.net), - Each year, Simferopol airport receives 30,000 people with limited mobility, 15,000 of them are in wheelchairs. Some come for health improvement and rehabilitation in sanatoriums, others as tourists. At the same time, inclusive tourism is just beginning to develop on the peninsula. 150 rooms in hotels are adapted for people with disabilities (HIA), not all tourist facilities, cafes and restaurants are ready to receive such guests, there are no special tourist products. The initiators of the Inva.Tour project believe that it is necessary to create conditions for comfortable travel for people with disabilities in a complex way: from special vehicles to the development of an application. And much has already been done in this direction, so the company "Mobile People" is recognized as the best among social entrepreneurship organizations in the field of social tourism.

Alexandra Zhukova, General Director of the enterprise, project manager of Inva.Taxi, Inva.Tour, moved to Evpatoria from Moscow five years ago, her eldest daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the girl moves in a wheelchair. So Alexandra knows firsthand about the problems faced by people with limited mobility.

- Crimea has a good base for the rehabilitation of people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system. But they are deprived of the opportunity to move around safely and comfortably. There is no legal market for the provision of transport services to people with limited mobility. There are private traders who work illegally, they themselves converted cars and are ready to transport disabled people, but it is difficult to talk about safety in these cases, - Alexandra notes.

In March 2020, the company entered into a leasing agreement for the supply of three new machines equipped with special ramps. Inva.Taxi services have become in demand.

- Every city has a social taxi, but you can order it only for a trip to the hospital, MFC and other government agencies. And people want to live a full life, - says Alexandra.

As it turned out, for many citizens to get out of the apartment - a big problem. Most of the houses are not equipped with elevators and ramps. The company purchased lightweight folding ramps 3.6 meters long, which are installed on a flight of stairs, they can also be used during excursions so that people with disabilities can get into buildings that are unsuitable for them.

There were requests for sightseeing tours in the Crimea. Last year, a special bus with an electric lift was bought, it can accommodate six wheelchairs and eight attendants. Employees of the enterprise have developed tourist routes, having previously traveled all the Crimean sights to check their accessibility for people with disabilities. Groups are accompanied by guides with disabilities. This is how the Inva.Tour project was born.

On the peninsula, people with disabilities can engage in not only educational tourism, but even extreme tourism: scuba diving on Tarkhankut, paragliding. More private tourist sites are hosting special guests. So, at the mussel and oyster farm in Novoozerny, ramps were installed and toilets were adapted for people with disabilities.

Alexandra Zhukova believes that the development of inclusive tourism is impossible without an integrated approach, without taking into account all the components: special transport that meets guests at the airport and train station, adapted rooms, equipped beaches, thoughtful excursions without barriers.

She notes that in Crimea there are very few beaches with paths, handrails, special strollers in which you can dive into the sea. The plans include renting a beach and equipping it with everything necessary for a comfortable stay for people with disabilities, building a hotel for tourists with disabilities, and creating an Invaturism application: mapping all objects accessible to wheelchair users and the deaf and dumb. Similar services already exist in Europe.

In the meantime, special guests are leaving Crimea with different emotions. Tatiana Markinova, a journalist and writer from Kuzbass, shared her impressions. She has visited Crimea three times and wants to come again.

- In 2017, I rested in Sevastopol, then for the first time I saw buses with ramps. This is not the case in my hometown. The drivers are very attentive, they help to get in, help to get out, - says Tatyana.

The writer liked the cities of Saki and Evpatoria, she considers them convenient for people in wheelchairs.

- I really wanted to visit Little Jerusalem and the Karaite kenasses. There, too, everything turned out to be accessible for people with disabilities, fabulously beautiful! We walked the path from Little Jerusalem to the dolphinarium. And I was again surprised and delighted that this distance was overcome without barriers, - says Tatyana.

In Bakhchisarai, she visited the Khan's Palace, the Holy Dormition Monastery, a miniature park: there were no problems with the availability of objects. In Yalta, I walked along the embankment, but in the Livadia Palace I could not climb to the second floor.Among the difficulties encountered during the trip, the journalist noted high curbs at pedestrian crossings, as well as uncomfortable underground passages.

- I would like more inexpensive hotels with an affordable environment, because most often you have to look for cheaper accommodation in the private sector, because hotels are quite expensive, - says Tatyana.

Back to news Yalta and Alushta do not specialize in the treatment and rehabilitation of people with visual, hearing, and musculoskeletal disorders, so there is practically no relevant infrastructure here. But some objects of the show are ready to receive special guests. A tourist route for wheelchair users has been developed in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Partially adapted for people with disabilities are the Vorontsov, Massandra and Livadia palaces, the Chekhov House-Museum, the Glade of Fairy Tales.

There is practically no infrastructure for people with disabilities in Bakhchisarai and Bakhchisaray district. For people with impaired functions of the musculoskeletal system, the courtyard of the Khan's Palace is partially accessible, you can walk along the flat streets in the city center.

In Kerch, Sudak, Feodosia, there are practically no sanatoriums specializing in diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, there are few tourist facilities adapted for people with disabilities.

Evpatoria is recognized as the best in terms of the number of tourist facilities accessible to people with disabilities. The city is located on a plain, there are many parks, walking along the tourist route "Little Jerusalem" will not cause any difficulties.

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