Guiding the tourism industry

UK accessibility specialists, AccessAble, have been appointed as the national provider of quality-checked accessibility guides, as part of a range of new measures by VisitScotland in its inclusive tourism toolkit, to help transform Scotland into an accessible visitor destination. 

It comes as new research by the national tourism organisation shows only 35% of visitors with access requirements found it ‘very easy’ to get around on their trip in Scotland, with one in five of visitors reporting some difficulties. 

The most common issues centred around stairs or lack of elevator, parking issues and uneven, narrow paths or cobbles. 

The figures are from the latest Scotland Visitor Survey which gathers insights on leisure overnight visitors’ attitudes and behaviours and explores all aspects of the visitor experience in Scotland. 

Around one in ten respondents stated they had specific access requirements during their holiday or short break, such as wheelchair access, disabled facilities, or in relation to vision impairment. 

Inclusive tourism is an incredibly valuable market for Scotland. “The purple pound” – the term which refers to the spending power of disabled people, and their travel companions – contributes approximately £1.69 billion to Scotland’s tourism economy. 

Around 85% of customers with access requirements will check a business’ website when planning a trip, with lack of information on accessibility one of the top barriers to visiting somewhere new, according to Euan’s Guide Access Survey, 2022. 

VisitScotland has worked with experts on a range of new measures in its inclusive tourism toolkit to ensure the industry has the best resources and knowledge to help them engage with the market. These include: 

• AccessAble providing a Detailed Access Guide production service to Scottish tourism businesses for the next three years, which followed a tender process by VisitScotland earlier this year. The organisation, currently in its 25th year of operation, provides Detailed Access Guides to 70,000 venues across the UK and Ireland, including hotels, attractions, and restaurants. The Guides are published on its website, which was used by more than 6 million people last year. 
• A VisitScotland Your Accessibility Guide portal, designed by AccessAble, for businesses to directly book a Guided or On-Site Assessment. Carried out by AccessAble’s team of trained surveyors using their unique tool, an assessment will look into each part of the visitor journey.  
• A Disability Essentials online course, run by AccessAble, to give hospitality staff confidence in their engagement with disabled people. 
• A webinar series from Purple Tuesday which focuses on increase knowledge and understanding of the disability market. Purple Tuesday is a global social movement which seeks to improve accessibility for disabled people. 

Marina Di Duca, Inclusive Tourism Manager at VisitScotland, said: “Inclusive tourism is a hugely valuable market and a key part of VisitScotland’s responsible tourism strategy. More than that, it is vitally important tourism and events are accessible and inclusive, so that we can be sure to extend the same warm welcome to all visitors and help them create special memories. 

“The latest Scotland Visitor Survey shows that while many visitors with access requirements find it very easy to get around Scotland there are clear areas for improvement. A simple and effective way our industry can engage with disabled customers is providing clear, detailed, and easy to access product information, such as a Detailed Access Guide. 

“Tourism offers so many rewarding experiences which we want to be accessible to everyone and our resources aim to provide a starting point for businesses to understand and adapt to meet the needs of this valuable market.”  

Dr Gregory Burke, Founder and Executive Chair of AccessAble, said: “We are thrilled to continue our work with VisitScotland, supporting their journey to develop Scotland as an inclusive tourism destination. We know access begins online, so having detailed information that people can trust is an essential part of this work. 

“We have invested in the Your Accessibility Guide portal and Guided Assessment in direct response to feedback from disabled people and SMEs. 

“We believe that we can deliver a step change in the provision of quality assured accessibility information across Scotland. By working collaboratively with tourism businesses, we want to enable more disabled people to discover all the wonders Scotland has to offer.” 

AccessAble has self-funded the development of a Your Accessibility Guide Portal that tourism venues and businesses can visit to find out more about Detailed Access Guides and the assessment process. 

All Detailed Access Guides by AccessAble are produced through a surveyor assessment using ISO9001 accredited processes. The data collected has been defined through engagement with 1000s of disabled people and looks to serve people with a wide range of conditions. 

AccessAble has also invested in processes and technology to enable SMEs to access a new Guided Assessment, which delivers quality assured Detailed Access Guides at low-cost. 

To access the inclusive tourism toolkit: https://www.visitscotland.org/supporting-your-business/responsible-tourism/inclusion 

For the Your Accessibility Guide Portal: https://visitscotland.youraccessibilityguide.co.uk/ 

For more on AccessAble: www.AccessAble.co.uk  

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Insights: https://www.visitscotland.org/research-insights/responsible-tourism/accessible 

ENDS