Worldwide there are over one billion disabled people, including over 78 million in the USA and 75 million in Europe. There are over 12 million disabled people in the United Kingdom alone. At the same time, the UK market is ageing: it is estimated that by 2025 more than a third of the UK’s population will be over 55. While people are living longer and staying active until much later in life, more have, or will have, access requirements.
The inclusive tourism market is made up of families, friends and carers of disabled or older people, plus families with young children. This market will continue to increase as the UK’s population ages and the benefits for businesses and destinations catering to accessible tourism are growing.
By making your hotel, guesthouse or tourist business more accessible, you are instantly making your business more attractive to at least 12 million potential disabled visitors from here in the UK, and millions more from abroad. Visitors who travel frequently, stay longer than average, and spend more per trip.
It is clear that inclusive tourism is a growing market and, as such, Edinburgh’s tourism industry will benefit from a greater focus on this market. Increasing industry awareness and understanding of the accessibility requirements of visitors is the first step to making Edinburgh accessible for everyone.
Want to know more – check out the ETAG – Making Your Business More Inclusive – Business Opportunities Guide also available in a word format here: ETAG Accessible Tourism- Everyones Edinburgh
For specific information on making your social media more accessible – use this how-to guide from Inclusion Scotland.
To check you are offering the correct facilities, and that you are accurately informing your visitors exactly how accessible you are, have a look at the VisitScotland’s Accessible Tourism advice. Training is also available at the VisitScotland’s Online Training Resource – this can provide you with guidance on how to meet the needs of the accessible tourist and how to build an effective access statement for your business.
Accessible Tourism Articles & Resources
BE VISIBLE TO VISITORS
As restrictions ease and we look forward to welcoming visitors back to the city, it is essential that your business is visible to visitors. More than ever before, visitors are going online to look for information to plan their trips in advance, so you need to be proactive and make sure you’re not only visible to visitors, but […]
ETAG 2020 Conference Videos
For those who couldn’t make the ETAG Conference or attendees looking for a recap of the presentations, you can now find them all below.
Resource: ETAG Everyone’s Edinburgh Business Opportunity Guide
ETAG – Making Your Business More Inclusive – Business Opportunities Guide ETAG Accessible Tourism- Everyones Edinburgh
Disabled Access Day 2016
Disabled Access Day is all about encouraging disabled people to visit a venue they’ve never been to before, whether that’s a museum, a coffee shop or restaurant, a theatre, or anywhere else. For tourism businesses, it is the perfect day to increase awareness about your accessibility, raise the profile of your business and attract new […]
Article: Top Ten Tips for an Accessible Website
In this article, web expert Marcus J Wilson considers the top ten things you can do to ensure that your website is accessible to all of your current and potential customers.
Article: Encouraging visitors to explore areas outside the city
Find out how Netherlands tourism is luring visitors out of Amsterdam. Read more.
Article: Making it easier for visitors to find their way
Google has “added data for “every bus, train, tram and ferry across the U.K.” – allowing Maps users to evaluate different public transport options from right within the maps interface,” making it easier than ever for visitors to plan their travel. Read more