Inclusive tourism makes good business sense
Disabled customers and seniors over 65 have a higher level of brand loyalty than any other customer group. 86% will make a return visit to your business. Nearly one in five people in the UK has a disability or impairment and over half of all households have a connection to someone with a disability.
Their collective spending power is worth £249 billion to the UK economy. But every year businesses miss out from customers who can’t access and enjoy their services.
Four steps to becoming more inclusive
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Information is key - create an accessibility guide
Create an accessibility guide and add the guide link to the homepage of your website. 95% of customers with access requirements check out your venue online before visiting.
Surveys by Euan’s Guide, Tourism for All and Vocal show the top barriers for disabled people and others with specific access needs. One such barrier is the lack of published information on:
- Tourism venues
- Current access facilities
- Hygiene processes and procedures
In partnership with VisitEngland, we have developed accessibilityguides.org. This website allows you to work through a tailored questionnaire. This way, it helps you provide relevant information about the accessibility of your venue or service. It’s free, quick and easy to use, and will enable you to provide all the information your customers need to prepare their visit.
- Check out accessibilityguides.org
- Read our Access Guide FAQs
- Download our example accessibility guides
- Watch our video on how accessiblity guides have benefited real businesses
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A warm welcome is everything - train your staff
72% of disabled customers are more likely to visit new places if they feel welcomed by staff or venues appears to care about accessibility.
Make sure you train staff and managers and that they're confident in inclusive tourism. It will make a huge difference to your customer service.
Check out Purple's seven disability and customer service e-tutorials. Each one last just over 16 minutes in total:
- Part 1 - A brief introduction and a short quiz
- Part 2 - Why disability should matter to your business
- Part 3 – Top tips for disabilities language and etiquette
- Part 4 – Top tips for front line staff
- Part 5 – Top tips to support your teams working in office services
- Part 6 – Top tips to make your website more accessible
- Part 7 – Key takeaways
Do you have any questions about our training programme? Please email us at [email protected].
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Read our good practice guides
Easy does it
This covers all the basics of accessibility, and is full of simple low cost ideas to make your business more accessible.
Accessible events guide
This guide will cover everything you need to think of to make your event accessible.
Take the lead
The Equality and Human Rights Commission guide to assistance dogs for tourism businesses. This covering your legal obligations and everything you need to know about assistance dogs.
You can download our own guides on this page or ask your Quality Tourism Advisor for physical copies.
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Stay informed
Our Inclusive Tourism Manager is working hard on content to make your business inclusive. Think of quick and easy changes that don’t break the bank, to big infrastructures changes and everything in between. There are so many things you can do to make your venue more welcoming!
Talk to your Quality Tourism Advisor and Industry Relations Manager to discuss what options are viable for you.
Other useful resources
Euan’s Guide
This guide has information on how to add your venue to the review site.
Purple Tuesday
Purple Tuesday is a national initiative. Helping businesses to improve the experience for disabled customers. Its largest event is a celebration, which takes place every year on the first Tuesday of November. For 2023, this will fall on Tuesday 7 November. Organisations across all sectors showcase support for disabled people and this lucrative market.
We, along with VisitEngland, are the official tourism sector partners for the 2022 Purple Tuesday event. Visit the Purple Tuesday website for more information.
- Join over 2,000 other businesses in committing to improve your customer experience for disabled people
- Registration is free and you only need to make a minimum of one commitment to improve the accessibility of your business. This could include:
- Creating an accessibility guide
- Committing to improve your welcome for disabled people
- You will get free guidance, tips and training resources to help you be more inclusive through simple, low or no cost changes
Find out more about how Purple Tuesday can support your recovery
Purple Tuesday 365
Purple Tuesday 365 is a learning and development programme, created in response to Purple Tuesday. It helps organisations:
- Support their staff
- Address disability issues
- Broaden accessibility to improve the disabled customer experience
Purple Tuesday 365 holds disability and accessibility awareness webinars each month. It also produces bespoke handy hints guides and resources.
With the 50% discount for members of our Quality Assurance scheme, your annual subscription is £182.50 +VAT. To redeem your discount, quote Promo Code: Visit05 on the Purple Tuesday 265 registration form.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND): what you need to know
Published January 2019
What is MND and what can you do to make your customers with MND feel welcome?
Easy does it
Published June 2016
Guide packed with simple low-cost ideas that will benefit you and your visitors.
Accessible events guide
Published July 2018
Our Inclusive and Accessible Events Guide can help anyone involved in organising events, regardless of the size, nature or location to create a fully accessible event.
Customers with Down’s syndrome
Published January 2019
How can you provide the best customer service to customers with Down’s syndrome?
What is haemophilia and how can I help?
Published January 2019
Advice and tips for transport providers, hospitality businesses and airport.
No Chew Stew recipe book
Published January 2019
Recipes for those who have difficulties chewing, like the elderly or cancer survivors.
Dementia-friendly tourism
Published October 2019
A practical guide for businesses to understand and support customers living with dementia.