Press release -
£40,000 boost for accessible tourism
Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing has announced an additional £40,000 for VisitScotland to boost the promotion of the country as an accessible tourism destination.
The announcement comes as the Royal Yacht Britannia and Ocean Terminal shopping centre in Edinburgh get ready to host Scotland’s flagship event during the UK’s inaugural Disabled Access Day this Saturday (17 January).
Part of the Scottish Government money will be used to fund an accessible tourism pilot project in Glasgow and Lanarkshire. Working in partnership with attractions, accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes and bars, VisitScotland aims to develop part of the area into an “accessible destination”, creating online itineraries tailored for those with accessibility needs which will address both physical access and other accessibility requirements.
Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: “I am delighted to announce funding of £39,900 to support an accessible tourism pilot project in Lanarkshire and Glasgow, building on the legacy of the Commonwealth Games. Improving accessibility has real potential to help achieve tourism industry growth ambitions and boost the wider economy as well as enhancing social equalities.
“Everyone should have a chance to enjoy all that Scotland has to offer and this flagship event at Ocean Terminal is an excellent location to host this first ever Disabled Access Day event. It’s through events such as this that we can position Scotland as a country with world-class accessible tourism facilities, offering more choice as well as excellent customer service.
“I consider this partnership-working approach to accessible tourism is what makes Scotland unique and will contribute to further and future growth.
“I encourage disabled people and their friends and family to take this opportunity and join the in the fun and visit somewhere new together.”
More than 200 companies and venues across the UK have pledged their support for Disabled Access Day, which encourages disabled people, their friends and families to get out and about and visit somewhere new together.
On Saturday, visitors to Britannia will be able to enjoy a 20 per cent discount, the voucher for which can be downloaded from Britannia’s website, while carers go free.
Activities taking place at Ocean Terminal shopping centre include the chance to meet assistance dogs and puppies up close and discover more about the amazing work they do.
There will be interactive demonstrations and guided walks with the dogs, from organisations including Canine Partners, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Guide Dogs Scotland and Dogs for the Disabled. Lothian buses will also have an accessible demonstration bus on site.
Chris McCoy, who heads up Scotland’s Accessible Tourism Project at VisitScotland, said: “In Scotland, the Accessible Tourism market is conservatively estimated at being worth £391 million, and yet it is still a largely untapped market. The extra money from the Scottish Government will allow us to work with the tourism industry to create itineraries that will help people with accessibility needs make the most of their visit to Scotland, while Disabled Access Day is the perfect opportunity for people to go somewhere new together.”
Bob Downie, Chief Executive of The Royal Yacht Britannia, said: “As the UK’s No.1 attraction (TripAdvisor), at the heart of everything we do, is delivering outstanding customer experiences for our 300,000 visitors each year, and a key part of that is ensuring that the Royal Yacht Britannia is as accessible as possible to everyone.”
Kiki MacDonald, Co-Founder of the website Euan’s Guide, Disabled Access Day organisers, said: “Promoting good disabled access is at the core of what we do, so this campaign is close to our hearts. By hosting events and offering promotions to visitors on January 17, all of the partners involved can demonstrate just how important disabled access is to them.”
For a full list of Scottish partners taking part in Disabled Access Day, please go to http://www.disabledaccessday.com/what-s-on/
ENDS
For further information contact:
Tom Maxwell
Corporate Press Officer
Tel: 0131 472 2409
tom.maxwell@visitscotland.com
Out of hours media enquiries: 07699 766986
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- accessible 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 has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- 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.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- 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)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/foodanddrink
