Press release -
VisitLanarkshire develops accessible guides
VisitLanarkshire is on target to provide accessibility guides for all the region’s attractions and accommodation providers by 2020. The area’s official tourism body which now offers accessibility information for 62% of all attractions, has set the 100% goal as part of the Lanarkshire’s Area Tourism Strategy.
Accessibility guides or statements cater for a range of users, from older people with limited mobility to parents with young children and those with a permanent physical disability or a temporary injury, such as a broken leg. Visitors and guests are provided with full information before travelling, so they can assess whether the venue is accessible to them, regardless of their mental or physical additional needs.
In Scotland, there is a significant need for accessibility information due to the increasing elderly population as well as the one million people in Scotland who define themselves as disabled. Statistics from VisitScotland show 135.9 million trips are being made in Scotland where a member of the party has an impairment or disability. Additionally, the research shows that accessible tourism in Scotland is estimated to have contributed £1.3 billion to the Scottish economy.
VisitLanarkshire has been working in partnership with the leading access information provider, DisabledGo to create detailed access guides for attractions and accommodation providers. Each guide provides comprehensive information and photographs of the attractions, showing the journey through each venue. The information such as parking restrictions, baby changing facilities and ramp access gives visitors the information they need to judge whether they will be able to visit the destination comfortably and confidently.
Recent work on improving accessibility information in the area has resulted in 49% of Lanarkshire’s hotels having access guides from DisabledGo, alongside 75% of campsites and 62% of total attractions. Detailed access guides for train stations and a number of shops around the area are also available. The access guides will be reviewed on an annual basis, ensuring that the information is continually updated.
Alongside the guides, staff at Lanarkshire’s attractions are also being encouraged to undertake specialised training by VisitScotland to improve the customer service offered to visitors and guests with a disability or additional access requirements, which aims to give staff a better understanding about disability, equality and diversity through videos and podcasts.
Mark Calpin, Chair of the Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership, said: “The accessibility project allows our attractions and accommodation providers in Lanarkshire to respond to visitors with confidence and enables us to offer high quality information for guests ahead of a visit.
“The survey was straightforward and professional and I would encourage as many venues and attractions to get involved to further open up our fantastic attractions to as many people as possible.”
Anna Nelson, Executive Director at DisabledGo, said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Visit Lanarkshire to fulfil the aspirations set out in the Area Tourism Strategy.
“Too often disabled people and their families face a lack of information about the access and service they can expect. We know how important it is to people to have detailed information they can trust. We equally know that as a hotel or tourist attraction it is rare to have the in-house specialist knowledge required to produce comprehensive information that is fit for purpose.
“We would like to congratulate Visit Lanarkshire for their commitment to inclusive tourism and ensuring that disabled people and their families have the information they need to make informed choices. Too often the £249bn spending power of disabled people is ignored and our hope is that this project will highlight how an area can ensure it is inclusively promoting all it has to offer. Our sincere thanks go to Visit Lanarkshire and all participating venues.”
Annique Armstrong, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said: “We are delighted to see that VisitLanarkshire has made this commitment to creating accessibility guides for attractions and accommodation in the region. At VisitScotland, we aim to make tourism inclusive and accessible for all and this initiative will help potential visitors with access issues to find out exactly what Lanarkshire has to offer.”
To find out more, go to www.visitlanarkshire.com
Topics
- Tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
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- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh) 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
