Update on Accessibility information initiatives

Businesses in England with a published guide up to 11 January 2024, when the site closure was announced, are eligible for a discount against the cost of a Guided or On-Site Assessment. 

These businesses will be emailed instructions on how to claim their discount directly w/c 18 March. 

AccessAble will be undertaking a manual check of every booking with an existing user discount, to ensure this benefit is only used by eligible businesses.

If you do not receive the email and believe you are eligible for an existing user discount, please email qad@visitengland.org. 

Terms and conditions for existing user discounts

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

2. Discounts cannot be combined.

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

4. Discounts for existing users will only be available to businesses with a published Accessibility Guide on AccessiblityGuides.org on 11 January 2024. This will be checked at time of booking.

5. Discount codes are for the recipient only and must not be shared.

6. Anyone using a discount code who is not deemed eligible will have their order cancelled or the relevant upcharge applied.

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. Additional terms may be applied by AccessAble at time of purchase.

In recognition of their commitment to providing an accessible experience for guests, current members of the National Accessible Scheme (NAS) and those who lapsed in 2023 following the scheme closure, are entitled to a discount against the cost of a Guided or On-Site Assessment.

These businesses will be emailed instructions on how to claim their discount directly w/c 18 March. If you believe you are eligible but have not received the email, please contact qad@visitengland.org.

AccessAble will be undertaking a manual check of every booking with a NAS participant discount, to ensure this benefit is only used by eligible businesses.

Terms and conditions for NAS discounts

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

2. Discounts cannot be combined.

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

4. Discounts for current or recently lapsed NAS participants will only be available to businesses currently in NAS or those who lapsed from the scheme in July 2023. This will be checked at time of booking.

5. Discount codes are for the recipient only and must not be shared.

6. Anyone using a discount code who is not deemed eligible will have their order cancelled or the relevant upcharge applied.

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. Additional terms may be applied by AccessAble at time of purchase.

Initially, discounts are being provided only to existing users of AccessibilityGuides.org and current or recently lapsed National Accessible Scheme participants. 

Discounts may be provided for other businesses (who do not meet the above criteria) from May 2024, but this is subject to budget. If you are not yet eligible for a discount you may wish to await further announcements before booking and paying for a Detailed Access Guide. 

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:

 

• 91% of disabled people look for accessibility information before visiting somewhere new;
• 58% avoid visiting a venue if it has not shared its accessibility information, assuming it is inaccessible;
• 72% of respondents have found information on a venue’s website to be misleading, confusing or inaccurate. (Euan’s Guide Survey 2022).

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. 45% 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 current tool, provided in-house (and in-partnership with VisitScotland) since 2017, and the software it uses, is now out of date and will no longer be technically supported.

The current tool has several limitations, most notably:

• It places 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 provides the business with a URL to use on their website. It does not publish completed guides on any searchable consumer platforms.
• There is no mechanism to ensure that the service reflects the changing needs of people with accessibility requirements.

Last year 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 can download a Word version of their Accessibility Guide until the closure of the website on 30 June 2024 (extended from 31 March 2024). At this point the digital versions of Accessibility Guides, including associated URLs, will cease to function.

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

From 30 June 2024, the Word version of your Accessibility Guide will be 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.

The current tool will close to all users on 30 June 2024. 

Whilst users can still use this tool to create new guides, VisitScotland strongly recommends that businesses only use the existing tool where there is an urgent need to provide their customers with an Accessibility Guide. AccessAble has been appointed as the new service provider and VisitScotland will notify all existing users of the new service offering and related costs shortly. 

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 (launching 15 March) and are not eligible for discounts provided by VisitEngland.

VisitEngland has appointed Access & Inclusion UK and is working together with other UK tourism boards to develop new questionnaires that will list key accessibility features for different business types.

Once the questionnaires are available (anticipated from summer 2024), you can identify the key accessibility features in your business and list them on your website.

Whilst 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.

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

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.

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. 

Existing users of the current AccessibiltyGuides.org website have been sent an email with more information on available discounts. 

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

85% of disabled people and carers who look for accessibility information before visiting a new place check a venue’s website (Euan’s Guide 2022). Participants will be required to provide details of their venue’s key accessibility features on their website and supply this information for inclusion on their RatedTrips.com venue listing by completing a new questionnaire produced by VisitEngland (anticipated available from summer 2024).

Preferably this should include a link to an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide, and we will be encouraging participants to book an AccessAble survey, to create a Detailed Access Guide, via the new Your Accessibility Guide portal (once available).  However, an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide will not be a mandatory requirement.

Scheme participants who intend to book/have booked an AccessAble Detailed Access Guide 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 can download a Word version of their Accessibility Guide until the closure of the website on 30 June 2024 (extended from 31 March 2024). At this point the digital versions of Accessibility Guides, including associated URLs, will cease to function.

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 is launching 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.

Yes, AccessAble will be able to survey venues in the Channel Islands and already has a relationship with State of Guernsey.

Both options enable you to have a high-quality Detailed Access Guide produced. Depending on your 

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 every Detailed Access Guide.

The questionnaires will be made available for free on VisitEngland’s Business Advice Hub later this year.

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 keen to work 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

Further information, including the cost to produce a Detailed Access Guide for all business types and the level of subsidy to be provided, will be made available when the new Your Accessibility Guide portal launches.

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 qad@visitengland.org.