Enhanced programme: Engage businesses and launch the programme
Photo by: VisitBritain
Top Tips
Identify and engage with businesses across the tourism value chain
Recruit a selected number of businesses to the process
Hold a destination-wide conference to launch the programme and engage a wider selection of businesses with your accessible tourism initiatives
Identify suitable businesses
Embarking on the Enhanced programme requires a greater investment of time and resources to build product, capacity and capability compared to the Kick-Start programme. In addition, the businesses undertaking the process will be included within your marketing campaign. It is therefore important to ensure that the ‘right’ businesses are selected for inclusion.
Identify businesses across the Tourism Value Chain who may be suitable to be involved, including:
- accommodation providers – both serviced and non-serviced;
- activity providers;
- attractions;
- food and beverage retailers;
- transport;
- public realm operators.
In each of these sectors, it is important to:
- target the ‘must go to’ venues within your destination;
- select businesses which already have good level of physical access (the project budget and timeline will make major physical adjustments unfeasible);
- choose businesses who are motivated to be involved;
- allow a reasonable lead time between starting to identify and engage businesses and the start of the business development phase to help businesses plan and prepare.
You may also wish to identify a ‘reserve list’ of businesses who are willing to join the process, if one or more of your participating businesses drop out of the process during the early stages.
Quotations from users
“Businesses were selected because they had a reasonable level of accessibility
to start with, so they were coming into it with either a reputation for good access
and inclusion or a motivation to want to be involved; and I think that is important” – PAM“We [already] used to get a lot of accessible visitors but this project made us realise the scope and breadth of the opportunity we can provide. I think we were just hoping to make some overall general improvements. I don’t think we realised how much of a bigger opportunity there was to do something here” – experience provider.
“I think we were fair but not exemplary beforehand. Signing up to this was a great chance for someone to tell us what we didn’t know, and highlight things that don’t apply to our lives, but do apply to quite a lot of people’s lives” – attraction.
Engage businesses
Engaging with your businesses needs to be done against the backdrop of a very clear and public commitment that accessible tourism is seen as a key area of tourism development in your destination and part of your strategic vision.
A clear promotion plan such as the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative’s Everybody Welcome programme will provide a route for messaging and a mechanism for engagement. The additional marketing this provides creates an additional incentive for businesses to become involved.
When engaging with businesses:
- outline the reasons for them to be involved including:
- the benefits of accessible tourism to their business;
- the opportunity to receive free specialist business support which would otherwise be costly;
- the chance to feature in an accessible tourism marketing campaign for the region which should drive additional bookings / visits.
- the opportunity to:
- Meet other businesses and organisations within the region;
- Network;
- Learn from others and share experiences;
- Be able to suggest itineraries for visitors by knowing whatelse is on offer across the area.
- provide reassurance, addressing potential business barriers
- be clear about what you are asking them to committo by sharing your top-line project plan.
The Business Briefing document in the downloads section of this toolkitwill help to clarify the process for participating businesses.
- outline the reasons for them to be involved including:
Recruit and select businesses for the programme
Once you have identified a selection of suitable businesses, bring them all together with a view to recruiting them to the programme.
Host a business engagement meeting or workshop with the businesses you have identified to:
- develop their understanding of the project;
- re-emphasise the benefits of being involved;
- share the details of your project plan;
- raise awareness of the activities involved;
- highlight the level of commitment required at each stage;
- enable them to meet your team, the Project Manager, PAMs, stakeholders and the other businesses.
At the end of the meeting you can:
- invite interested businesses to sign up for the programme;
- secure relevant dates in diaries early on with those agreeing to take part e.g.
- destination-wide conferences;
- Accessibility Champion training.
- outline the purpose of each element. This will enable businesses to understand the difference between each element in the programme timeline and why it is important to be involved in all of them;
- invite businesses signing up to identify a business lead for the programme who can spearhead activities within the business. Two business leads for each business are ideal to ensure consistency in the event of illness, staff change or staff turnover. The business leads may also be the Accessibility Champions for the business.
Quotations from users 2
“I definitely recommend people get involved because it gave us the confidence to use the ideas we had, it gave us access to experts and that’s been incredibly valuable to be able to take things forward in our business” – experience provider
“We thought: are we going to be taught to ‘suck eggs’ here, especially as we’ve been special needs teachers for 20 years …? We learnt plenty … it was a chance for us to ‘press refresh’ … and get an actual professional opinion” – accommodation.
Host a launch event
Hosting a destination-wide event provides an opportunity to launch the programme publicly and engage wider businesses and stakeholders from across the destination, such as those involved in your Kick-Start programme.
Host a destination-wide event to launch your Enhanced programme, inviting:
- speakers, including accessible tourism specialists;
- participating businesses;
- other businesses across the tourism value-chain;
- exhibitors, including specialist equipment providers;
- disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and disabled people;
- relevant charities;
- older people;
- others with accessibility requirements.
The objectives of this type of event are to:
- introduce accessible tourism and the destination’s aspirations and activities in this area;
- enable delegates to learn more about accessible tourism and the information, facilities and services which can make a difference;
- engage with stakeholders to gain their support;
- enable networking and information sharing across the region;
- provide delegates with some simple top tips on improving access and inclusion to take away;
- form a larger network of people and businesses who are motivated to champion accessible tourism in the region on an ongoing basis.
Quotations from users 3
“I’m a big believer that if you’re in a room with a bunch of like-minded people pulling in the same direction, there’s always going to be a positive outcome” – accommodation.
“Brilliant … the guest speakers, the layout of the day, the fact that they had exhibitors to speak to and there was that time to network” – destination organisation
“They [PAMs] told their story, and what accessibility means to them and what they must consider before they visit somewhere… little things that you wouldn’t think about. It was really, really helpful from that point of view of just opening this whole other world of visits that you had never really thought about. So it was a nice all-around learning experience and how far you can take it, but also how just doing the little things also helps massively” – attraction.
Hosting a launch event continued
When hosting an event of this type, it is important to:
- use an accessible venue which can accommodate the number of attendees expected. Using a venue which has signed up to take part in your programme would be ideal. As a minimum, the venue should have:
- level access (via a ramp or lift):
- into the building;
- into the conference room(s);
- to an accessible toilet;
- onto the stage (where relevant).
- the ability to cater for a range of dietary requirements;
- good acoustics;
- microphones.
- level access (via a ramp or lift):
- ask delegates whether they have any accessibility requirements which will need to be catered for, such as provision of a hearing loop or BSL signer. Read the action checklists for business event organisers and event venues for more guidance on creating an accessible event;
- consider what time of year is likely to be most appropriate for visitor economy businesses;
- decide how to market the event using your website, newsletters, social media etc. You could also target membership organisations to encourage their members to attend and utilise local media to help promote the conference;
- ensure that your messaging is clear, communicating the fact that accessible tourism is part of your vision for the destination;
- publish a detailed agenda for the day: this will help potential delegates to be clear about its purpose and the value of attending;
- proactively contact businesses who have not already engaged with accessibility to date. This will help to avoid the risk of only attracting those already engaged in accessibility and help to widen your audience.
- use an accessible venue which can accommodate the number of attendees expected. Using a venue which has signed up to take part in your programme would be ideal. As a minimum, the venue should have:
In addition to inviting the right mix of stakeholders, hosting the event at an accessible venue and considering how to publicise it, it is also important to ensure that the day is informative, interesting, engaging and interactive.
Consider the elements you wish to include in the event. This may include:
- exhibitors, including equipment and service providers relevant to accessible tourism. Invite them to bring along equipment for delegates to ‘have a go’, providing inspiration for delegates and an interactive element to the day. Exhibitors may include:
- accessible play equipment providers;
- all-terrain wheelchair manufacturer;
- hearing loop suppliers;
- sensory equipment provider;
- Changing Places toilet suppliers.
- speakers who can provide a range of perspectives on accessible tourism, such as:
- national accessible tourism specialists including Ross Calladine, Head of Business Support for VisitEngland and Government-appointed Disability and Access Ambassador for the tourism sector;
- businesses who already excel in accessible tourism;
- businesses who have taken part in similar programmes;
- people with accessibility requirements who are willing to share their experiences, including the challenges they meet and the changes which make a difference.
- As an example of a speaker, watch Katie Clarke of Visits Unlimited talk about her experience as the mother of a disabled daughter and the challenges she faces preparing for a day out.
- a sign up process for your ongoing accessibility development programme e.g. the Kick-Start programme. You may want to:
- display a QR code around the room which takes them to the webpage for your programme, making it easy to sign up on the day;
- follow up with businesses who have not signed up on the day to ask if they need further information or support;
- get in touch at regular intervals via email to encourage businesses and see how they are doing. This may include a newsletter to give a ‘shout out’ to any best practice and highlight the progress businesses are making across the destination.
- signposting to the business toolkitto inspire and encourage businesses to make changes using the top 20 tips and action checklists.
- introducing a business Accessibility Champion, either from your region or elsewhere
- providing the opportunity for delegates to introduce themselves and their business and provide feedback to help you understand any informal network relationships that could be built, for example an attraction and an accommodation provider encouraging reciprocal promotion of each other’s accessibility information and perhaps creating customer offers between them.
- encouraging networking and information sharing between businesses.
This sample Destination Accessibility Conference Agenda offers an example for inspiration.
- exhibitors, including equipment and service providers relevant to accessible tourism. Invite them to bring along equipment for delegates to ‘have a go’, providing inspiration for delegates and an interactive element to the day. Exhibitors may include:
