Accessibility Statement for the VisitBritain Industry website

Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to the VisitBritain website at www.visitbritain.org.

This website is run by the British Tourist Authority t/a VisitBritain. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

change styling using in-browser settings.
zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
skip to the main content when using a screen reader or navigating with the keyboard.
listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

The focus order on some pages does not follow a logical order.
Some decorative content is conveyed to screen reader users.
The list element in the main navigation is not structured correctly which may affect screen reader users.
Map markers have not been provided with an accessible name. Screen reader users may not be able to identify their purpose.
There are non-descriptive links present on some pages.
There are elements present where the visual label does not match the programmatic label. This may affect voice activation users.
Information and relationships in some content is not provided for users of screen reading assistive technologies as it is presented to users visually.
There is content present in which text information is not marked up in a way to clearly convey the appropriate information for all users.
There are filter options present which do not provide a descriptive name to associate them with the correct content.
There are videos present which contain text on screen which does not have an alternative method of accessing.
There is visually hidden content which is not programmatically hidden from users of assistive technology.
There are combinations of text and non-text content and background colour which do not have sufficient colour contrast.
Content revealed on hover or focus cannot be dismissed by the user.
Carousel labels are not descriptive enough for users of assistive technologies.

Documents

The website contains approximately 1000 PDFs and office documents. We are gradually replacing or removing any inaccessible documents created since 23 September 2018 and expect to complete this by 31 September 2025.

Webforms

In the newsletter sign-up forms, the Privacy and Terms links in the CAPTCHA are not visible at 400% browser zoom. They are off the screen to the right, but there is no horizontal scrollbar, so it is not possible to scroll across to access them.
In the forms, the inline error messages are not programmatically associated with the corresponding input field. Also, the inline error messages are hidden from assistive technologies. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1  (Info and Relationships)
In the newsletter sign-up forms, none of the textboxes has the required “autocomplete” attributes. W WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.5 (Identify Input Purpose)

Interactive visualisations

A few pages in the Research Insights section contain interactive visualisations of International Passenger Survey data that are not fully accessible. These are implemented using Microsoft PowerBI and we are currently working on improvements to them. We have provided the data in several other formats and are working to improve the offering.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

Please contact us on the details below should you require any content appearing on this website in a more accessible format, for example, a PDF.

More accessible formats may include large print, Easy Read, audio recording and Braille.

email: [email protected]
telephone: +44 (0) 20 7578 1400

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within ten days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

email [email protected]
call +44 (0) 20 7578 1400

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The British Tourist Authority is committed to making the VisitBritain Industry website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2  AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

User focus does not follow a logical order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
Decorative content is exposed to users of screen reading assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
Some list elements do not possess the appropriate child elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
Some interactive elements do not possess a programmatical/accessible name. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
Some links are not descriptive of their purpose or destination. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 (Link in Purpose), and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose).
Text which visually labelled a component does not correspond with the words associated with the component programmatically. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in name)
Information and relationships in content is not provided for users of screen reading assistive technologies as they are presented to users visually. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
Some text information is not marked up in a way to clearly convey the appropriate information for all users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
The filter groups of content are not provided with a descriptive name to associate them to the context to which they relate. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
Information conveyed in a video is not accessible for all users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.2.1 (Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded)), 1.2.3 (Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)), 1.2.5 (Audio Description (Pre-recorded)), and 1.2.8 (1.2.8 Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)).
A visible label is not programmatically associated with the relevant input. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
Visually hidden content is not programmatically hidden. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.3 (Focus Order), and 2.4.7 (Focus Visible)
Some text fails to meet the required colour contrast ratio against background colours. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)), and 1.4.6 (Contrast (Enhanced)).
Some content revealed on hover or focus does not function as expected. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).
Some content is not accessible for users navigating in a single column format. This fails WCAG 2.2 success creation 1.4.10 (Reflow).
Non-text content conveying information does not meet the required colour contrast ratio against background/adjacent/comparative colours. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
Some labels are not descriptive enough for users of screen reading assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 ( Headings and Labels).

We aim to make the required changes by March 2026. This statement will be updated regularly with timings of fixes. If you require any material on the website in an accessible format, please contact . [email protected]

Disproportionate burden

In April 2025 we received an accessibility test report for the full website, and we are evaluating the findings to determine the roadmap for fixing the issues and whether we will need to use the disproportionate burden exemption or not.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Office file formats published before 23rd September 2018 are exempt from the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (but not from WCAG), unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have implemented training for relevant staff, developed documentation, checklists, and resources to help us meet accessibility requirements and improve the digital experience for all visitors to our website. There will be another accessibility audit later in the year as we develop this website further. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 8th May 2025.

This website was last tested on 30th April 2025. The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre Ltd.

Testing included a manual WCAG 2.2 audit which also included disabled user testing, and automated testing.

Testing was conducted on a representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components, and features, including:

The header and footer.
Important “unique pages”.
Pages with text content.
Pages with informational images, images of text and video content.
Interactive elements such as forms, tabbed interfaces, carousels, hide / reveal functionality, and content filtering.

We will conduct further rounds of fixing and retesting until all the WCAG non-conformances have been fixed.