Accentuate

Through Accentuate funding Tourism South East are able to offer access audits and “Welcome All” training at extremely competitive rates, to destinations that would like to find out how to improve the facilities they offer to their disabled visitors.

“Welcome All” training offers practical advice and guidance to assist hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism businesses in providing an enhanced service to customers with disabilities and specific needs. The disabled market is worth an estimated £40bn p/a and research has shown that over 2.5m disabled people travel regularly. When you add their families and assistants, you see that the opportunity to increase occupancy or visitor numbers is immense. The course covers a range of sensory, mobility and learning disabilities and provides advice on how to improve accessibility and communicate effectively. It also explains key aspects of the Disability Discrimination Act.

• meet responsibilities as a service provider under the Disabilities Discrimination Act
• provide a warm welcome to disabled customers
• improve the accessibility of organisations to customers with sensory, mobility and learning disabilities
• offer a first class service to customers with specific needs
• boost sales and the reputation of your organisation

Accentuate and Tourism South East often explore further ways we can work together to progress this project. We seek to promote best practice around making destinations more accessible and we aim to show where people get things right.  Most recently we commissioned a Toolkit, produced by Kristina Veasey, an Our View member, to show how to most effectively involve deaf and disabled people in the access audit process.  Please see the Resources section at the bottom of the menu bar under Accentuate projects.

Accentuate projects have been collecting examples of how their work is having an impact.  Whether this is the personal experience of an individual, or the influence Accentuate projects have had on organisations. Click the link to view the case studies.