Accessible Međimurje - more and more tourist facilities in Međimurje are adapted for people with disabilities

The Tourist Board of Međimurje County has set itself the task of ensuring equal treatment of healthy and disabled guests, it is a partner of the three-year CE Spaces4All project from the Interreg Central Europe program.

Being a disabled person in Croatia is not easy. Moreover, although we will soon pass a quarter of the 21st century, a country whose budget relies on tourism still mostly does not have, with some exceptions, an infrastructure adapted to people with disabilities, to make them equal citizens, as they should be by law. Besides the fact that numerous public institutions are inaccessible to them, tourist destinations have no greater sensibility, as far as hotels, access to swimming pools and promenades, catering facilities, sports and cultural facilities are concerned...

Ramps for wheelchairs are a rarity, doors in hotel rooms are too narrow for wheelchairs to pass through, a lot is spent on bathrooms, on marble tiles and imposing shower cabins, but not on handrails, for example, so that a person in a wheelchair can independently to the toilet. The mirrors are high, in that luxurious shower cabin there is no chair to sit on and take a shower. Obviously, they are not counted on, which is not only humiliating but also devastating for society as a whole.

And just as there is grain in every chaff, so there are exceptions to this injustice. True, they are rare, but it is possible that their examples will encourage others to treat disabled people like any other guest. The one who is "always right" and who must leave satisfied with the desire to return, and in the meantime recommend the destination. Isn't that, at the beginning and at the end, the goal of every tourist employee? Especially when it is known, and what tourism workers should know, because finding new groups of guests and new tourists is part of their job description, that only in Croatia, according to the Report of the Croatian Institute for Public Health on Persons with Disabilities for the year 2023, was as many as 657.791 persons with disabilities were registered, of which most of them, 188.623, have damage to the locomotor system. And again – most of them, almost 27.000, were disabled by cerebral palsy and other paralytic syndromes.

According to the report, 53.021 people use mobility aids. And rarely will any of them, as well as guests from abroad with the same condition and abilities, feel welcome in domestic tourist accommodation. It's rare, because along with all these useless accommodations, there are also bright examples, of which Međimurje should definitely be singled out, as a rare destination whose county and its tourist board have made it their task to ensure equal treatment of healthy and disabled guests. For this reason, the partnership on the three-year project CE Spaces4All from the Interreg Central Europe program, which began in 2023, was a logical move because it unites two Međimurje goals - sustainability and inclusiveness. And they are not the only partner from Međimurje, there is also the Public Institution for the Development of Međimurje County REDEA, and the associated partners of the project are Međimurje County and DOSTI, the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities MŽ. There are a total of 12 partners from seven Central European countries.

The total budget of the project is more than 2,6 million euros, in which TZMŽ participates with 170.100 thousand euros. Most of this amount, 80%, is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development, while the other 20%, or 34.020 euros, is co-financed by the community itself.

Accessible tourism allows people with disabilities to travel independently, but the lack of awareness of their needs is a big problem. The CE-Spaces4All project, whose main goal is to improve accessible tourism for people with disabilities in the rural border regions of Central Europe, connects public authorities, the tourism sector and people with disabilities to improve governance for more accessible tourism. The partners develop a digital tool for mapping barriers in rural regions and provide them with a joint strategy and local action plans for better integration of accessibility issues into territorial planning.

As part of the project, the people of Međimurje have chosen three pilot locations, Prelog, Čakovec and Sveti Martin na Mura. And they are doing well. The Međimurje Treasury in Čakovec, Hotel Panorama in Prelog and Terme Sveti Martin have become exemplary examples of accessible tourism. The satisfaction is shared by both hosts and guests.

Hotel Panorama in Prelog, known for the fact that A national teams like to come there for preparations, has adapted more than half of its rooms for people with disabilities.

"The biggest problem is usually the bathrooms and the access to the rooms. Our bathrooms are adapted to all standards and needs of a person in a wheelchair, and all parts are connected by an elevator. The doors are wide enough to enter either with sports or standard Many hotel rooms have doors that are 70 to 80 centimeters wide, while ours are 90 to 100 centimeters wide., says the owner and manager of the hotel David Gregoras.

Just these days, members of the Paralympic bocce team and the table tennis team stayed in the hotel, and there is every chance that Hotel Panorama will become a reference center for the team. 

"We are adapting as much as possible, so that people feel at home in every respect. We have proposed cooperation with the City of Prelog to enable people with disabilities to "use" the Drava, the embankment next to it and the promenade there, which they cannot reach now. If we already offer the Drava as our story, that it is available to everyone. For us, every guest is equally valuable, an athlete of the national handball team or a Paralympian.", he says.

In the future, he hopes to cooperate with other Paralympic teams, with physical disabilities, who need special conditions and standards. Ukrainian paralympians in bocce are regular, dear guests of the Panorama Hotel in Prelog.

The Međimurje Treasury in Čakovec is a great example of how to bring culture closer to people with disabilities.

"It is important for us to contribute to the community we live in. Not only is our museum adapted for people with mobility difficulties, but we also have adapted exhibits for blind and visually impaired people, and the staff is also trained to work with blind and visually impaired people. We also organize special tours for them. It is really important for us to contribute to help people who might not be able to experience cultural heritage without being helped.", says the director Maša Hrustek Sobočan.

And one of the most famous spas in Croatia, Terme Sveti Martin, has adapted its capacities to people with disabilities, so Međimurje, in addition to sustainability, is also inclusive, which is why it is already recognized as a destination.

Cover photo: Hotel Panorama, photo: DG Sport, source: Tourist Board of Međimurje County