Update on Accessibility information initiatives

VisitEngland would like to thank the following Steering Group members for their expertise and contribution to the project:

• VisitScotland

• Visit Wales

• Tourism Northern Ireland

• Failte Ireland

• Tourism for All

• Simpleview

• AccessAble.

VisitEngland and AccessAble are providing match-funding to allow the following businesses to book a Guided Assessment for a nominal fee of just £1 + VAT: 

• Shop or café;

• Restaurant, pub or bar;

• Bed and breakfast or guest house with 1 to 3 bedrooms;

• One self-catering unit with 1 to 3 bedrooms;  

• Campsite or caravanning site with no facilities except a toilet block, shower block, laundry block and car park;

• Open space or outdoor activity;

• Visitor attraction - a single building with up to 2 additional facilities such as a café or shop, e.g. a small art gallery or museum;

• Visitor Information Centre.

Please be aware that this match-funding is offered on a first come first served basis and will be withdrawn when the available budget from VisitEngland and AccessAble has been exhausted.

Please note that the £1+VAT discount is only available for one venue that you own, for example, if you own three self-catering cottages, the discount can only apply to one. If you wish to purchase a Detailed Access Guide for more than one unit, contact AccessAble for a bespoke quotation, including any other available discounts. 

Other tourism and hospitality businesses in England are currently able to access a 75% discount for Guided Assessments and a 50% discount for On-Site Assessments, subject to terms & conditions and availability at time of booking, provided by VisitEngland. 

This discount is aimed at independent business or those operating in a small group. If you are a large group or a national chain, please contact AccessAble directly.

1. Discounts are available for tourism and hospitality businesses only.

2. Businesses and venues must be located in England to access the discounts.

3. Discounts are capped to a maximum level per business.

4. Discounts are subject to availability at the time of booking, on a first come first served basis.

5. Discounts cannot be combined.

6. Discounts will be applied off the fee exclusive of VAT.

7. Discounts cannot be applied retrospectively.

8. VisitEngland and AccessAble reserve the right to amend the terms or withdraw the discounts at any time. 

9. AccessAble reserves the right to cancel an order if a venue misuses a discount code. This will not be done without discussion with the venue.

10. AccessAble reserves the right to cancel an order if a venue misrepresents its size, complexity or type. This will not be done without discussion with the venue.

Provision of accessibility information is a key barrier to disabled people participating in tourism. It can be difficult to find the right credible information to enable informed decision making:
 

• 95% of disabled people check accessibility in advance of going to a new place;
• 87% expect accessibility information to be on a venue’s website;
• 77% had not visited a venue because they couldn’t find out about accessibility;
• 96% said having accessibility information available in advance would make them more likely to visit somewhere.

​(AccessAble’s Accessibility and You Survey 2023/24).

There are a wide range of health conditions and impairments, many of which are not visible. Each person’s accessibility requirements are unique to them. As a result, giving detailed, trusted information is essential. 50% of adults in England who identify as disabled did not take a holiday in England in the last 12 months that involved staying away from home for one night or more (compared to 35% of non-disabled people) (Participation Survey 2022/23).

Providing an accessible and inclusive experience is the right thing for any business to do from an ethical, moral and legal perspective. But it can also be financially savvy, by helping you to reach a diverse and lucrative market.

The Tourism Purple Pound represents the spending power of disabled people and their travelling companions when taking tourism trips. It is currently worth an estimated £14.6 billion to England’s tourism economy alone every year. 

In the UK 16 million people, almost one in four, are disabled – and as our population ages this number will only increase. 

Providing comprehensive accessibility information is key to attracting disabled people and their families and ensuring that their experience is positive and repeated. 

VisitEngland has provided a template tool for tourism operators to use to produce their Accessibility Guides since 2007. The market has developed its services in this space since then, allowing VisitEngland and VisitScotland to work with an established, nationwide and trusted Accessibility Guide service provider with a wide consumer reach, bringing greater benefits for both businesses and disabled consumers.

The AccessibilityGuides.org tool, provided in-house (and in-partnership with VisitScotland) since 2017, and the software it uses, is now out of date and is no longer technically supported.

The tool had several limitations, most notably:

• It placed the burden and responsibility of collecting information, which can include technical measurements, onto businesses, whose staff will typically have had no professional access-audit training. This can risk the accuracy and quality of the information provided.
• It only provided the business with a URL to use on their website. It does not publish completed guides on any searchable consumer platforms.
• There was no mechanism to ensure that the service reflects the changing needs of people with accessibility requirements.

In 2023 both VisitEngland and VisitScotland undertook independent procurement exercises to identify a preferred Accessibility Guide service provider. The VisitEngland procurement has been completed and AccessAble has been selected as the provider moving forward. AccessAble has also been appointed as the new service provider by VisitScotland, who will notify all existing users of the new service offering and related costs.

We understand how much time and commitment many businesses have spent in creating Accessibility Guides using the VisitEngland tool.

Existing users of AccessibilityGuides.org could download a Word version of their Accessibility Guide until the closure of the website on 30 June 2024 (extended from 31 March 2024). From this point onwards, the digital versions of Accessibility Guides, including associated URLs, ceased to function. If you did not download your Accessibility Guide before the site closed, email to request a Word version. [email protected]

You can use your old Accessibility Guide to help identify the key accessibility features in your business and list them on your website to provide high-level accessibility information.

The Word version of your Accessibility Guide is now in an obsolete format, that does not best meet the needs of people with accessibility requirements. Therefore, as per the Terms and Conditions of AccessibilityGuides.org you must not upload the Word document to your website.

Yes, AccessAble are able to survey venues in the Channel Islands (AccessAble already has a relationship with State of Guernsey) and Isle of Man.

As the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, which make up Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies and not part of the United Kingdom, businesses in these areas should use the general Your Accessibility Guide portal and are not eligible for discounts provided by VisitEngland.

Free questionnaires are now available to help tourism businesses identify the key accessibility features at their venue and promote them in the accessibility section of their website. 

There are questionnaires for six common business types: 

• Serviced accommodation;
• Self-catering accommodation;
• Attractions and experiences;
• Camping, glamping and holiday parks;
• Food and drink businesses;
• Events, festivals and shows. 

Download the questionnaire specific to your business type now from the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses.

While a list of key accessibility features alone won’t meet the needs of all potential customers, it can act as high-level information until you are able to supplement it with a Detailed Access Guide.

If you promote your venue on distribution websites such as online travel agents, search aggregators and local destination websites, you may be asked to provide your key accessibility feature information to display as part of your listing.

Following a competitive tender process in 2023, AccessAble has been appointed to provide an Accessibility Guides service for tourism businesses in England.

We have chosen to work in partnership with AccessAble due to their extensive experience in creating comprehensive accessibility information for venues nationwide, which is used and trusted by millions of disabled people. They currently publish Detailed Access Guides to over 70,000 venues.

Their work with businesses of every size, makes them ideally suited to support the tourism industry in developing and publishing comprehensive accessibility information. AccessAble’s services provide:

• Detailed Access Guides created by a team of professional and experienced access surveyors.
• Established Quality Assurance process to ISO9001 standards, ensuring accuracy of data and a robust annual updating mechanism.
• An established route to disabled people and carers, through a website currently used by six million people a year.
• Materials to help you promote your guide including the URL and ‘link buttons’.
• Ongoing engagement and co-production with disabled people to continuously develop the service.
• Accessibility Improvement Reports for every business at no extra cost. This is a user-friendly spreadsheet-based report that can help you recognise where disabled people may face barriers and changes that can improve accessibility in your venue.

The initial contract with AccessAble allows for the partnership to run for up to five years.

AccessAble has developed the Your Accessibility Guide portal, which offers two ways to join the service: a Guided Assessment or an On-Site Assessment. The portal clearly explains the difference between these two options so you can decide what will work best for you. The Guided Assessment approach is a cost-effective solution available to micro, small and medium size businesses nationwide that still maintains high quality information.

The development of the portal has been entirely self-funded by AccessAble.

Costs will vary depending on the type, size and complexity of each venue.

Example costs for Guided Assessments:

• £85 + VAT for a one or two room café,
• £150 + VAT for a three bedroomed self-catering property, and
• £325 + VAT for a medium-sized visitor attraction.

On site assessments start at £125 + VAT.

Annual renewal fees also apply and depend on the number of changes at the venue. There has been a focus on these being as affordable as possible, starting at £10 + VAT per year.

By answering a few quick questions about your venue on the portal, you will receive a bespoke quote.

Details on available discounts for businesses can be found  in the Discounts section of this page.

Annual renewal fees apply 12 months after the initial publication of a Detailed Access Guide and depend on the number of changes at the venue. There has been a focus on these being as affordable as possible, starting at £10 + VAT per to host the Guide for a further 12 months if there have been no changes.

Micro, small and medium size businesses will have the option of a Guided Assessment.

A Guided Assessment harnesses video technology to allow a member of AccessAble’s experienced team to conduct an assessment virtually using Microsoft Teams. The surveyor will talk you through the process step by step and no previous training is needed. They will ask you to show them all the different areas of your venue so they can collect accessibility information using their research tool. The surveyor will ask you to take measurements and photographs, which will be included on your finished Detailed Access Guide.

The system is simple, and just requires a good Wi-Fi connection, a smartphone with camera, the Microsoft Teams App (which is free to download) and a tape measure. Most surveys take between 30 - 60 minutes.

Yes. You can find more details on available discounts for businesses in the Discounts section of this page.

Costs are provided on a per property basis. However, self-catering businesses will be able to have additional units assessed on the same site at a reduced rate. Large self-catering sites with multiple property styles will be eligible for a bespoke quotation to cover the entire site. You may want to focus on units that are adapted, accessible or have minimal steps.

The key part of the Guided Assessment is showing the AccessAble surveyor around the venue to allow them to collect data via video. While they are an important element, the measurements are only part of the assessment and it is also likely that the surveyor may ask for measurements not previously collected.

The fee also covers quality assurance, hosting, and the Accessibility Improvement Report.

The costs for both Guided and On Site Assessment options are determined by business type, size and complexity. Businesses are now able to answer questions about their venue in the new Your Accessibility Guide portal to receive their bespoke quote. 

Details on available discounts for businesses can be found  in the Discounts section of this page.

The requirement for Quality Scheme participants to provide accessibility information is changing.

87% of disabled people expect accessibility information to be on a venue’s website (AccessAble’s Accessibility and You Survey 2023/24). Participants are required to have accessibility information on their website, stating the venue’s key accessibility features. VisitEngland has made available new guidance on the key accessibility features at tourism venues that are most important to people with a range of accessibility requirements in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses. 

In addition, you are encouraged to provide detailed accessibility information, with the recommended format being an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide. Find out more via the AccessAble Your Accessibility Guide portal (not a scheme requirement).

Scheme participants who are updating their published accessibility information in light of the changes will not be penalised for having reduced accessibility information on their website during the period of change.

It is not possible to transfer data from the existing website across to AccessAble. 

We understand how much time and commitment many businesses have spent in creating Accessibility Guides using the VisitEngland tool. Existing users of AccessibilityGuides.org could download a Word version of their Accessibility Guide until the closure of the website on 30 June 2024 (extended from 31 March 2024). From this point onwards, the digital versions of Accessibility Guides, including associated URLs, ceased to function. If you did not download your Accessibility Guide before the site closed, email to request a Word version. [email protected]

Yes. The service is open to all business types, including small and independent businesses.

 

Yes.

All businesses using the Your Accessibility Guide Portal will receive an Accessibility Improvement Report, included in the cost, which is a user-friendly spreadsheet-based report that can help you recognise where disabled people may face barriers and changes that can improve accessibility in your venue.

AccessAble would not charge to survey the same shared space multiple times. After being surveyed once, this information can be shared to be used in multiple Detailed Access Guides. 

AccessAble will involve LVEPs and local authorities so that a joined-up approach can be developed. AccessAble has previous experience of working with local authorities to produce Detailed Access Guides for the public realm.

In addition, VisitEngland has launched an Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Local Visitor Economy Partnership organisations to help them improve the accessibility of their destination, including the provision of accessibility information.

The purpose of the assessment is to collect factual information on a venue’s accessibility, to produce a Detailed Access Guide. Businesses will not be marked against criteria or provided with a ‘mark’ of their accessibility. 

All businesses using the Your Accessibility Guide Portal will receive an Accessibility Improvement Report, included in the cost, which is a user-friendly spreadsheet-based report that can help you recognise where disabled people may face barriers and changes that can improve accessibility in your venue.

Businesses can contact AccessAble and changes will be made overnight. AccessAble will either make the change or be in touch to gather further details.

The purpose of the assessment is to collect factual information on a venue’s accessibility, to produce a Detailed Access Guide. Businesses will not be marked against criteria or provided with a ‘mark’ of their accessibility. 

Example guides produced via both a Guided and On-Site Assessment are available on the Your Accessibility Guide portal for reference, enabling you to see the kind of information that will be collected.

You can find practical guidance on improving your accessibility in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses, including downloadable action checklists and technical guidance for the built environment.

You can find guidance on inclusive marketing within Section 6 of the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit or Businesses, including digital accessibility, awards and holiday listing sites.

AccessAble have capacity with a team of 50 surveyors, who are well placed across the UK. 

Examples of both are available on the Your Accessibility Guide portal.

No action needs to be taken. However, please do contact AccessAble if something at your venue changes, so your Detailed Access Guide can be updated accordingly.

AccessAble have an existing survey template for these kinds of venues, based on their work for the National Trust and other organisations. AccessAble will agree what is in the scope of the survey by discussing your venue with you and providing a bespoke quotation.

The initial contract with AccessAble allows for the partnership to run for up to five years.

The surveyors come from diverse backgrounds but have all been through the same competency based training programme to use AccessAble’s unique surveying tool. The tool itself brings together decades of experience and lived expertise from disabled people. 

It is crucial to remember that surveyors collect factual information, they do not judge access or give an opinion as to whether something is ‘accessible’ or suitable for a person with a specific condition. The role of Detailed Access Guides is to provide factual, accurate information so that someone can decide if a place will work for them.

The Accessibility Improvement Reports have been developed by inclusive design consultants, who are accredited to the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC). 

Where relevant, published Detailed Access Guides will be included as part of a wider destination guide for each Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP). AccessAble will be able to share data regarding the traffic to each destination guide, which can include the top performing Detailed Access Guides.

Due to the volume of Detailed Access Guides, it may not be feasible for AccessAble to provide traffic data to individual venues. However, businesses that use Google Analytics (or a similar service), will be able to track incoming traffic from the AccessAble website (referrals) and outgoing traffic to their Guide on the AccessAble website via any links and link buttons.

Both options enable you to have a high-quality Detailed Access Guide produced. Depending on your circumstances, you may find the portal an easier way to access the service as you can sign your order form and make a payment online.

If you would prefer to renew your existing agreement with AccessAble via the portal, please contact AccessAble who would be happy to help.

No, AccessAble purposely does not have user reviews. There are several review websites and apps that provide accessibility reviews, and we see these as a valuable, complementary service to AccessAble. AccessAble links out to several of these from its website. 

Developing a partnership in this area is in development, and they hope to announce this soon.

People can, and always will be able to, feedback to AccessAble about their experiences. There is a link to do so on every Detailed Access Guide.

The questionnaires are now available for free on as part of the Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses.

AccessAble will be using their established social channels, blog and newsletter to promote new Detailed Access Guides and showcase different destinations. This will include inspirational content and videos.

AccessAble’s website is structured in an SEO friendly way so that Detailed Access Guides can easily be found on search engine results.

AccessAble is working collaboratively with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), VisitEngland and participating venues to showcase the work being done.

We ran a webinar on 13 February 2024. Speakers include Anna Nelson, AccessAble’s CEO, and Ross Calladine, VisitEngland’s Accessibility and Inclusion Lead, who also led a Q&A session.

Watch a recording of the webinar. Password: sTv33Yfa

If you have an urgent query in relation to the closure of the current tool and/or the new Your Accessibility Guide portal, please email [email protected].