Social Affairs, Solidarity and Volunteer Counselor of the Corfu Municipality, Andreas Skoumbouras, took the initiative to make the beach fun for people who are physically disabled, according to an Athens-Macedonia News Agency report.
Skoumbouras told AMNA that Corfu was the first island in the country that gave wheelchair users the chance to reach the water and fully enjoy it, by using the floating wheelchairs and direct access ramps in the water that have been placed on many beaches of the island.
Having mobility problems himself, after three years of initiatives and efforts, the deputy mayor has managed to install nine floating wheelchairs on the island’s most popular beaches that give joy and satisfaction to everyone who had difficulties to access the water before.
The beaches that host the floating trolleys have achieved fame worldwide, as they give the opportunity to tourists with mobility problems to come from all over the world and enjoy their holidays. The floating wheelchairs are installed in the beaches of Dassia, Gouvia, Alykes Potamos, Bouka Lefkimmi, Agios Georgios Argyradon, Moraitika, Sidari, Agios Georgios Pagon and Arillas, while in the effort to facilitate the people with moving disabilities, ramps with direct access to the water, can be found at NEAK, Dasia, Gouvia, Ipsos, Agios Ioannis Peristeron, in Paleokastritsa, and in Benitses.
The immediate plans of the municipality are to turn Corfu into the first destination in the Mediterranean with regard to beaches accessible to people with physical disabilities.
“Floating wheelchairs provide easy access to the beach, and help movement on the sand, but also the possibility of moving in the water. The floats offer great stability on the water surface,” Skoumbouras noted.
“Our goal is to reach 25 wheelchairs so that we can cover most of the well-known beaches of Corfu,” Skoumbouras stressed, pointing out that by 2019 Corfu will claim the prize for friendliness in the annual European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).
Read more here.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Piotrus License: CC-BY-SA
Source: greekreporter.com
