PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD – September 23, 2013. The Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism Life Guard Service Division and the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities launched the first ever Amphibious Wheel Chair Service at the Maracas Beach Facility on Friday, September 21, 2013.
A set of chairs were officially handed over to the Lifeguards at the facility in the presence of Mr. Lennox Dwarika, Supervisor 11, Life Guard Service Division, Ministry of Tourism, Ms. Yolande V. Selman, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Company Limited and Dr. Beverly Beckles, CEO , National Centre for Persons with Disabilities.
Speaking at Friday’s handover ceremony, Dr. Beverly Beckles, Chief Executive Officer, National Centre for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) lauded this initiative by the TDC and said “the NCPD supports the introduction of this service for the differently able and is pleased to know that finally there is a service that will enable wheelchair users an avenue for recreation.”
The Amphibious Wheelchair mimics the look of a beach chair and offers the added benefit of mobility, enabling a wheel-chair bound person to move freely along the beachfront or in the water. The seat is made of non-allergenic fabric which hugs the shape of the passenger’s body and allows sand and water to easily filter out. This service offers the differently abled an enjoyable, comfortable experience at the beach.
The United Nations has estimated that 650 million people in the world live with disabilities and according to the ITB World Travel Trends Report 2012 / 2013 the disabled segment of the population is fast becoming a significant economic factor for the tourism industry, tending to be loyal to a destination, staying longer and spending about 13.6 billion dollars each year on travel.
Though in the developmental stage, initiatives like these are all part of a larger framework for the disabled in the TDC’s continued drive in ensuring that the tourism product can be equally accessed and enjoyed by all. Selman, Acting CEO, TDC opined that, “This is not only tourism first for destination Trinidad and Tobago, but a first for our nation’s citizens who live with disabilities.”
From L-R Ms. Yolande V. Selman, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Company Limited officially hands over Amphibious Wheel Chair to Mr. Lennox Dwarika, Supervisor 11, Lifeguard Service Division, Ministry of Tourism in the presence of Dr. Beverly Beckles, Chief Executive Officer, National Centre for Persons with Disabilities.
From L- R Ms. Yolande V. Selman, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC), Mrs Tenisha Brown- Williams, Certification and Inspections Officer, TDC, Mr. Lennox Dwarika, Supervisor 11, Lifeguard Service Division, Ministry of Tourism and Dr. Beverly Beckles, Chief Executive Officer, National Centre for Persons with Disabilities pose with lifeguards at the Maracas Beach Facility and beneficiaries of the Amphibious Wheelchair Service.
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Ministry of Tourism Streams Live Tourism Television - April 18th, 2011
Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Tourism will usher in a new era in Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism sector with the debut of Tourism Television on April 19, 2011. |
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