Visit Hull and East Yorkshire is delighted to have partnered with leading national disability organisation, AccessAble, to enable tourism and hospitality businesses to develop quality assured accessibility information and develop Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire as an inclusive tourism destination.
The partnership is part of a national initiative led by VisitEngland, who is working with AccessAble to support tourism businesses across England to provide detailed descriptions of their venue accessibility for visitors.
For almost 25 years, AccessAble has been working to support organisations on their accessibility journey and to bring a positive impact to the lives of disabled people. A disabled person led organisation, AccessAble helps businesses publish detailed accessibility information on their user-facing website www.AccessAble.co.uk, which is used and trusted by 6 million+ disabled people a year.
Through AccessAble’s new Your Accessibility Guide portal, businesses in Hull and the East Riding can book and pay for either a Guided or On Site assessment of their venue, where a professional surveyor will create a quality-assured Detailed Access Guide. AccessAble has designed the process to be simple and easy, recognising that many venues are short of time. Using the portal businesses and venues can ‘self-serve’ their own tailored, quotation and use an automated service to place an order.
Detailed Access Guides are full of all the facts, figures and photographs disabled people have said they need to plan their visit, covering everything from parking and step-free access to assistive listening and toilets.
Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with AccessAble. This initiative is a vital step towards making Hull and East Yorkshire an inclusive and welcoming destination for everyone, regardless of their needs.
‘’By providing detailed and reliable accessibility information through AccessAble, we are empowering visitors to explore our region with confidence, knowing that our businesses are committed to inclusivity. This partnership aligns perfectly with our ongoing efforts to ensure that tourism in our area is accessible to all.”
Councillor Robert Prichard, Hull City Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for culture and leisure said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with AccessAble to make Hull and East Yorkshire a more inclusive and welcoming place for everyone. We’re helping local businesses share the detailed information visitors need to feel confident and comfortable exploring our area.
‘’This partnership is a big step towards making sure that no matter what a visitor’s needs are, they can fully enjoy everything the region has to offer. It’s all about making our community more open and accessible for all.”
Chris Blacksell, Chair of Visit Hull and East Yorkshire Advisory Board said: “This partnership is a crucial step in ensuring Hull and East Yorkshire becomes an accessible destination for all.
“By equipping businesses with the resources to showcase their accessibility features, we are not only improving the visitor experience but also fostering inclusivity and equality.
“We’re eager to see how these guides will benefit our community and attract more visitors to our stunning region. At our annual tourism conference, AccessAble emphasized that assessments for businesses can cost as little as £1.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “Our research confirms that today’s travellers with accessibility requirements want detailed descriptions of venues’ accessibility to help make decisions.
‘’These new Guides provide clear, quality-assured information, supporting disabled people to make the best choices. By making these user-friendly Guides available on AccessAble’s website, attractions, accommodation providers and other tourism businesses can tap into this valuable market further. I encourage tourism businesses in England to sign up via the portal.”
Dr Gregory Burke, Founder and Executive Chair of AccessAble adds: “For 25 years, listening to the lived experience and expertise of disabled people has been at the heart of everything AccessAble does. With the Your Accessibility Guide portal, we aim to tackle the postcode lottery facing disabled people and to help businesses and venues, regardless of size or location, provide the accessibility information disabled people have told us they need.
“We are thrilled to be working in partnership with VisitEngland and Visit Hull and East Yorkshire to enable tourism and hospitality businesses to provide quality assured accessibility information.”
VisitEngland is providing discounts to tourism businesses who wish to sign up via the new portal, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Tourism venues and businesses can visit VHEP Access Portal to find out more about Detailed Access Guides and to book their assessment.
