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Improving the visitor experience - Accessibility

Is your business accessible?

Accessibility is how easy it is for people to get to, enter, use, and understand things. Accessible tourism is the ease with which everyone can enjoy tourism experiences.

There are approximately 2.7 million potential visitors with disabilities in the UK who regularly travel, and millions more abroad, all of whom have a significant spending potential. There are also over 10 million people over the age of retirement in the UK. They have money to spend, grandchildren to entertain and are not restricted by weekends or school holidays.

Taking steps to be more accessible shows that as a tourism business you are aware of the importance of being open to everyone.

Accessibility is about far more than accommodating wheel chair users, there are a wide range of simple things you can do to make your property far more accessible to customers with hearing, visual and mobility impairments.
 

Why should you bother?

It‘s good for business. By providing better information, you can tap into the 'access' market - people with a wide range of access needs. There are an estimated 10 million people with a disability in the UK. That's one in five of the adult population. Only 4% of people with disabilities use a wheelchair, so accessibility is not always about door widths, ramps and lifts.

Many businesses forget about all the other potential customers that may need a little bit of extra help during their visit, for example families travelling with young children and/or prams, who may be prevented from walking too far. The UK population is also ageing – the baby boomers are getting older. They still want a good time, they have money to spend and you ignore them at your peril.

• By 2025 more than a third of the UK’s population will be over 55.
• The over-50s already buy 40% more holidays than the under-30s, averaging five or six breaks per year, and the retired are not tied to school holidays or weekends to take their breaks.
• Impairments and disability increase substantially after the age of 45.
• Consumer spending among the UK's 50-69 year-olds currently runs at £300bn a year.

Moreover, in Europe alone, it is estimated that there are 45 million disabled people, many of whom stay at home because of a real or perceived lack of accommodation and attractions to meet their needs.

Information can make all the difference

Research has shown that one of the most important things for visitors with access needs is that accommodation and attraction providers supply information, which is accurate and up to date on their websites and brochures. A lack of reliable and detailed information does not enable individuals to come to an informed decision about the suitability of facilities at a destination.

By completing a short online self-assessment questionnaire you can ensure that you are providing valuable information to potentially attract new visitors, from families travelling with young children to visitors aged 60+.

Sign into your Guestlink account at www.guestlink.co.uk to complete the questionnaire.

Please note that this is a self-assessment questionnaire and is not linked to any accessibility awards.
 

How else can I improve the accessibility of my business?

• Provide information through an Access Statement, which complements the self-assessment questionnaire.  An access statement template is available to help.
• ‘Welcome to Excellence' run a ‘Welcome All' course focused on welcoming guests with disabilities. Find out more.
• 'Easy does It' – a brochure produced by VisitBritain with the aim of helping tourism businesses meet their guests' expectations. It’s packed full of ideas that are simple and low-cost and is a great starting point.  Download the brochure.
• Tourism providers should be aware they must comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.  More information on the DDA.
  
   

National Accessible Scheme

The National Accessible Scheme (NAS) is a voluntary scheme which tourism providers can choose to participate in to enable them to accurately promote the facilities they offer to disabled guests or older visitors. Establishments are independently assessed against a set of Accessible Standards and awarded a rating. Properties can be assessed under any one, two or three categories: mobility, hearing and visual. Find out more and download the Access advert (Large File - 2 MB).

In 2010/11, the NAS joining fee for NQAS participants has been waived. Download further information about this offer (Large File - 4 MB).

By joining the scheme, your business will benefit in a number of ways including:

• Tips and advice from a specialist assessor on how to improve your accessibility
• Recognisable logo(s) to use in your marketing
• If you have been quality assessed, your business will be searchable by accessibility rating on www.yorkshire.com 
• Eligible to be part of the new ‘Open Britain’ official guide book, which combines the three leading travel and accommodation guides¹ for the traveller with access needs into one publication.
• A listing on www.tourismforall.org.uk, the UK's central source of holiday information for people with access needs

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1. Easy Access Britain (published by Tourism for All) and Where to Stay and There and Back (both published by RADAR publications)

Staying one step ahead

It has never been so important to make small improvements to your business to keep you one step ahead of your competition.

By 2025, more than one third of the UK’s population will be over 55². We are all living longer, so it is important to recognise that the baby boomers may need a little extra help whilst on holiday.

In response to this, VisitEngland has refreshed the entry-level mobility standard of the National Accessible Scheme (M1). The standard, called ‘One step ahead’, will help you increase the appeal of your business - even though you may have steps to the front door or no way of providing a ground floor bedroom.

‘One step ahead’ will help you see your business from the perspective of older guests and those who are a little less mobile. Taking part in this scheme has many benefits such as a visit from a specialist assessor, and you can stand out from the crowd by using the scheme logo in your marketing. Your business will also be searchable on yorkshire.com, enjoyengland.com, visitbritain.com and tourismforall.org.uk as accessible accommodation³.

What do I need to do to get this rating?

Probably not a great deal, as it is likely that you meet much of the standard already. Along with your public areas, only one guest room and bathroom needs to meet the standard. Are your doors easy to open and your public areas clutter-free?

Download a PDF of the 'One step ahead' booklet outlining the requirments in more detail.

A free hard copy is available from Quality in Tourism on 0845 300 6996 or email qualityintourism@gslglobal.com.

You can save £61 if you have an access assessment alongside your quality scheme assessment in this participation year. Enjoy the benefits of ‘One step ahead’ for as little as £42 per year (inc VAT at 15%).

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2. Office for National Statistics 2006
3. Non-quality assessed accommodation will not receive a listing on the VisitEngland and VisitBritain suite of websites and www.tourismforall.org.uk 

The digital switchover - important information if you are using an interactive TV system

The digital switchover begins in 2011 for Yorkshire, at which point the analogue TV signal will be switched off. TVs and certain TV interactive/ distribution systems* not converted to the digital signal will not work after the switchover.

Accommodation providers may not be aware that upgrading TV interactive/ distribution systems to digital may result in the loss of subtitle and audio description on televisions.

As an accommodation provider, it makes good business sense to take the needs of deaf people and those who are hard of hearing into account when you update your TV system to digital.

Around one in seven of the UK population have some degree of hearing loss and they often take into account the availability of subtitles when choosing their accommodation.

Having subtitles on the televisions in your rooms can also help you to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The DDA says that it’s unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. In addition, the DDA requires you to think in advance about ways to make you services and facilities accessible to deaf and other disabled people through reasonable adjustments. A reasonable adjustment could be ensuring that subtitles are available on TVs.

Subtitles are also useful for visitors who don't have English as their first language and for those who need to watch TV with the sound switched off, such as parents with young children sleeping in the same room.

What can you do?
Ensure that the installer upgrading your TV distribution system is aware that you need to provide subtitles for your guests and ask them what options are available for your system.

For a list of installers in your area, visit www.cai.org.uk 
 
*TV Interactive / Distribution Systems allow accommodation operators to take control of their television offerings for guests. For example, they can give guests access to "live" digital TV, the ability to watch films at a time of their choosing, review hotel facilities etc.